The 20/20 Experience
by Justin Timberlake

Very bland. It just goes on and on and on, and there's really not a great deal of variation on this record. Some tracks are pretty good for the first five minutes, which is something I really shouldn't be able to say. Lounge music. It's not a terrible record, but it isn't a very good one either. I honestly can't believe the response it's received, given how anodyne it is. That said, there have been many worse records released this year, and there will be even more to come.

Justin Timberlake still shows how ambicious he is compared to his fellow popstars collegues. This album screams for the attention that its very well deserved. Different song structures, many surprising beat changes, great production, amazing vocals, some amount of experimentation of sound and exploration of neo-soul that makes this album one of Timberlake's best. My only problem with this (and that would be nitpicking) is the lyrics, which is very basic, but in this case works fine. The songs are a little too long than an usual pop track, but the interesting instrumentation, production and beat changes is what makes this album good, what makes it work so well, even with a bunch of 7 minute tracks.

I don't get it, why not keep the tracks at 3-5 minutes max, instead of dragging them out to the extent that they all outstay their welcome. It's not like he has that much to say in any of these songs, and it's not like they musically have much progression after they hit that 3-4 minute mark. This is so close to a brilliant album, but it doesn't happen because of such a baffling and unnecessary choice.
Really, I think the only song I wasn't bothered with the length, was the last one (also easily the best on here IMO), and That Girl.

Many of the songs are far too long and repetitive. And I've never heard of classical wigger music until now. It's like JT's doing a horrible rip-off of Bat Out of Hell 2, which also has a lot of long and mildly repetitive songs. But the first half of this song was five long songs that said the same words over and over and over again. Some of the songs would've been great if they weren't so long. They didn't know what they were doing, and I doubt Justin Timberlake even tried.

From zdwyatt TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/22/2013 18:59 | #88887 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I generally abstain from pop music, primarily because the singles-oriented approach doesn't deliver quality albums. I can't abide filler. So, while Justin Timberlake has a couple of good tracks, I've never been compelled to put his albums on for multiple listens. But The 20/20 Experience has gotten many, many spins at this point. It has almost enough gravitas to just be straight up R&B.