Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience, 2 of 2 (2013) – Review

Review: Following his highly commercially successful album The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake decided to release more tracks from his recording time with Timbaland and J-Roc (Jerome Harmon) as his fourth studio album calling it The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 (and he may have recorded some new stuff too).

Overall, the album sounds and feels a lot like its predecessor, which was expected, but on a track-by-track basis it is much weaker, as it seems clear that many of these songs were not quite album-quality leftovers from Timberlake’s initial 2013 release. And, the issues that plague The 20/20 Experience are also very apparent here as well. Namely, many of the tracks are just over-indulgent, over-long, and frankly boringly generic. Although, Amensia, one of the longer tracks on the album, is probably the best song on the album. It showcases Timberlake at both his sensual and pop-music best. The radio-friendly singles Take Back the Night and TKO also mark a large improvement on Suit & Tie, though neither is quite as strong as Mirrors.

Collaboration wise, the album again sees a pointless verse from Jay-Z and a song featuring Drake, who also really adds nothing. The album is again fully produced by Timberlake, Timbaland, and J-Roc who work well together, but again many of the tracks just go on too long and/or feel/sound like leftovers.

The album is still probably a worthwhile endeavor for fans of Timberlake. For pop music fans, however, a wiser strategy might be to just cherry pick a few of the stronger tracks, as the album as a whole is weighed down great by all the bloated material. 2/5

Essential Tracks:

1)      Amnesia – Produced by Timbaland, Justin Timberlake & J-Roc

2)      Take Back the Night – Produced by Timbaland, Justin Timberlake & J-Roc

3)      TKO – Produced by Timbaland, Justin Timberlake & J-Roc

Available on: Digital Download