Justin Timberlake: The 20/20 Experience Pt. 2 of 2 review

Justin Timberlake hadn\’t put out anything exclusive since the 2006 time table until this year when he formally came out of retirement with his stellar release of The 20/20 Experience 1 of 2.  His latest album, Part 2 of 2, released in late September, is just adding sugar on top of Timberlake’s already amazing career.  Timberlake, with this release, has fulfilled his record company’s contract for four solo studio albums and He has also publically stated that he enjoys his acting career and has “had his fun with the music industry over the years.”

If fans liked the first release they can definitely expect much more of the same dose that made the first album so popular on this record.  The songs are about six to seven minutes long and, in short, are very soulful.  Timberlake also stated that he had “no goals to accomplish with either album and that he went into the studio with his eyes, heart, and mind open as to how this would all sound.”

That being said my only serious critique and item that I want to spend some time talking about of this album is that it’s almost 80 minutes long.  I’ve never heard of a standard pop album being as long as 80 minutes unless it was a deluxe version or an extended release.  Timberlake isn’t afraid to experiment with the sound, groove, feel of a song, and length of a song- I’ll give him that.  Both albums put together make at least two and half hours of solid music- that’s a lot for one artist to produce in a one year setting and for fans to thoroughly enjoy in just one sitting.

Just you’re getting comfortable with the first release, this album takes you all around musically and  if you can’t get into the infectious grooves of “Take Back The Night,” “Gimme What I Don’t Know (I Want),” “TKO,” “Murder (feat Jay Z),” and “Cabaret (feat Drake)” then I might argue that you might not have a pulse.  Other notable songs are “Drink You Away,” “You Got it On” and “True Blood.”

If you’re looking to throw an album on and dance to it at the club, at a wedding, or with your sweetie somewhere private this is for you.  Lyrically this is nothing new for Timberlake and much the same theme of just about all of his solo albums.

Rating: 8/10

-Matt Robinette