Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience

[Daryl the Beryl]

This is over 2 years old so why not.



Track list:

1. Pusher Lover Girl
2. Suit & Tie (featuring JAY Z)
3. Don't Hold the Wall
4. Strawberry Bubblegum
5. Tunnel Vision
6. Spaceship Coupe
7. That Girl
8. Let the Groove Kick In
9. Mirrors
10. Blue Ocean Floor

[Disco🌶️📖]

I loved both volumes. Both are solid. I was gutted that the release of the singles from both volumes was mishandled as badly as it was because there were so many songs on both volumes that needed to be singles but they never were. It's a shame that "Pusher Love Girl" from the first volume and "True Blood" from the second volume were not released. I also wish that we had gotten more music videos even if the songs weren't singles. After having listened to the albums numerous times, "Blue Ocean Floor" is my favorite song overall from both. It's so haunting and powerful. The experimental, non-linear composition of it is really unusual. It gave me a "Mer Girl" type of vibe, and given that both songs were album closers, I felt that even more.

[Glove Slap]

Fuck this, and the second half. Boring ass shit. So so disappointed. I worshipped JT during my teenage years, and then he puts out these dull, droning, unimaginative suites.

Although Suit & Tie is good muzak for your favorite upscale elevators.

[Live Your Life]

I love this album. It's his most sexy and sophisticated to date, and it really exposes his talent as a vocal producer and arranger. I, personally, didn't have a problem with the tracks being so long, but I do think it discouraged a lot of people from listening to them with an open mindset. Nobody is trying to listen to an 8 minute song in the 2010s. And I still can't believe they only released two singles from it.

AllMusic gave the album 2.5/5 stars:

Once Justin Timberlake finished touring in support of FutureSex/LoveSounds, music making slid to the side as acting, endorsing, investing, and talent grooming took precedence. The few appearances from 2007 through 2012 -- through collaborations with Madonna, Duran Duran, 50 Cent, Ciara, and new jack ballad mode Lonely Island, often in partnership with Timbaland -- confirmed that the cutting edge was not his concern. Aligning with the Neptunes in 2002 and with Timbaland in 2006 were not bold creative risks either, but working with Timbaland once more makes it plain that Timberlake wanted to remain within his comfort zone. Along with co-producer Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon and fellow songwriter James Fauntleroy, the Tims have made a refined and distended follow-up to FutureSex/LoveSounds. Seventy minutes in duration, it's only four minutes longer but contains two fewer songs and maybe half as many ideas. Opener "Pusher Love Girl" sets the tone for the program; the first three of its eight minutes would make for an elegant sweet-soul introduction, but Timberlake's extended drug-metaphor testimonial over a flat, faintly shifting beat dulls the mind rather than hypnotizes it. "Strawberry Bubblegum" recalls a time when groups like the S.O.S. Band and 52nd Street released extended mixes of club ballads, though the bottom isn't as thick, and it comes with three bonus minutes of Sly Stone-style rhythm box puttering that facilitates more metaphorical macking. Around its 5:20 mark, "Mirrors" switches from an ideally shaped heartfelt ballad of devotion into a slog. By the seventh drifting minute, it prompts questions like "Is this where the stage hands will change sets?" and "Is this actually about himself?" Few songs are dynamic enough to justify their length. "Let the Groove Get In," something like a modernized hybrid of Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Starting Something" and Lionel Richie's "All Night Long," is undeniably festive. The relatively raw soul throwback "That Girl" adds a slight Southern touch and does not wander. "Suit & Tie," a lighthearted and goofily dashing throwback, serves the same flirty dancefloor purpose as "Rock Your Body," drawing from early- to mid-'70s soul instead of late-'70s disco-funk. Timberlake referred to the song, the lead single, as "just the wink." It's far from the only one here -- a pleasant and grown but tedious release from a charismatic entertainer and exceptional vocal arranger who is not a great recording artist.

[Daryl the Beryl]

And they gave part 2 4 singles... (including Drink You Away)

[fearlessarrow]

So many missed opportunities on here. They should've followed "Mirrors" with "Tunnel Vision" or some other song in Part 1 in the US instead of "Take Back the Night"... Why did they have to release Part 2 so early in the first place (and Part 2 can be a snoozefest to listen to in some parts) ? "Pusher Love Girl", "Don't Hold The Wall", and "Let the Groove Get In" could have been good choices singles-wise. And then "Take Back the Night" and "TKO" bombed which made me even more mad about how they handled Part 1... 

[Daryl the Beryl]

Tunnel Vision was a single that never was. Or Don't Hold the Wall.

[Agent Yoncé]

The second halves to both 'Don't Hold The Wall' & 'Strawberry Bubblegum' were the best things on this project. Everything else was either okay or hella boring.

[TGAC]

I wasn't bothered by the long songs on part one at all, as I think it's a really strong collection of songs. Part two, though? It has 'leftovers' written all over it, and I'm still amazed at how poor it is compared to the first volume, like night and day.

[horchata]

"Tunnel Vision" is still my favorite song out of this whole project, but that's probably because it sounds like it could have easily been tacked onto FutureSex/LoveSounds without a hitch.

[jenglisbe]

How did I miss that "Not A Bad Thing" was a #1 at Top 40? Wow. I don't even really remember the song, much less that it was a radio hit.

[Deleted]

"Blue Ocean Floor" is one of my favorite album tracks from any album by Justin, and in my top 10 overall songs from him. "Mirrors" and "Not a Bad Thing" are really solid pop songs and among my favorite singles in his discography.

The rest of the double album... not lovin' it.