In 2006 came Justin Timberlake’s second solo album (after having success as part of the boy band ‘N Sync). “FutureSex/LoveSounds” finds that he gets into a concept album, in which he is seen to work closely with the Virginian producer Timbaland (as well as a few others) to come out with an album which has him going through a transition as he escapes the Pop and moves further in the R&B side of his work.
1. “FutureSex/LoveSound”
This one acts as a bit of an introduction to the album and gives you some sort of idea of the kind of thing that is expected of the release as you find that Justin, Timbo and Danja all participate in the production to come out with a futuristic, electronic composition to a nice effect and to take you into their way of thinking this time around and the potential directions it can be taken in. It is decent, but far from the best.
**Four Stars**
2. “SexyBack”
This was the first single to pop off the album and one of the most poplar (of many of the singles to come from this release) in this case you have a pretty general Pop tune from him and I have to say that personally I didn’t think there was that much to it (especially when compared to the R&B side of things, but it does open things up to a wide audience ho expect more of what came of his debut solo release.
**Two Stars**
3. “Sexy Ladies / Let Me Talk To You”
Here he suddenly dives into a straight banger of a tune and one that really stands out on the album as one that he has clearly had a massive input in (when you consider how its structure is so similar to Ciara’s “Love Sex Magic” (a track that he not only guest sang in, but also produced) and it gives a good idea of where his mind is and the type of funky state he was in to come out with a killer jam such as this one.
**Five Stars**
4. “My Love”
This was a big one on the album and one that seemed to stand out as you find that on it the artist comes out with a tune which enables him to appeal to a wide range of listeners as he comes out with a type of song that has lots of Pop running through it, but it is clearly a more R&B-styled composition with a classy feel. It is all topped-off by T.I.’s guest raps to give it a little something extra.
**Four Stars**
5. “Love Stoned / I Think She Knows”
This is one of the flyest tunes on the album and one that stands out, and was a good choice for one the singles as it is another example of the artist’s main style and the way that he chooses to take his music as here he comes out with a tune which incorporates clear Disco-ended Funk and various other things to come out with a Pop-R&B love song that pulls out the best of his vocals and dance material.
**Five Stars**
6. “What Goes Around... / ...Comes Around”
The whole sound of the album was built around this single song. he song itself is a quality-packed composition and has clearly had more input into it that the others on the album due to the complexity of the thing and how much is going on with the production as he sings an emotive one which deals with relationships. The Danja and Timbo collab is massive, and the final bridge, in particular shows this off to the listener.
**Five Stars**
7. “Chop Me Up”
This was a complete surprise to me as it was a collaboration that I never would have predicted on a Justin Timberlake album (or a record from former ‘N Sync member) as you see that he works alongside Memphis’ finest Hip Hoop talent in Juicy J and DJ Paul of Three 6 Mafia for a tune that brings in Crunk seemingly out of nowhere to a great effect and to show how h is working on another level on this release.
**Five Stars**
8. “Damn Girl”
This one finds that the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am comes to deliver the production here and he comes with a nice mix of both live instrumentals and his own electronic work for a fresh mix which enables the singer to come out with a vocal performance that has to be liven to something like “Señorita” (from his debut) in that he brings out the higher end of his voice’s range and explores it to the best of his abilities.
**Five Stars**
9. “Summer Love / Set The Mood”
This one was solely a radio single and so wasn’t as popular as the other singles to drop off the album, but I wouldn’t say that (by any means) it is a weaker in any way as you see that on this one you have Justin coming out with a straight killer tune as here you find that he moves exclusively into the R&B side of his music and straight rips it in this way and performs a tune that sits as one of the best on the album.
**Five Stars**
10. “Until The End Of Time”
Although the remix was much more popular (as it came as a single, in which he collaborated with Beyoncé Knowles) this is a killer tune on the album and one that shows the artist’s nineties R&B influences as he comes with a slow and sensual track that takes on all of the characteristics of that time to come out with a track that has been created perfectly. You can’t fault it and having just one like this means you attention is drawn towards it.
**Five Stars**
11. “Losing My Way”
This one follows on nicely from the track prior to it as you are taken down the pace of things, but rather than coming out with another sexy slow jam, this one finds him altering his approach to sing emotively, and quite personally about where he is at (as he sung the song) and the motions he was feeling as a result of this. It is a fly one, but one that needs time to really be felt in the way it deserves.
**Four Stars**
12. “All Over Again”
The album ends on Justin coming out with a track that really doesn’t fit in with the way that the rest of the album went, and this is due to the fact that Timbaland has no input here whatsoever and as a result h goes towards the Pop ballad style (which Rick Rubin of all people) and does a song that I felt wasn’t really doing as much for the album as the rest were, and so it was a bit of a disappointing end.
**Three Stars**
Ignoring the final track, this is a strong album from Justin and one that has him working at a very high standard as he shows how well he is able to balance all the typical style that he tends to work with in order to come out with some well-rounded material that has something for everyone.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: There are some distinctive, quality songs that follow Justified very well. Disadvantages: Too many forgettable tracks that are ruined by pointless rappers
Oct 11th, 2009
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