Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
General Description
Artist/Band: Justin Timberlake
Album Title: FutureSex/LoveSounds
Year: 2006
Twice shy?
How I Got Into This Music
First single from his Justified album took me by surprise: a boy band nobody doing serious pop, produced by the Neptunes, how can that be?
I just didn’t know what to think.. Second and third single came out and I knew I had to give that record a listen. The element of surprise worked for 4 or 5 tracks but the other ones weren’t that good. Still, I was curious for whatever this guy was producing. His incredible track on Sergio Mendes’ Timeless showed the quality of a real performer.
And now, his second album is out.. Logical progression or ??
Album info at Answers.com || Album review at artistsdirect.com || Google: Other reviews of this album
Tracks that got my attention:
Futuresex/Lovesound
Title track. Took me quite a while to get used to the sound, the groove and beats. There’s this Another One Bites the Dust effect on the bass groove, catchy.
Sexyback
First single off the album - can’t get used to it. It sure as hell is different than what I kinda expected, but that’s okay with me
Sexy Ladies/Let Me Talk to You Prelude
That bass is what makes it work for me on this track. Timbaland’s production value is working its stuff here..
My Love
Second single, so typical of this album: can’t put my finger on it, great yet disappointing
Lovestoned/I Think She Knows Interlude
First part of the track’s full of dance energy. Second part, nothing subtle about it
Chop Me Up
Horrible, horrible.. First time I’ve been able to categorize this guy as a wigger. And that’s not fair, but this track really gets on my nerves
Damn Girl
Annoying Will.I.Am featuring on this excellent track, full credits for the Old Soul Vibe they’ve produced on this track
Until the End of Time
Already labeled as the new King Of Pop and he still wants more: great beat sample of Prince’s Purple Rain era.
(Another Song) All Over Again
A very mature track, but what really knocked my socks off was finding out who the producer was: one of this sweet earth’s most important and influential producers of the last two decades, Rick Rubin
Take Away Your Love
Shit, close your eyes and you get that Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Debarge feeling - scary how well produced this track sounds. And Timberlake’s no slouch either..
Pose ft. Snoop Dogg
Nasty lyrics, great beat and of course long-time collaborator Snoop on this funky bonus track
Floatin’ ft. Charlie Wilson
Like the previous track, Floatin’ is more like the tracks of the first album - love it!
Conclusion
Respect. Sounds cheesy, but the guy keeps on taking risks and on this album there are plenty taken: no Neptunes, no reusing of the success formula of the previous album, more Dirty South influences. Some work, some really, really don’t. Timbaland seems to be the main influence and that works quite well, but I kinda miss the Neptunes on this album. It takes guts to take these risks and even though I preferred the debut album, the FutureSex/LoveSounds album is a great follow-up. I just wonder if it’ll be just as successfull.. It’s kinda weird that I enjoyed the bonus tracks more than the album itself.
Rating: 
