And I'll say one more thing about Timberlake; as I pointed out in another post, Timberlake would have never gotten to where he is without Britney Spears.

.

NSYNC was already being forgotten about by the end of Summer 2001. He did not jump from former boyband member to solo star on talent or any of that garbage. There are plenty better singers than him and him being most marketable from that group is also garbage when, like I said, the group was forgotten about.

.

The only reason he got 'credibility' was because he made a music video about his ex-girlfriend-which is what got most of the attention throughout his entire debut era-because bashing Britney at that time was very trendy.

The album is due out Friday, but it's leaked. I just obtained it.

this porject is a SNOOOZEFEST

Album is Ok. Breeze Off The Pond and Montana are good songs. Midnight Summer Jam isn't bad but not as good as I was hoping. Overall, I think this album is just average. My least favorite of all his solo albums so far.

So far, I am enjoynig the songs.

"Filthy" is a banger.

"Midnight Summer Jam" picks up where "Let The Groove Get In" leaves off, but actually comes across as more fun.

"Sauce" - is a rocky-funk song with suggestive lyrics, "I love your pink, you like my purple, ...that's where I worship; let's make some new details for your journal". It hah an echoey reverb that gives it a cool live feel. I can almost hear a Funkadelic nod in the guitar.

"Man of the Woods" - this is where JT's R&B love and his Tennessee roots come together. It's a country song with layered harmonies, but the production keeps it in the pop mainstream. It stays simple in its arrangement and production. It's a mid-tempo number that brings the album to a more moderate pace.

"Higher Higher" - it keeps the album in a mid-tempo range, just a straight-ahead pop song.

"Wave" - An upbeat song that dips into a ska sensibility (which - ska sorta takes from bluegrass), yet keeps a mellow feel with the melody and chord structure. The chord structure is very similar to other JT efforts. It goes off track from the norm of a what a lot of songwriters might do with the same song.

"Supplies" - This is that odd track. It's hard edge, it's hip-hop inspired, with influences from the Middle East. It sounds like something Timbaland would have produced (yet he only worked on 4 songs on the album).

"Morning Light" (Alicia Keys duet) - Again, the production and drums keep it in the mainstream, but this is a slow-burn southern song underneath. It's an interesting bluesy/gospel-tinged hybrid. Alicia actually blends well with JT's higher register, as AK can dip slightly slower in her voice when necessary. She has that lazy delivery of melody sometimes and it works well on this song.

"Say Something" - a solid song with Chris Stapleton (and oddly one of the four Timbaland produced).

"Flannel" - chorus reminds me of the Kellerman song at the end of Dirty Dancing when they're all singing "...hearts and minds and song..." thing before Patric Swayze shows up for the final dance. For that reason, I can't take that song too seriously.

"Montana" is one the most Neptunes-esque songs. It reminds me of an 80s R&B/mid-tempo dance vibe. It has slight elements of a slightly slowed down "I Want Your Sex" (in the bass and percussion areas).

"Breeze Off The Pond" picks up where "Montana" leaves off. It feels like a more mellow "Rock Your Body"; and it has a good bridge.

"Living Off The Land" - a little marcher of a song, that talks about doing the best you can, good or bad, when you're...wait for it... living off the land. It's one of those songs that end up near the end of a record that you never quite make it to, or should have been a b-side, or given to someone else. Not bad, just not that memorable.

"The Hard Stuff" - this goes to the sit-down-acoustic pop/country approach he did with "Drink You Away", or "Another Song". It talks about wanting to purposely be there during the hard stuff to become a better man on the other side, and wanting to do it with the person he loves and wanting to take the brunt of that himself so his partner/wife doesn't have to endure the pain but reaps the rewards of a trial.

"Young Man" - starts with him talking to his son Silas (whose name means Man of the Forest) and him trying to get him to say "da da". It's an ode to his son, and it's a cute ending track. It hints at "maybe you'll get a sister" and encourages him to "if you gotta cry" to go ahead and do it. It's sort of a more positive take on "Cat In The Cradle". Stay to the end. You can hear Jessica tell Silas to say "love you daddy", and he does.

[Edited 2/1/18 12:21pm]

http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a15962375/justin-timberlake-man-of-the-woods-review/

getxxxx said:

http://www.esquire.com/en...ds-review/

.

.

I prefer orgy anthem, but I'll accept uncomfortable robot fuck-fest.

[Edited 2/2/18 12:28pm]

i'll be listening to the album today kinda excited by it. The only album of his I was not into was his first one. As a whole it was just a little boring..like he was still getting an actual sound.

paisleypark4 said:

i'll be listening to the album today kinda excited by it. The only album of his I was not into was his first one. As a whole it was just a little boring..like he was still getting an actual sound.

I'll be interested to hear what you think (and others, too).

I agree about Justified. He set out to make a soul/R&B album, and he did, but was padded with mostly inconsequential tracks than subsequent efforts. There were some good singled on there, but ultimately FutureSex/LoveSounds is what really helped define him as a solo artist, showing growth, a harder sound (it's damn near a rock album), and an ability to blend with a different producer. (On that producer note, when he and Timbaland worked with Madonna & Duran Duran, it sounded like JT/Timbaland songs; their layered drum production was overtly obvious and it sounded like the main artists was a guest on a JT/Timbaland record.

I picked up my vinyl & Cd earlier. Here is the Target cover, 2-LP on translucent orange vinyl. The vinyl seems to have a wood grain design throughout, too.

lol...push boundaries my arse.

After 2 tries, I can't remember a single melody on this entire cd.

I do dig a couple of tracks but they don't stick.

This release has gotten some of the worst reviews in the past 12 months per Metacritic. I know this doesn't always translate to how one will like it, but the metacritic readers also gave the album an unusually low rating. As far as the hype, I don't blame him for trying to do so. It is ridiculous how many albums--many good ones-- never get on the public radar these days. If I had the means and access to publicity to make sure my hypothetical album was sampled, I would do so too. Perhaps he didn't know so many wouldn't like it once they sampled it .

Remember they said that about Rave Un2?? lol

gandorb said:

EmmaMcG said:

gandorb said:

This release has gotten some of the worst reviews in the past 12 months per Metacritic. I know this doesn't always translate to how one will like it, but the metacritic readers also gave the album an unusually low rating. As far as the hype, I don't blame him for trying to do so. It is ridiculous how many albums--many good ones-- never get on the public radar these days. If I had the means and access to publicity to make sure my hypothetical album was sampled, I would do so too. Perhaps he didn't know so many wouldn't like it once they sampled it .

I've read a few negative reviews and a lot of them have a similar complaint. That it doesn't sound like modern pop music and the sound is stuck in the past. And I'm reading that thinking "how the fuck is that a bad thing?"

I'm a big Bruno fan and not a big JT fan and I have to ask if they criticized his [Bruno's] album(s) for the same reason. Did they dog The 20/20 Experience too?

Either way, what is Metacritic even on about with that assessment? Did they thumb down the album because it was said to "push boundaries"? How serious could they have taken that to think music can really be pushed any further at this point if that's the reason? And co-signing what you said, how the fuck are old school sounds a bad thing?

It doesn't sound old school........it sounds bland.

MotownSubdivision said:

EmmaMcG said:

gandorb said: I've read a few negative reviews and a lot of them have a similar complaint. That it doesn't sound like modern pop music and the sound is stuck in the past. And I'm reading that thinking "how the fuck is that a bad thing?"

I'm a big Bruno fan and not a big JT fan and I have to ask if they criticized his [Bruno's] album(s) for the same reason. Did they dog The 20/20 Experience too?

Either way, what is Metacritic even on about with that assessment? Did they thumb down the album because it was said to "push boundaries"? How serious could they have taken that to think music can really be pushed any further at this point if that's the reason? And co-signing what you said, how the fuck are old school sounds a bad thing?

I like that it doesn't sound modern, And no, they didn't Criticize Bruno's albums for the same reason. they didn't dog 20/20 as much as they did this one.Maybe because boundaries for him as a person I'm not sure but yeah old school is not a bad thing it's never a bad thing. I think is different I always like stuff that doesn't sound like everything on the radio and I feel like this album doesn't sound everything on the radio.I will be the first To admit that I don't listen to the radio as much anymore because everything literally sounds the same to me maybe that's just me.With the exception of Supplies, which sounds like every other current rap song my sister plays, I think the album sounds different. Different is good.

I also will say that I think because people jump to the assumption that the album would be country based off of him Making a reference to the country I can't remember what he said exactly, That they weren't sure how to take it when it actually came out. Now, some of the songs do have a country music vibe but I think what he was talking about was his own experiences as a country boy or someone who up in the country so I can see that in Midnight summer jam or man of the woods (Which is the name of album, which is what his sons name means, Which is Where the name came from for the album). All in all, I appreciate an artist who takes Such a big risk like this album.

THIS IS NOT A COMPARISON...But I will say that we all know that P had some albums that a lot of people been like that were considered risky/different albums. As far as I know from what I can recall the last person to do this that I know about is a country music group called Little Big Town, who went from country to hip/hop pop kinda deal with Pharell It did not go well, but I appreciate the risk. It's nice to branch out as an artist and I think he accomplished that.

TrivialPursuit said:

paisleypark4 said:

i'll be listening to the album today kinda excited by it. The only album of his I was not into was his first one. As a whole it was just a little boring..like he was still getting an actual sound.

I'll be interested to hear what you think (and others, too).

I agree about Justified. He set out to make a soul/R&B album, and he did, but was padded with mostly inconsequential tracks than subsequent efforts. There were some good singled on there, but ultimately FutureSex/LoveSounds is what really helped define him as a solo artist, showing growth, a harder sound (it's damn near a rock album), and an ability to blend with a different producer. (On that producer note, when he and Timbaland worked with Madonna & Duran Duran, it sounded like JT/Timbaland songs; their layered drum production was overtly obvious and it sounded like the main artists was a guest on a JT/Timbaland record.

I give the album a 6.5 out of 10. i like some of the songs, especially Filthy and Say Something being the best. There is some good vocal work on his part and production from the team. There is a lack of focus throughout it. At first we hear an interlude about him travelling through the woods...to an interlude about his wife loving the smell of his shirt...to a tribute to his son. Hello, what happened to being a man travelling in the woods? That theme got lost somewhere. Finally there was just a lack of jams. Something that Justin was good on 2020 Experience and FuturesexLovesounds. Midnight Summer jam was nice but that was pretty much it, and Filthy which is more midtempo than anything. Most of the album is mid-tempo and mellow. It is okay.

EmmaMcG said:

I've listened to my cousin's copy of the album 3 times and the only song I don't like is Flannel.

As I noted earlier, "Flannel"'s chorus reminds me of the Kellerman song at the end of Dirty Dancing when they're all singing at the end of the season. haha

I have to echo Free2BMe's thoughts on "Montana". That's a quiet banger that needs to be a single.

Graycap23 said:

It doesn't sound old school........it sounds bland.

The 20/20 Experience was way better, song and concept wise. I'm just not feeling this one.

[Edited 2/5/18 20:12pm]

TrivialPursuit said:

TrivialPursuit said:

MotownSubdivision said:

EmmaMcG said:

gandorb said: I've read a few negative reviews and a lot of them have a similar complaint. That it doesn't sound like modern pop music and the sound is stuck in the past. And I'm reading that thinking "how the fuck is that a bad thing?"

I'm a big Bruno fan and not a big JT fan and I have to ask if they criticized his [Bruno's] album(s) for the same reason. Did they dog The 20/20 Experience too?

Either way, what is Metacritic even on about with that assessment? Did they thumb down the album because it was said to "push boundaries"? How serious could they have taken that to think music can really be pushed any further at this point if that's the reason? And co-signing what you said, how the fuck are old school sounds a bad thing?

The further we push boundaries we end up with shit like Cupcakke. Please no more pushing boundaries. Those days are over.

.

I think the album is all right. I don't feel that it will push boundaries for modern popular music, though. While listening to it for the first time, there were a couple of songs I instantly loved, and also quite a few tracks I plain disliked. That's the first time this happened to me for a Justin Timberlake album, all his previous releases I enjoyed all the way through. This one has tracks that I would skip. But some tracks I at first didn't 'get' are now growing on me.

.

My favourite tracks would be 'Sauce', 'Wave', 'Midnight Summer Jam', and 'Say Something'.

.

My least favourite tracks are 'Supplies' (what a stupid choice for a single), 'The Hard Stuff', and 'Livin' Off the Land'.

.

2freaky4church1 said:

Remember they said that about Rave Un2?? lol

.

Yea, and I love that album -- it's one of my faves.