REVISION: In Hindsight, a Collaboration

In Hindsight, a Collaboration:

Timbaland and Timberlake Share the Spotlight on The 20/20 Experience

In a review of Gangstarr's The Ownerz, Rolling Stone Magazine said that rapper Guru could rhyme from a technical manual and still sound hot over DJ Premier's production.  Justin Timberlake tests this theory in The 20/20 Experience -- the complex, funky production from a reinvigorated Timbaland headlines the album, overshadowing Timberlake’s musically delicious but lyrically immature vocals.

20/20 is undersold as simply a Justin Timberlake album.  It's a Timbaland/Timberlake collaboration, with Timbaland pushing the boundaries of a pop producer.  Timbaland has kept a relatively low profile since his string of hits in the mid-2000s that spawned 11 number one singles in '06 and '07 alone, many for Timberlake himself.  20/20 signifies Timbaland's reemergence as an elite hit maker and his maturation as a producer.

Timbaland is given free reign to color the eight minute opuses that pepper the album with his dynamic and layered production.  He displays a remarkable creative range that is well-adjusted to the trends in indie pop and hip hop.  'Don't Hold the Wall', 'Let The Groove In' and 'Tunnel Vision' all hearken back to his classic style that had me calling radio stations to request 'Promiscuous Girl' and 'Sexy Back' in middle school -- driving, danceable rhythms with a vaguely ethnic sounding drum backing.  Elements of 'Mirrors' feel like a happier, sexier 'Cry Me A River', while others expertly drop out to bass and piano tremolos.  It's club music, Timbaland’s forte.

Even out of his comfort zone, Timbaland excels.  He brings Flying Lotus-style ambient trip hop into the fold, highlighted most notably in 'Strawberry Bubblegum' and its flowing synths.  His deep bass kicks move in and out of a sparing drum kit in the second half of this track, smooth organs melting beneath Timberlake's vocals.  'Blue Ocean Floor' could have been a love child of James Blake and the xx's turn tables, or taken straight from the playbook of LA electro hip hop producer Nosaj Thing. 

In addition to this mood hop and his club tracks, Timbaland experiments fairly successfully with neo-soul.  'That Girl', 'Suit and Tie' and 'Pusher Love Girl' pushed his pop niche towards R&B, disco and even swing.  They're brass heavy, with bright horn highlights and funky bass undertones.  They kick with a retro style that first made me peg them as just a cheap nod to the past, until you realize that Timbaland may be churning out soul music better than the real thing.  Search his solo album, Shock Value, and these types of track are nowhere to be found.  But Timbo's work these days is the real deal and, with the help of a fantastic studio band, his production and songwriting bring 20/20 to life.

Don't get me wrong -- Justin Timberlake has pipes.  His vocal arrangements are strong and I will rarely get tired of a well-intentioned falsetto that can live up to the hype.  Timberlake’s register allows him to handle his falsetto expertly, one of his trademarks, and distinguishes him from other falsettos, like fellow blue-eyed soul crooner Robin Thicke.  His harmonies and riffs on ‘Mirrors’ are thoroughly enjoyable and nuanced –the stripped down beat beginning at 3:42 to the bass drop at 4:34 was the most vocally interesting and layered segment of the album.  His voice will occasionally settle into an awkward, lusty, mid-range rap-singing, reminiscent of past N Sync habits that are, in my opinion, mundane.  Fortunately, these instances are significantly less frequent than they had been on his previous release, FutureSex/LoveSounds.

Timberlake's lyrics, unfortunately, cannot match the top-notch musicality of the album.  While his voice is fantastic and Timbaland is at the forefront of trends in pop production, Timberlake is not on the same level lyrically as the premier R&B songwriters of the time.  In a year where Frank Ocean and Miguel dropped poetic manifestos, 20/20 just isn't close.  Lines like, "So thick, now I know why they call it a fatty," probably won’t cut it in the current cerebral and complex R&B environment.  He clunks his way through a number of clichés -- comparing a girl's love to drugs in 'Pusher Love Girl', loving someone "from the other side of the tracks" in 'That Girl'.  It's been done before, and he doesn't bring anything new to the table.  A number of the tracks could have been found their way into the liner notes of his first solo effort, Justified, with simple rhymes and up front, straight-forward intentions.  It's not painful, but it pales in comparison to the high bar set by Timberlake's recent R&B peers.

Get the album.  It’s a pleasure to listen to and Rolling Stone’s hypothesis -- that pedestrian lyrical content can be overlooked in the presence of high quality production -- is proven correct.  Timbaland will undoubtedly begin fielding diverse musical opportunites following this all-star performance.  Justin Timberlake’s limitations, however, may have been revealed.  Take a creative writing class, JT; it could serve you well on your next project.