Music Banter - Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience

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- - Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience (https://www.musicbanter.com/album-reviews/68580-justin-timberlake-20-20-experience.html)

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Originally Posted by Trollheart (Post 1300941)

Just quickly looked at your blog, miss p (VVV I think) and wow was I impressed! I knew you were a great writer and that proved it. The sex stuff threw me initially, being an old Irish prude,

I'm sure you're nothing of the sort, TH.

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the stuff where you take on America's attitudes to foreigners is pure gold! When I have time I'll be reading more, and I urge others to head that way too (links in the lady's sig) and take a look.

Awww, you're too kind.
Thanks for the feedback and the free marketing! :)

This album was JT and Timberland at their finest!

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Originally Posted by Mankycaaant (Post 1300012)

My opinion is that both Frank Ocean and JT are stronger artists. They understand the music better; know when to let it breathe, have incredibly versatile vocal ranges and I know this may seem shallow given the technological advancements since the days of Inversions but the production is so much smoother, well rounded and layered.

There's no doubt MJ and Wonder were great 'singers' but as artists I find them to be rather one dimensional compared with JT and Frank who have better and more diverse ranges and aren't prone to the filler that Stevie and MJ put on some of their albums because they lacked the depth to keep up the standard throughout.

Besides just because an album is 20/30 years older than another, doesn't make it better. Hence the nostalgia comment I made.

My opinion is that they don't understand the music better. I wouldn't even consider Ocean a part of the conversation honestly. If you're gonna talk vocal range then Stevie wins hands down. If you're gonna talk musicianship its not even close because Stevie basically made the album Innervisions on his own with every instrument known to man. And it is Innervisions you might wanna listen to it someday, nostalgia aside its a very impressive album. Sure it has Higher Ground to fall back on but there are some incredible gems on it, none of which are filler as you've described.

I like the new JT album, its definitely a great effort by him and filled with radio friendly and club standouts. Sure hes got a great range and hes an incredible showman, but he will never make a record that will be as thought provoking and well rounded as Innervisions.

But this thread isn't about Stevie Wonder its about JT and I really dig the progression of the record, and I very rarely listen to rnb type music any longer.

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Originally Posted by Mankycaaant (Post 1300035)

The production was one of the reasons. I pointed out it was perhaps shallow as the technological advancements utilized by Ocean and JT were unavailable when Stevie and Wacko Jacko were recording, although I feel they wouldn't have been used to their fullest if they had. MJ especially strikes me as someone who probably let others plot his music for him in terms of composition and song structure.

I genuinely believe both Channel ORANGE and 20/20 are better than Thriller and Inversions respectively, this does not make me wrong. It is my opinion. It is not correct that the latter two are better either. It's not that I prefer the former because they are newer I prefer them to the reasons outlined in my first post.

Honestly, I don't know how those two people you mentioned are. I just know what sounds slicker, more well rounded and more complete to me as an album and it isn't Thriller. I've always felt of Thriller as being incredibly gimmicky, I appreciate MJ as an entertainer and recognize the impact he's had but as a musician, when he wasn't shrouding himself in gimmicks - he was incredibly weak.

Wonder was obviously different. He was a singer who was all about the music, but I felt he lacked the charisma and intrigue to make his music interesting. It may seem like a double edged sword, MJ had too much character, Wonder had too little but they both struggled with the balance. That's why I feel MJ is too contrived and Wonder is just pretty dull. I have the same issue with Wonder as I do with Marvin Gaye. I appreciate the music, but it's just not that interesting to me. What you hear on the surface is all there is, Frank Ocean and JT are more like icebergs where there's much more going on then what one would immediately hear.

Stevie Wonder is more than simply a singer, he is a multi-instrumentalist who plays a substantial amount of the instruments on his albums. Personally, I think of him more in terms of being an amazing keyboardist above everything else, though I do like his voice. He also is a brilliant harmonica player and not too shabby of a drummer as well. If you've only heard Innervisions you really owe it to yourself to check out more of his work. Talking Book, Fulfillingness' First Finale and Songs in the Key of Life are far superior albums imo.

^^^
Couldn't have said it better myself.

Also, one more point about MJ: As I've tried to tell Mankycaaant before (but he doesn't listen obviously) MJ DID write most of his own material, arranged it, AND contributed to the production process. Just because he's remembered by the majority of people more for his prowess as a singer and performer doesn't mean he wasn't far more than both of those things. If you really think otherwise, then you've got some reading to do. :/

As far as Stevie is concerned, I'd concur about getting into anything post-Innervisions to really appreciate just how multifaceted he was both instrumentally and vocally.

And finally...how can you honestly really compare Justin Timberlake or Frank Ocean to Stevie when neither of them are blind and have every convenience in the world going for them? Stevie came from freakin' nothing and managed to claw his way up an industry that was far harder to elevate yourself in back then than it is now, disability or no disability. Your preferences aside, even mentioning them in the same breath as Wonder is pretty damn silly. It's like saying Tim McGraw has surpassed Johnny Cash, lmfao!

From what I have heard it sounds very good but my expectations are that its not completely to my taste, ill listen to it all soon im sure.

Justin Timberlake | iHeartRadio

Album release party with JT performing some tracks live.

Justin Timberlake in general

It's hard for me to hate on JT, mainly because I love all kinds of music, even in my young, rather ignorant age of 24.

As a drummer, I'm always looking for something musical to teach me a thing or two, and I'm starting to appreciate more and more R&B, as it trumps other genres in the "main stream" world.

Justin Timberlake is no exception. I haven't listened to the album as in depth as others, I know after hearing "Suit & Tie" and performing it with a solo female singer (believe it or not), it has a quite adventurous rhythm!

As far as never listening to full albums, you and I differ on that. That's usually the first thing I do when I buy (or "get," if you catch my drift) an album. It paints a mental picture of what the artist may be going through in life at the moment.

Bravo on the review, I might have to get the album now!