When the Beatles broke up in 1970, each member of the archetypal boy band eventually released solo albums. Fast forward to 2002. The latest generation of boy bands have begun to dissolve or grow apart, and the requisite solo albums are following in due fashion. These boy bands, however, never evolved past the sugary pop stage, and it would thus be too much to expect an "All Things Must Pass" from 'N Sync's Justin Timberlake.
But, Timberlake obviously isn't trying to surpass any of the Beatles' efforts here. His album is instead a rather bland confection that, to its credit, attempts to grow slightly beyond 'N Sync's saccharine bubblegum pop. Sadly, he evolves from saccharine bubblegum pop to somniferous R&B-inspired mediocrity.
The album starts off with one of its more interesting songs, "Señorita." The interest, though, stems mostly from the fact that the song plays like a surreal parody of a real R&B song. Timberlake apes all the clich
d mannerisms of R&B singers, and it starts to feel like that scene from "Weird Science" when Anthony Michael Hall starts talking jive in the bar. He starts calling on his background singers to respond, and the female singers sound remarkably like the falsetto that Timberlake breaks into earlier in the song.
"Señorita's" humorous elements may be intentional, however, because Timberlake and 'N Sync always have been willing to satirize themselves, going so far as to make guest appearances on an episode of "The Simpsons" that relentlessly parodied boy bands. Part of their strategy was to make their music more palatable by acknowledging its own superficiality and throwaway nature.
As such, "Señorita" may be a winking nod to the fact that Timberlake is attempting to appropriate and hone an R&B style. Regardless of its possible strategic nature and whether or not its humor is intentional, the song has a goofy charm that the remainder of the album seriously lacks.
The rest of the songs on "Justified" blend together into an indistinguishable murmur, with only an occasional Neptunes beat to keep the listener from nodding off. The Neptunes definitely are the highlight of this album, and they leave the listener wishing they would collaborate with someone other than music industry shills like Timberlake and Nelly."Justified" almost could be an album from one of the "American Idol" rejects -- Justin Guarini easily could have taken Timberlake's place to yield the same result.
Lyrically, "Justified" is as unexceptional as could be expected. Certainly, no one looks to Timberlake to make insightful social commentary or compose symbolic poetry, but it would have been nice for him at least try to expand past the derivative and banal. At the end of the album, he sings the unavoidable maudlin ballad, co-written with Bryan McKnight, and the lyrics basically mirror those of thousands of other overwrought, sentimental ballads.
Timberlake's only lyrical advancement from 'N Sync appears to be a move toward more overt eroticism. In the middle of "Rock Your Body" he boasts that he will "have you nekkid by the end of the song" and in "(And She Said) Take Me Now" states, "get real wet if you know what I mean." Unfortunately, in an era where his surgically enhanced ex-girlfriend and Trina have made blatant sexuality virtually trite, Timberlake's slightly risqu
overtures sound downright demure. Nor does it help that he sounds like a bad actor trying to sound suave.
Aside from the lyrics, Timberlake seems content simply performing his watered-down Michael Jackson impersonation. The liner notes feature several pictures of Timberlake striking poses reminiscent of the Gloved One, and he looks ready to break into the Moonwalk at any moment.
Yet, despite what anyone might think of Jackson now, after his descent into tabloid immortality, no one can ever deny that he has talent, not to mention a voice that Timberlake's thin and soulless whimper can never approach. And while Timberlake is perhaps more talented than the utterly unskilled Nikki or A.J. from "American Idol," he still struggles when he emulates Jacko. Let's just hope he doesn't start hanging out with Elizabeth Taylor and get a pet chimp named Bubbles, or we'll really be in trouble.
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