Give
Justin Timberlake
credit for this: he has ambition. He's had ambition ever since he was the leading heartthrob in
*NSYNC
. He drove the teen pop quintet to the top of the charts, far exceeding their peers
the Backstreet Boys
, and when the group could achieve no more, he eased into a solo career that earned him great sales and praise, largely centered on how he reworked the dynamic sound of early
Michael Jackson
at a time when Jacko was so hapless he turned away songs that later became
JT
hits, such as the
Neptunes
-propelled "Rock Your Body."
If
was the touchstone for
Justified
,
Prince
provides the cornerstone of
FutureSex/LoveSounds
, at least to a certain extent --
Timbaland
Timberlake
's chief collaborator here, does indeed spend plenty of time on
FutureSex
refurbishing the electro-funk of
's early-'80s recordings, just like he did with
Nelly Furtado
's
Loose
, and
's obsession with sex does indeed recall
's carnivorous carnality of the early '80s. Each of the three opening songs has "sex" in their titles and
Justin
marries his innuendos to grinding, squealing synths that conjure the funky spirit of the Minneapolis Sound.
isn't the only R&B idol
evokes here. He's also put together a
Stevie Wonder
-esque slice of protest pop in "Losing My Way," where he writes in the character of a man who had it all and threw it all away. This serious undercurrent when combined with
's retro-future production makes
fascinating:
fuses a clear musical vision with a theatricality endemic to a show biz kid. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine