With Part 1 running at about an hour and ten minutes with only ten tracks, it came as a rather big shock that Timberlake announced that it was only half of The 20/20 Experience. Part 1 was a monster success commercially and critically, and expectedly, it would be tough for Part 2 to live up to that. Although there are various bright spots, failing to live up to expectations is ultimately what this record does. A few bright tracks shine through, such as "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)," the album's opener, featuring a funky guitar groove and a few clever lines by Timberlake. The album struggles to separate itself from Part 1 due to the fact that it really just sounds like the B-sides that JT decided not to put on the first record. Throughout Part 2 the beats sound vaguely familiar due to the fact that there really isn't a fresh take on the sound that Timberlake developed on the first one. Producer Timbaland struggles to help Timberlake inject life in the veins of this unfortunately disappointing follow-up. Features by Drake and Jay-Z are nothing particularly special, and really don't compare to recent collaborations such as "Suit & Tie" and "Holy Grail." All of this sounds very negative, but the fact of the matter is that this is a solid record, it just can't compete next to its bigger brother, especially in terms of memorable tracks. Tracks to listen to: "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)", "Take Back the Night", "Only When I Walk Away"
3/5 Stars
-Jared