The March-released ‘The 20/20 Experience’ was only the
beginning. In September, Timberlake will
be releasing the second half of his epic project, with Take Back The Night as the lead single.
Channelling Luther Vandross' Never Too Much and Michael Jackson's Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough, Take Back The Night harks
back to early ‘80s disco and R&B – all funk grooves and Nile Rodgers-esque
guitar lines punctuated by horns. Is
this Timberlake ‘doing a Daft Punk’? At
the least, this is a more straightforward pop track that lacks the experimental
production from the first part of ‘The 20/20 Experience’ (but not the track
length), perhaps indicating that this next release will have more of the pop
tunes that some fans are craving.
Of course, the lyrics are as sexual as ever, which has led
to an embarrassing fiasco with the anti-rape group Take Back The Night (in
particular their dislike of the lyric “use me”). With this and the recent raunchy artistic
video for Tunnel Vision, Timberlake
might be a ‘family man’ but he’s not one to shy away from controversy.
In essence, Take Back
The Night is sexy, funky and a far better lead single than Suit
& Tie, but it doesn’t quite match the best that ‘The 20/20 Experience’
has to offer (Let The Groove Get In being
the obvious comparison).
4/5
Listen: Take Back The
Night is available now. The second
part of ‘The 20/20 Experience’ will be released on 30th September.