And as long as I’ve got my suit & tie
I’mma leave it all on the floor tonight
And you got fixed up to the nines
Let me show you a few things
All pressed up in black & white
And you’re dressed in that dress I like
Love is swinging in the air tonight
Let me show you a few things
So, I’ve already talked about the two albums that make up this set, The 20/20 Experience & The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2. But just a word about the two of them as a unit, which is, though they were released separately initially, apparently how Timberlake thought of them. I am more than well-documented on the subject of double albums; hell, I’m well documented on the subject of single albums that are too long. I think there’s a tendency toward bloat in much of modern music. Even back in the days when a double album was significantly shorter than double albums today can be, musical talent as incredible as The Beatles & Bob Dylan screwed up doing double albums. So what about this? The 20/20 Experience, seen as a single unit, runs right up on the two-and-a-half hour mark. And I love it. I suppose it’s albums like this that encourage people to release super-long albums when they don’t really have the material for it. Timberlake said himself that he was inspired to lengthen the songs on this album by looking at bands like Zeppelin who were plenty comfortable with ten or fifteen minute songs (Zeppelin, by the by, one of the few bands who consistently pulled off the double album without a hint of filler). So, presumably, people see Timberlake do this kind of miracle, a genuinely great, consistently brilliant two-and-a-half hour album and think they should also do it. But it’s just another mark of Timberlake’s genuine genius that he had enough great material to fill up this experience with all great songs. Two-and-a-half hours. What would I cut? Nothing. I wouldn’t cut a single song from the album; I wouldn’t cut a minute from any of the songs. The Complete Experience is the way to go. 4 stars.
tl;dr – one of the greatest double albums of all time; nearly two-and-a-half hours of non-stop R&B pop brilliance; wouldn’t cut a second, even if I could. 4 stars.