The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2

Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2
Critic Score
Based on 25 reviews
2013 Ratings: #999 / 1115
User Score
Based on 406 ratings
2013 Rank: #490
Liked by 15 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

83
Pretty Much Amazing

The album sounds instantly familiar, though never stale, and frankly it’s a joy to hear Timberlake and Timbaland rediscover the giddy chemistry that made FutureSex/LoveSongs a contemporary pop milestone.

83
A.V. Club

Timberlake reined in his musical vision just enough to make this album more focused and engaging—but didn’t lose sight of his desire to take chances.

80
The Young Folks
This album is a testament to how far he’s come as the boy band vocalist from *NSYNC to a man who can sing the pants off any man or woman he wants to.
75
Entertainment Weekly

The music is almost beside the point when you’ve got Timberlake’s charisma, and you can bet that he’ll be able to convince people not only that they love these songs, but that they have always loved them.

75
Paste

With seven years between projects, someone so wildly creative had more to say, play, explore. 2 of 2 takes grooves deeper, lyrics freakier, the format hotter.

70
Rolling Stone
Undoubtedly, his laser show would kick Usher’s laser show’s ass any day of the week.
70
The Line of Best Fit
Even with its mis-steps at the end, when taken as a complete “Experience“, one thing is for sure: Justin Timberlake has made one of the grandest, most bold albums that mainstream music has seen for a long, long time.
70
PopMatters

The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2) is quite the step up from the first part. Even when it plunges into excess—which it does quite often—the basic pop structures underneath remain far more compelling than anything off of Part One. 

65
Spectrum Culture
The juxtaposition comes off as fun and ensures this record will enjoy fandom from a wide demographic.
60
SPIN

With its insistence on aggressive polyrhythm and bumping bass, 2 of 2 is most certainly a funky record, but it's hardly a deeply soulful one. 

60
The Arts Desk
Take this album for what it is and you will enjoy yourself, if you think too much about it you won’t.
60
The Guardian
The fact that they are the strongest efforts here suggests that, despite his admirable ambition, perhaps he should focus on what he does best.
60
Slant Magazine

This volume’s shady undertones are a better match for Timberlake’s inability to self-edit than the first half’s chipper gloss.

60
HipHopDX

Had these 11 tracks been presented like they were B-sides or rarities, it may not have been as detrimental but they were offered up as a continuation to an album that didn’t need a part two in the first place.

60
Tiny Mix Tapes

Pared down and stripped to its primal rudiments, the latest Timberlake saga could have been something truly epic; instead, it just feels unnecessarily immense.

60
Evening Standard
The quantity feels generous, but the best present he could have given himself is an editor.
60
Exclaim!

The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 includes a few pop gems, but as an album, it pales in comparison to its older sibling.

55
The 405

His quality control has gone to pieces, and this sounds exactly like what it is: a rushed job that really could have done with some more work.

50
Consequence of Sound

The indulgence that fit the designer Suits & Ties of Pt. 1 colors this record’s jungle sex openings and hidden “Hey There Delilah” endings, and it hamstrings an otherwise great singer into making a mediocre record.

50
No Ripcord

Part 2 ... simply feels like an inessential cash grab, and it's strong evidence that everyone’s favorite pop star might be overstaying his welcome.

50
musicOMH
It isn’t necessarily all bad in terms of quality. But it is utterly dispensable.
45
Pitchfork

The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 is not only superfluous, it actually erases some of the gains made by its predecessor as it plays into the worst trappings of self-indulgence.

40
NME

With the average track length clocking in around six minutes, '…2 Of 2' drags on like a hostage saga.

40
AllMusic

The second half is a laborious crawl, a variety of glorified and slow bonus tracks.

20
Drowned in Sound

2 of 2, then, is an incredibly frustrating experience. It shouldn't be. Timberlake is better than C and D-grade material. 

pedrosabe16
67

This is really disappointing. The one overlong tracks don’t work as well as on the first half, the lyrics got worse and the production isn’t as intoxicating. “TKO” and “Amnesia” are mostly the only songs I come back to.

vivi
100

Hello AOTY!! I'm back! I wasn't gone for long, but I haven't reviewed in a week which is abnormal for me. There's a few reasons for this, and for the fact I haven't been as super active as I used to be.

-Time with family, I had my grandma whom I haven't seen in years visiting, and then after that I was staying over at my other grandmas house.

-I haven't been wanting to listen to many albums, I have a big fat list of albums that are my priorities to get to, but I have my music that I'm hooked ... read more

Dr_Classified
57

How does one go from making one of the slickest and most interesting pop albums I've heard in my life to a mind-numbing album such as this? This was a whiplash of quality.

While I still adore Justin's singing by a metricton, I feel like everything else doesn't back it up all too well, with the slight exceptions for songs like 'Take Back The Night' and 'Murder,' the former probably being the only song I'd come back to to be honest.

The instrumentation isn't all that polished, and I feel like a ... read more

63

The first part was way better this is probably his worst album

82

Es un buen álbum

alonecult
70

some of the tracks here have the same issue as the first part album (examples: gimme what i don’t know (i want), true blood) as they could’ve been shorter. another caveat of this album is how less grand this album sounds compared to the first part album. i still enjoyed the experience nonetheless.

also, amnesia should’ve been the deluxe track or a canon for the first part album instead of being here. it sounds as good as the tracks there.

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Track List

1Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)
5:15
69
2True Blood
9:31
63
3Cabaret
4:32
feat. Drake
72
4TKO
7:04
79
5Take Back the Night
5:53
79
6Murder
5:07
feat. JAY-Z
78
7Drink You Away
5:31
65
8You Got It On
5:55
62
9Amnesia
7:04
75
10Only When I Walk Away
7:05
65
11Not a Bad Thing
11:31
66
Total Length: 1 hour, 14 minutes
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Added on: May 6, 2013