| Product Summary | | Label: Jive Records | | UPC: 00012414182326 | | Release Date: 11/5/2002 | | Buy.com Sku: 60575260 | | Item#: MSNQCD | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 25050 | Format:  CD |
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Justin Timberlake (vocals); Bubba Sparxxx, Clipse (rap vocals); Bill Pettaway, Benny Kenny (guitar); Damon Bennett (flute); Scott Storch (clavinet); Thaddaeus Tribbett, Nathan East (bass); Prescott Ellison, George "Spanky" McCurdy (drums); Vidal Davis, Frankie "Knuckles" Walker (percussion); Janet Jackson, Pharrel Williams, Lainie Aguilar, Timbaland, Marsha Ambroise, Tyrone Tribbett, Vanessa Marquez, Greater Annointing (background vocals); Brian McKnight; Charles Veal & The Southwest Chamber Orchestra. | | Producers: The Neptunes, Timbaland, The Underdogs, Williams and Hugo, Brian McKnight. | | JUSTIFIED won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. The album was also nominated for Album Of The Year. "Cry Me A River" won for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. | | Personnel: Justin Timberlake (background vocals); Timbaland (vocals, background vocals); Janet Jackson, Pharrell Williams, Vanessa Marquez (vocals); Clipse, Bubba Sparxxx (rap vocals); Bill Pettaway, Bernard Kenny (guitar); Charles Veal, Southwest Chamber Orchestra (strings); Damen Bennett (flute); Scott Storch (Clavinet); Omar Edwards (keyboards); George "Spanky" McCurdy (drums); Vidal Davis (percussion); Marsha Ambrosius, Tye Tribbett & G.A., Greater Anointing (background vocals). | | Audio Mixers: Dave Pensado; Jimmy Douglass; Serban Ghenea; Timbaland. | | Recording information: Backroom Studios, Glendale, CA; Manhattan Center Studios, New York, NY; Master Sound Recording Studios, Virginia Beach, VA; Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA; The Studio, Philadelphia, PA; Underlab Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, CA; Windmark Recording, Virginia Beach, VA. | | Photographer: Steve Klein . | | With his debut solo album, Justified, Justin Timberlake borrows from Michael Jackson, from the Thriller-era getup and poses to the sharply modernized spin on the classic Off the Wall sound. To be sure, the sound of the Neptunes productions which dominate Justified is the best thing about the album; they have a lush, sexy, stylish feel that is better, more romantic than most modern R&B. Timberlake is a technically skilled vocalist, with a smooth falsetto. The songs are pretty on the surface -- apart from some flop Timbaland productions (which he redeems with the slinky funk of "Right for Me"), the sound of Justified works well. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine | | Growing up is hard to do, as any teen pop idol will attest. Still, showbiz kids are nothing if not savvy, so they know it's better to make the jump than to idle as an idol, no matter how hard that jump may be -- and no matter how hard they try, it's hard to judge the distance, and they may miss their mark. With his debut solo album, Justified (face it, that title was a given), Justin Timberlake misses his mark slightly; he hits much closer than fellow Mickey Mouse Club alum Christina Aguilera did with her Stripped, but he's uneasy as a suave, mature loverman, particularly because much of his stance is borrowed directly (and rather improbably) from Michael Jackson. JT -- a shorthand nickname that's distressingly inevitable -- shamelessly borrows from Jacko, from the Thriller-era getup and poses to the sharply modernized spin on the classic Off the Wall sound. To be sure, the sound of the Neptunes productions which dominate Justified is the best thing about the album; they have a lush, sexy, stylish feel that is better, more romantic than most modern R&B. Too bad they're delivered by such a cipher. Though he's turned into a technically skilled vocalist, he's still too much of a showbiz kid -- all technique and surface, not much substance. His falsetto may be smooth, but it's utterly without character, which unfortunately describes the songs too: pretty on the surface, but devoid of memorable hooks. This means that what truly stands out is when he breaks from form and tries to prove how street and hip he is, delivering awful double-entendres like "I can think of a couple of positions for you" and "get real wet if you know what I mean" and exhorting the fellas and ladies to sing separately in a cringe-worthy affectation on "Senorita." When he sings that he'll "have you nekkid by the end of the song," he doesn't sound like a seductor, he sounds like a kid actor awkwardly assuming a new persona. This isn't without merit -- the sound, apart from some flop Timbaland productions (which he redeems with the slinky funk of "Right for Me"), works well, and if these cuts were songs instead of tracks, his bland falsetto would be fine. This sure isn't the musical immolation of Christina's ugly Stripped. Unlike that album, this suggests a direction Timberlake could follow in the future, given stronger songwriting collaborators. But Justified is just sound and posturing, with no core. [Bad packaging alert: the foldout booklet for Justified is merely stuck into the digipak for the album, with no sleeve or slot to house it; it's guaranteed to get beat up or lost.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine | | JUSTIFIED may represent Justin Timberlake's attempt to break out of the boy band mold and be taken seriously as a musician, but N Sync and, more specifically, ex-beau Britney Spears continue to serve as red flag reminders of these specific times. Ballads like "Never Again" and "Nothin' Else" bear the markings of classic break-up songs but, far from licking his wounds throughout the rest of this debut, Timberlake includes a number of cuts that celebrate being single including the Timbaland-produced cut "Right for Me" and equally the thumping "Rock Your Body." Other names this teen idol nabbed in a quest for credibility are red-hot producers the Neptunes and P. Diddy. | | In keeping an R&B element as the touchstone for this debut, Timberlake dishes out a number of surprisingly stellar songs including the very mellow, Stevie Wonder-flavored "Nothin' Else," Latin-soaked "Senorita," and infectious "Like I Love You." In delivering such a mature record, Justin Timberlake has created a springboard to bigger and better future projects. |
Engineer: Chris Wood; Dabling Harward; Eddie De Lena; Andrew Coleman; Senator Jimmy D; Steve Penny; Tommy Vicari |
Musical Guests | | Janet Jackson | | Brian McKnight | | Timbaland | | The Clipse |
| | Artist Overview | | Though he first came to fame as a member of the definitive boy band N Sync, Justin Timberlake gained superstar status after stepping out on his own with his first solo album in 2002. JUSTIFIED showed that there was more to the then-21-year-old Timberlake than teen pop, highlighting the young singer's pronounced R&B influences and positioning him as the Michael Jackson of the early 21st century. However, it was on FUTURESEX/LOVESOUNDS that J.T. proved himself a true artist, bringing "sexy" back as well as intelligent, well-crafted pop music aimed at a universal audience. The seemingly unstoppable star was able to forge a legitimate film career, brush off controversies that appeared to immobilized his contemporaries, and go on to become on of the most popular and ubiquitous artists of his generation. |
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| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 11/05/2002 | | Original Release Date : 2002 | | Catalog ID : 41823 | | Label : Jive Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00012414182326 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (12/26/02, p.112)
- Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2002"Rolling Stone (11/28/02, p.86)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...The Neptunes' brilliant, impertinent, full-body funk is, for the most part, what stays with you from JUSTIFIED..." Entertainment Weekly (11/1/02, pp.66-7)
- "...His smooth falsetto is an easy fit for the slinky quirks and rhythmic accents of the Neptunes and Timbaland...JUSTIFIED is a cohesive and fairly lean work..." - Rating: B Q (01/01/04, p.83)
- Ranked #5 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums of 2003" - "[T]imberlake deliver[s] a masterclass in playful, pop-friendly R&B..." Uncut (1/03, p.115)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...On 'Let's Take A Ride' he offers to deliver you from your humdrum existence. Go with him..." |
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