PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Justin Timberlake: Justified - CD - Jive 9224632

AMAZON
Common wisdom dictates that a debut album be given an autobiographical slant, so it's hard not to believe that Justified, Justin Timberlake's first non-*N Sync outing, doesn't purloin much of its subject matter from the singer's break-up with Britney Spears. Half of the songs are about the abrupt severing of a romance and the singer's rather hardhearted stance. Sure he may have been the wronged party, but that doesn't excuse the inflexible emotional posture revealed in "Cry Me a River", "Never Again", and the sniping "Last Night". He also appears to feel warranted in partaking in the salubrious joys of a swinging single life then boasting about it, since many of the songs seem to be almost gratuitously lascivious. Lines such as "I could think of a couple positions for you" from "Right for Me", and "Better have you naked by the end of this song" from "Rock Your Body" will catapult Timberlake right off Radio Disney. But Timberlake shines when he moonwalks into more adult terrain, turning his back on the innocent dance-pop that put *N Sync in the charts. With the help of hip-hop producers the Neptunes, Timbaland and P Diddy, Timberlake has turned out a remarkably cohesive and sophisticated slice of radio-friendly R&B. --Jaan Uhelszki