Intro:

Thanks to my old friend Tomas from infamous Team BSM, he sent me his full review of 'Justified'. Even though this is a Britney site, and most people would not be interested in this, I am putting it up due to Justin having said this album was written straight out of his heart after the breakup with Britney. This review is exclusive and one of the first you'll ever find on the Internet. Enjoy !

Justin Timberlake is a male popstar with talent. Justin is also close with the most popular girl in the world, Britney Spears. For this, he gets respect. Justin's new album, 'Justified', is getting production from N.E.R.D. (aka Neptunes) and they make some of the best beats ever (Noreaga - Superthug comes to mind.) Justin Timberlake, N.E.R.D. and Nelly (who Justin has collaborated with in the past) all share three things in common: money, music and girls. Have you ever seen the 'Lapdance' video?

That sums up the major reasons I am reviewing this album: girls and beats. I fully expect this album to have some of the best production I have ever seen. As usual, I am one of the first people in the world to hear this album. This album hits stores November 5, 2002 in North America.

Track by Track:
(US Version)

Señorita starts off with a piano and a taste of salsa. When the beat comes in, it drops strong. Right when Justin starts singing on this song, you are reminded of his NSync styles. We start with a song about how 'he doesn't love you.' The chorus is a little weak. When Justin instructs the guys and girls to sing to each other, it is a little bit childish. It sounds like an episode of Sesame Street. Although the meaning behind this song would be to chill with a lady till 8 in the morning, Justin does not pull it off without sounding softcore. This song is kinda cool because of its salsa feel.

Like I Love You is the first single off this album and for good reason. This uptempo song has the whole mexican feel with its acoustic guitar driving the beat. 'If you're smiling, that should set the tone' are some classic lyrics. 'You will know the difference when I touch you' is actually a line I have to use someday. The best part of this song is the same reason they play it on BET. Clipse does a decent job rapping and the beat is safe. 'Funny how a few words turned into sex.' Will this be a classic in three years? Who knows. The production on the beat is excellent. This is a great dance song.

(Oh No) What You Got has a straight up urban beat reminding me of some Missy. The whistling in the beat is safe. This mix of hip-hop and a really high voice from Timberlake is just plain weird. I would much prefer to hear Ludacris on this beat. I would consider this a very softcore hip-hop/pop song. I would like to dance to the instrumental of this song. I could see this as a single.

Take It From Here opens with 'sometimes the world gets hard.' Tell me about it after you have been homeless Mr. Timberlake. 'I wanna be your sky, so blue and high.' These lyrics are making me laugh. This song is weak. This is a slow song about love. 'I wanna be your lighthouse when you get lost.' This is terrible. I understand where Justin is coming from. He just wants a nice girl to cuddle with. I do not like how he says things like 'this world is so deceiving' to effectively try to comfort a girl. At least he says 'girl' every 10 seconds. Oh wait, that is annoying. This song is 6 minutes and 16 seconds too long.

Cry Me A River starts with water sounds and a guy who sounds like Andrea Bocelli. Then it introduces some hip-hop beat very few rappers could get away with. Maybe Busta. I in no way mean to offend any of the fantastic rappers I mention in this review. This song again is just weird. It is Justin singing, as usual. But keep in mind his (very high voice) singing and a bouncy hip-hop beat do not mix. This song is about some girl crying who keeps calling Justin. I think? When the rapper says a couple things, you get 10 seconds of hip-hop before going into an orchestration of hip-hop/pop/gospel. This song ends really awkwardly too.

Rock Your Body is a fun uptempo beat. It has some funk that an old Michael Jackson song might have. 'I don't mean no harm' is the strongest lyric I can find. I guess I forgot this album is for 11 year old girls when I started reviewing it. But then what is with the urban thing? 'Better have you nekked by the end of this song' is a pretty strong statement. Is Justin actually implying he would have some part in this? This song is weak. I don't know what else to say. The beatboxing closer to the end of this song is barely good.

Nothin' Else starts off with Justin sounding like Michael Jackson. Is it just me or does this album keep getting worse? 'Your eyes have a story that they wish to tell.' I can relate to those lyrics. The almost videogame sounding sounds on the chorus or whereever they are, suck, and do not harmonize with Justin's vocals. The melody on this is acceptable but still this song gets old really fast. This song has no punch at all like a pop song should. I don't know very much about how to judge somebody's vocal talents. If I did then maybe I could figure out if his voice is a good thing or a bad thing. Justin is most effective when he talks and does not sing. The violins as part of the beat close to end of this song for a couple of seconds are the highlight on this track. This song might contain the most classic lyric ever known to a CD: 'You're out of this world, except you're not green.'

Last Night starts off with an excellent beat. 'I just want to enjoy my life and show this world how to care' sounds good to me. The chorus really makes me think that someone told Justin to sing with the highest vocals he is capable of. The beat saves this song from being terrible. This is one of the better songs on this CD. Keep in mind, it is still boring. This song is like every other. It has some whining about playing games with some girl who he 'would have walked across the ocean for.'

Still On My Brain starts slow with a piano and some chime bells. Then an R&B beat comes in. 'I can try to act real strong but you and I both know it's hard for me to say you were my soul.' How sweet. This song is about how 'I could tell you I feel it's time for us to go our seperate ways.' This song is a ballad and this song sucks. La La La La La La La La La La La... This song sucks. La La La La La La La La La La La...

(And She Said) Take Me Now starts with a hip-hop beat and a female saying she wants sex. I do believe this song is about Justin meeting a girl on the dancefloor who said 'Take me now, right now.' 'Boy I feel like I gotta dance.' What a queer thing to say, Justin. In the middle of this song, I am actually curious if Justin will take this girl back to his mansion. Let us see what happens. We go back into the chorus. Now the chorus repeats once more. There's still two minutes left on the song.... Now the beat is changed as if a DJ is mixing in a new beat. Sounds like a N.E.R.D. beat. This new beat is excellent but I am confused. Now Justin is the one singing 'Take me now.' What a way to waste two minutes. There is no resolution. This song made no sense whatsoever. As Nelly once said, 'What good is all the fame if you ain't fucking the models?'

Right For Me starts with Justin saying 'I got plans tonight.' The rapper who comes in talking about positions is cool. He is telling some girl to take the stage. I don't know who this is. This song is starting to get boring. The rapper who then comes in has some very watered down weak rap. This song sucks.

Let's Take A Ride starts off sounding terrible. I mean that. But then I hear 'got laid off at your job today, you been working at this place for years. Though you were underpaid, mommy that place isn't worth your tears.' Where is this going? OK. So to solve this problem Justin suggests taking a ride 'on the countryside' and telling this girl she is the best. 'Wooowooowooo.' 'We could spend the night till the morning light, let's just get away.' This whole album is implying sex. 'It hurts me to watch you sing the blues.' Those are some classic lyrics. This song sucks. The chorus is alright.

Never Again starts off with a pleasant piano and a violin. 'Girl you lied straight to my face looking in my eyes.' As if that has never happened before. Justin really seems to care about what he is singing on this song. Good for him. This is a slow ballad which is alright I guess. It's a typical ballad so at least it is not weird. I guess this could be a single. 'You don't care that you hurt me.' I do not care that I am going to be giving this album a really bad review either. Even though I think this song is somewhat good, it has no punch. It's really really soft and boring. Justin should have had Celine Dion on this one.


Conclusion:

'Justified' was much worse than I anticipated. I actually thought the No Strings Attached album was pretty good. I guess Justin needs those other boys on tracks. When I started off saying Justin was a talented popstar, I guess that still holds true. He can make 12 year old girls scream and he can dance. Overall, this album is very weak. I think I'll stick to hip-hop when I want beats for the street. I don't really like Justin's voice and there is nothing special about the production other than when N.E.R.D. show up. The best song by far is the first single 'Like I Love You' and if the rest of the album followed, it could be good. This album is not worth picking up. 1 out of 5 stars.

Reviewed to World of Britney.com by Tomas.
Posted by Ruben

Please Note: I did not write this review myself, so it does not express my opinions or thoughts about it. Just want to make sure we got that clear after a couple of E-mails I received of people thinking I was actually giving Justin bad press, but the opinions expressed are only those of the author and that is it.- Ruben