Justin Timberlake followed up his 2013 album, The 20/20 Experience, with a brand new album that is almost entirely produced by The Neptunes. Rob Knox and Timbaland produced 6 of the songs, while The Neptunes and JT handled the rest. This is by far JT’s most personal, and most experimental album. The title was inspired by the meaning behind Silas, his Grandfather and son’s name, so it made sense he choose Man Of The Woods as he attempts to put his Southern roots on display like never before. Timberlake’s ability to make bops has not left, so choosing my five favorite songs was harder than I thought it would be.
“Midnight Summer Jam”
The last time The Neptunes worked on a JT album was in 2002 for his solo debut, Justified. Label issues were the culprit behind the long gap since their previous collaboration. We didn’t have to wait too long to hear them working together once again on MOTW as track number two kicks off with a very braggadocios JT singing “Y’all can’t do better than this… Act like the South ain’t the shit” followed by some superb production by Pharrell and co. The name of the song says it all.
“Man Of The Woods”
I keep going back and forth on whether or not I like this song and can’t really decide. I’m guessing the kind of corny video he released doesn’t do it any justice. Not sure if this song will get any love on the radio, but crazier things have happened. At the moment, I’m going to go ahead and say this song is one of my five favorite songs but that could change. It sure is catchy. The bridge on this song is for sure one of the best on the album along with the bridge on “Supplies.”
“Higher, Higher”
JT slows down the pace of the album and sings about the troubles of dealing with stress and fame over another production by The Neptunes on track number five of the album. We’re used to hearing Timberlake sing about past relationships, but his dealing with fame is something we haven’t really heard from him before so this was an interesting peak into the person behind the artist.
“Morning Light” ft/ Alicia Keys
We have none other than Swizz Beatz to thank for this amazing song as he was the one to suggest adding Alicia Keys. JT stated in a recent interview that he didn’t envision this song being his first-ever collaboration with Keys, but it just ended up working out that way. Wouldn’t mind seeing a full-on JT and Swizz collaboration in the near future.
“Montana”
This song, yet another production from The Neptunes, feels like it could’ve found a spot on Daft Punk’s most recent release. Despite being from Memphis, Montana is a very important place for the man behind “SexyBack.” If Montana’s office of tourism doesn’t license the portion of song where JT gives the state a major shout-out for a commercial, then they aren’t doing their job right.
Other Key Tracks: “Young Man” & “Say Something”
Stream Justin Timberlake’s Man Of The Woods via Spotify and Apple Music.
