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Pitchfork gave it a 3.8, not a 6.8. Nice try
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| rev8score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="The Observer">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/feb/04/justin-timberlake-man-of-the-woods-album-review |title=Review for Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake |work=[[The Observer]] |accessdate=February 4, 2018}}</ref>
| rev8score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="The Observer">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/feb/04/justin-timberlake-man-of-the-woods-album-review |title=Review for Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake |work=[[The Observer]] |accessdate=February 4, 2018}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev9 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev9score = 6.8/10<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/justin-timberlake-man-of-the-woods/ |title=Justin Timberlake: Man of the Woods Album Review |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |accessdate=February 5, 2018}}</ref>
| rev9score = 3.8/10<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/justin-timberlake-man-of-the-woods/ |title=Justin Timberlake: Man of the Woods Album Review |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |accessdate=February 5, 2018}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev10 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev10score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/justin-timberlakes-man-of-the-woods-album-review-w516240 |title=Review for Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |accessdate=February 4, 2018}}</ref>
| rev10score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/justin-timberlakes-man-of-the-woods-album-review-w516240 |title=Review for Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |accessdate=February 4, 2018}}</ref>

Revision as of 12:40, 9 February 2018

Man of the Woods
Studio album by
Justin Timberlake
ReleasedFebruary 2, 2018 (2018-02-02)
Recorded2016–2017
Studio
Genre
Length65:54
LabelRCA
Producer
Justin Timberlake chronology
The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2
(2013) 		Man of the Woods
(2018)
Singles from Man of the Woods
  1. "Filthy"
    Released: January 5, 2018 (2018-01-05)
  2. "Supplies"
    Released: January 18, 2018 (2018-01-18)
  3. "Say Something"
    Released: January 25, 2018 (2018-01-25)

Man of the Woods is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. It was released on February 2, 2018.[2][3] The production of the album was handled by Timberlake, The Neptunes, Timbaland, Danja, J-Roc, Eric Hudson, and Rob Knox. The album's first single "Filthy" was released on January 5, 2018, followed by "Supplies" and "Say Something". Timberlake will embark on the Man of the Woods Tour in March 2018. The album is named after his son Silas, whose name means "Man of the forest".[4] "Filthy" and "Say Something" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Background

After completing the successful world tour for his previous records The 20/20 Experience and The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2, Timberlake took a one-year break and later returned to produce the soundtrack for the animated film Trolls in 2016. In a radio interview in May 2016 Timberlake first confirmed working on a new album but without a date set for release yet, "I think where I grew up in America has a lot of influence – Growing up in Tennessee — very central of the country — Memphis is known as the birthplace of rock & roll, but also the home of the blues, but Nashville's right down the street so there's a lot of country music."[5] Timberlake worked with producers Timbaland, Danja, The Neptunes, and Max Martin,[6] and in following interviews he stated, "It sounds more like where I've come from than any other music I've ever made... It's Southern American music. But I want to make it sound modern – at least that's the idea right now."[7] In December 2017, Timberlake's website displayed the logo featuring the letters "MOTW".[8] Rolling Stone physical magazine reported that the album would feature a collaboration with singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton.[9] Stapleton and Timberlake previously collaborated in a live performance at the 2015 CMA Awards, with some music publications speculating his next record may be influenced by Southern music.[10][11]

Release and promotion

Timberlake headlined the Super Bowl LII halftime show at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 4, 2018.[12] He confirmed via his social media pages that Man of the Woods will be released on February 2, with a video trailer introducing the album and the influence behind it, "this album is really inspired by my son, my wife, my family, but more so than any album I've ever written–where I'm from."[13] The album's lead single, "Filthy" was released on January 5 along with the album pre-order.[14] The song was released with a music video, and three additional videos by different directors will be released weekly beginning January 18, with "Supplies" being the first,[15] followed by the Chris Stapleton-featuring "Say Something" and "Man of the Woods". He also confirmed a performance at the 2018 Brit Awards.[16]

With the announcement of "Filthy", Variety confirmed guest appearances by Stapleton, The Neptunes and Alicia Keys on the album.[17] The cover art was photographed by Ryan McGinley.[18] An exclusive version of the album and its vinyl edition will be available at Target; both were made available for presale the day "Filthy" was released.[19]

Recording

File:ChrisStapletonCMA2015.jpg
Chris Stapleton is featured on the album's third single "Say Something".
Alicia Keys is featured on the album's eighth song "Morning Light"

Initial discussions for the album began several years before the production of the album, between Timberlake and Pharrell Williams. Production was placed on hold for two years, while Timberlake and wife Jessica Biel had their son, Silas. Production began between Timberlake, Williams and Chad Hugo, with the first song for the album being the title-track, which is the Latin translation of Timberlake's son's name.[20] Timberlake had not worked with Williams and Hugo (also known as production duo The Neptunes) after a label dispute with rap group Clipse during Timberlake's time with Jive Records. During an interview with Beats 1's Zane Lowe, Timberlake said: "It became challenging for him to work with any Jive artist at that point. If I’m being totally honest about it I was extremely hurt being caught up in the middle of it, but at the same time I had a shitload of money stolen, you know, from me by somebody else when I was in the group. I had already gone through legal troubles, and I kind of felt like, you know what, I’m at this point where I feel like I have so much ahead of me, I just don’t want to be in the middle of the record label and somebody that, you know, I consider a friend. And so I feel like I kind of just removed myself from the situation."[21][22]

As with FutureSex/LoveSounds, recording sessions for the album were loose and had multiple studios open for work. In one room, Danja and Timbaland worked, Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes, worked in another room and producer and member of The Y's, Rob Knox and Eric Hudson worked in another. A direction was not discussed among the production team too much, as Timberlake already had an idea of the direction he wanted the album to take.[23]

In an interview with Complex, producer Danja spoke of the recording sessions for Man of the Woods, "We didn't have any conversations about the current state of music and that's what we always do. We go in the studio and just do what we feel. This time around, I just feel like he had more of a direction. Like, when we did FutureSex/LoveSounds, we didn't have any conversations of direction or what's going on in the current state of music. We went in and had fun and made music." He also spoke about the vision that Timberlake had for the album: "I remember walking into the studio, and I'm like, 'So, what's the vibe?' He just raised his hands up like, 'This is the vibe.' And what he had on was a flannel, some Adidas, some jeans. He had his beard and a skully on. That was the vibe."[24]

Timberlake's wife, Jessica Biel and his son Silas, have uncredited vocals on a number of songs on the album. Biel appears on the album's lead-single "Filthy" and "Hers (Interlude)". When sequencing the album, Timberlake felt that "Filthy" was "a palette-cleanser, then we wanted to take you into the forest, take you outside, so I felt like I needed a voice of consciousness". Timberlake wrote Biel's parts for her, which were subsequently recorded on the Voicenotes iPhone application. Timberlake wanted her to sound like "the ghost, a presence, but we're following [her]". The "Hers (Interlude)" was recorded after Timberlake mixed the album's eleventh song "Flannel".[25][26]

When announcing his Man of the Woods Tour, Timberlake revealed the inspiration for both the album and tour came from the outdoors as well as his family, "The outdoors is the inspiration for a lot of these songs. That's the main idea. The tour will be able to bring the outside in. How can we bring that to life? I want people to see the inspiration for how it ended up sounding. I've never seen that done before: Bring the outside in."[27][28]

Chris Stapleton (who is featured on the album's third single "Say Something") was initially only writing songs with Timberlake, before being asked to sing on the song, “I really just went out to Los Angeles to write songs with him, it’s a very fluid process with him, there’s a lot going on. That was one of those things where there wasn’t necessarily a plan. He was like ‘All right, you hop in there and take a verse,’ and I’m like, ‘You want me to do what?’ ... It came out great. I had a blast with him, he’s a great creative force and one of those guys that if you get a chance to work with him, you should.”. Stapleton also has writing credits on other songs on the album, including the Alicia Keys-featuring "Morning Light" and "The Hard Stuff" as well as guitar on the lead-single "Filthy".[29]

Music

The genre of the album incorporates traditional R&B as well as influences from country and funk described as "...Americana with 808s".[30] In a second teaser trailer for the album, Timberlake said that the album has a number of influences. "It's meant to be heard outside even more than inside, I believe. You talk about those, like, Southern guitars and that sound that feels like heritage. That is me exercising my love for where I came from."[31] Rolling Stone described most of the album's first half is "cosmopolitan future-funk,"[32] while Variety stated the music is funk-soul.[33]

Ahead of the album release, Timberlake hosted a listening session with music industry insiders and members of the press. Associated Press commented the album features pop, R&B and electronic tracks.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic54/100[44]
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. ClubB-[34]
The Daily Telegraph[35]
Entertainment WeeklyB[36]
Exclaim![37]
The Guardian[38]
The Independent[39]
NME[40]
The Observer[41]
Pitchfork3.8/10[42]
Rolling Stone[43]

Man of the Woods received mostly average to mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 54 based on 24 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[44]

In Rolling Stone, Christopher R. Weingarten gave the album a positive review, saying "parts of Man of the Woods are his most exploratory music in years."[32] In Variety, Chris Willman expressed "there are plenty of reasons to like Man of the Woods, not least that it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it," and concluded "It’s the utterly weird boldness of Timberlake figuratively dragging Pharrell and Danja into the middle of a frosty field that makes the album memorable. This is undeniably the real him right now — funkster, family man, firewalker."[33] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard summarized his review saying, "Man of the Woods is worth exploring, but it’s already worth wondering how Timberlake follows it".

Man of the Woods received a B from Entertainment Weekly[45], while The Guardian and NME gave it three out of five stars.[46] In her review for The A.V. Club, Annie Zaleski said "At its best, this approach leads to sonic whirlwinds."[47] In Exclaim!, Ian Gormely gave the album a 5 out of 10 score, saying that the album is "immaculately produced and performed" but also noting that "sound and feel are no substitute for soul."[37] Jamieson Cox of Pitchfork rated the album 3.8/10 and called it "a huge misstep for the pop star" as well as "warm, indulgent, inert, and vacuous".[48]

Track listing

Credits adapted from liner notes.

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Filthy"
4:53
2."Midnight Summer Jam"
5:12
3."Sauce"
  • Timberlake
  • Hills
  • Elliott Ives
  • Mosley
  • Timberlake
  • Danja
  • Timbaland[c]
  • Ives[b]
4:05
4."Man of the Woods"
  • Timberlake
  • Williams
  • Hugo
  • The Neptunes
  • Timberlake[b]
4:03
5."Higher, Higher"
  • Timberlake
  • Williams
  • Hugo
  • The Neptunes
  • Timberlake[b]
4:18
6."Wave"
  • Timberlake
  • Williams
  • Hugo
  • The Neptunes
  • Timberlake[b]
4:24
7."Supplies"
  • Timberlake
  • Williams
  • Hugo
  • The Neptunes
  • Timberlake[b]
3:45
8."Morning Light" (featuring Alicia Keys)
4:02
9."Say Something" (featuring Chris Stapleton)
  • Timberlake
  • Stapleton
  • Mosley
  • Hills
  • Dopson
  • Timbaland
  • Timberlake
  • Danja
  • Dopson[b]
4:39
10."Hers (Interlude)"TimberlakeTimberlake1:01
11."Flannel"
  • Timberlake
  • Williams
  • Hugo
  • The Neptunes
  • Timberlake[b]
4:49
12."Montana"
  • Timberlake
  • Williams
  • Hugo
  • The Neptunes
  • Timberlake[b]
4:39
13."Breeze Off the Pond"
  • Timberlake
  • Williams
  • Hugo
  • The Neptunes
  • Timberlake[b]
4:11
14."Livin' Off the Land"
  • Timberlake
  • Williams
  • Hugo
  • The Neptunes
  • Timberlake[b]
4:53
15."The Hard Stuff"
  • Timberlake
  • Stapleton
  • Tadross
  • Hudson
  • Ives
  • Knox
  • Timberlake
3:15
16."Young Man"
3:45
Total length:65:54

Sample credits

  • "Sauce" contains a sample from "Juice vs Sauce" by Gino Russ.

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer
  • ^[c] signifies an uncredited producer
  • All vocals produced and arranged by Justin Timberlake.
  • "Filthy", "Midnight Summer Jam", "Hers (Interlude)", "Flannel" and "Young Man" contain additional vocals by Jessica Timberlake.
  • "Midnight Summer Jam", "Wave" and “Supplies” contain additional vocals by Pharrell Williams.
  • "Wave" contains bass guitar from Raphael Saadiq.
  • "Young Man" contains additional vocals by Silas Timberlake.

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[49] 3

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various February 2, 2018
RCA
[2]
United States Vinyl
[19]

References

  1. ^ a b Fekadu, Mesfi (January 17, 2018). "Timberlake previews album in forest-like space, bugs and all". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Aswad, Jem (January 2, 2018). "Justin Timberlake Announces New Album 'Man of the Woods'". Variety. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  3. ^ Weatherby, Taylor (January 2, 2018). "Justin Timberlake Announces New Album 'Man of the Woods,' Reveals Release Date". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  4. ^ "Still sexy but now fatherly, Justin Timberlake returns". The Straits Times. February 1, 2018.
  5. ^ Spanos, Brittany (May 6, 2016). "Justin Timberlake: 'I'm Definitely Working on a New Album'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  6. ^ Sonis, Rachel (October 17, 2016). "Justin Timberlake Says He's Been in the Studio With Pharrell, Timbaland and Max Martin". Idolator. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  7. ^ Svetkey, Benjamin (February 8, 2017). "Justin Timberlake on Fatherhood, His Uncertain Future and Being Best Friends With Jimmy Fallon". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  8. ^ "Justin Timberlake Teases New Music With Mysterious "MOTW" Logo". Rap-Up. December 30, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  9. ^ "Justin Timberlake's Teases Man of the Woods on New Website". Hip-Hop N More. December 30, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  10. ^ McDermott, Maeve (November 18, 2015). "Justin Timberlake may go country on his next album, says Timbaland". USA Today. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  11. ^ Bonaguro, Allison (November 18, 2015). "Ready for a Country Justin Timberlake?". CMT. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  12. ^ "Justin Timberlake headlines Pepsi Super Bowl LII Halftime Show". NFL. October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  13. ^ Weatherby, Taylor (January 2, 2018). "Justin Timberlake Announces New Album 'Man of the Woods,' Reveals Release Date". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  14. ^ Yoo, Noah (January 2, 2018). "Justin Timberlake Announces New Album Man of the Woods". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  15. ^ Legaspi, Althea (January 18, 2018). "Watch Justin Timberlake's Dystopian New 'Supplies' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  16. ^ @jtimberlake (January 30, 2018). "Excited to be performing #Brits! See you soon UK" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Aswad, Jem (January 3, 2018). "Justin Timberlake to Drop Four Videos Before 'Man of the Woods' Album Release". Variety. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  18. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (January 3, 2018). "Justin Timberlake Reveals Man of the Woods Collaborators: The Neptunes, Timbaland, Chris Stapleton, More". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  19. ^ a b Kaufman, Gil (January 3, 2018). "Justin Timberlake to Drop 'Filthy' Single on Jan. 5". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  20. ^ "Watch Justin Timberlake's Full Interview with Zane Lowe – HipHop-N-More". 19 January 2018.
  21. ^ "Pharrell Didn't Work With Justin Timberlake for Years Because of Clipse Label Problems, Justin Says – Pitchfork". pitchfork.com.
  22. ^ "Justin Timberlake Says Label Drama Stopped Him & The Neptunes From Collaborating".
  23. ^ Leight, Elias (January 9, 2018). "Justin Timberlake Producer Danja on Making the Wild, Futuristic 'Filthy'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  24. ^ Tharpe, Frazier (January 7, 2018). "Producer Danja Explains Why Justin Timberlake's "Filthy" Doesn't Sound Like A Country Song". Complex.com. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  25. ^ Beats 1 Radio (18 January 2018). "Justin Timberlake and Zane Lowe on Beats 1 [Part 1]" – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "Justin Timberlake Unveils Western 'Man Of The Woods' Tracklist – MTV UK".
  27. ^ Kreps, Daniel (January 8, 2018). "Justin Timberlake Announces Man of the Woods Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  28. ^ Kaufman, Gil (January 8, 2018). "Justin Timberlake Announces Man of the Woods North American Tour Dates". Billboard. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  29. ^ "Chris Stapleton Talks Working With Justin Timberlake on 'Say Something' & His Sneaky Appearance on 'Filthy'". Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  30. ^ Blistein, Jon (January 16, 2018). "Watch Justin Timberlake Tease New Album in Behind-the-Scenes Doc". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  31. ^ Holmes, Charles (January 16, 2018). "Justin Timberlake Thinks You Should Listen To His New Album Outdoors". MTV. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  32. ^ a b Weingarten, Christopher R. (February 2, 2018). "Review: Justin Timberlake Heads for the Country (Sort of) on 'Man of the Woods'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  33. ^ a b Willman, Chris (February 1, 2018). "Album Review: Justin Timberlake's 'Man of the Woods'". Variety. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  34. ^ "On Man Of The Woods, Justin Timberlake offers up uneven pop pastiches". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  35. ^ "Justin Timberlake goes back to his Nashville roots with mixed results – Man of the Woods, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  36. ^ "Review for Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  37. ^ a b "Review: Justin Timberlake 'Man of the Woods'". Exclaim!. February 2, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  38. ^ "Review for Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake". The Guardian. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  39. ^ "Review for Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake". The Independent. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  40. ^ "Review for Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake". NME. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  41. ^ "Review for Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake". The Observer. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  42. ^ "Justin Timberlake: Man of the Woods Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  43. ^ "Review for Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  44. ^ a b "Reviews for Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  45. ^ Greenblatt, Leah. "Justin Timberlake gets (halfway) back to his roots on Man of the Woods: EW review".
  46. ^ "Justin Timberlake – 'Man Of The Woods' Review". NME.
  47. ^ "On Man Of The Woods, Justin Timberlake offers up uneven pop pastiches". AV Club. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  48. ^ "Justin Timberlake: Man of the Woods Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  49. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
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