Bringing Retro Back (Music Review: "Suit & Tie," Justin Timberlake featuring Jay-Z)

A lot of things have happened since he brought sexy back. Justin Timberlake is out with a new song, "Suit & Tie," and it's still sexy. He brings out his falsetto once again and we're all good for it. The track is a throwback to those 70s soul records, perhaps a little bit Marvin Gaye, a dash of Stevie Wonder? He modernizes it with a sensibility that is not unlike Robin Thicke's. Actually, a lot of people has said that he sounds exactly like Thicke in this record. I am a big fan of Thicke's music so I definitely see the similarities. Even Thicke himself has said that they have made similar records in the past so it's all good (I am kind of embarrassed to admit I saw him say that on "Watch What Happens Live")  "Suit and Tie" is essentially a love song, perhaps tied to his recent wedding to Jessica Biel. Look at the lyric: "Tell your mother that I love her cause I love you/ Tell your father we go farther as a couple/ They ain't lose a daughter, got a son." Jay-Z of course supplies the obligatory interlude, and while Hova is still Hova (I never thought I would hear a gangsta rapper reference fashion designer Alexander Wang) I kind of wish this was a "pure" song, retro style speaking. But it's all good, and a good precursor to Timberlake's forthcoming album.