Give Justin Timberlake credit for this: he has ambition. He's had ambition ever since he was the leading heartthrob in *NSYNC. He drove the teen pop quintet to the top of the charts, far exceeding their peers the Backstreet Boys, and when the group could achieve no more, he eased into a solo career that earned him great sales and praise, largely centered on how he reworked the dynamic sound of early Michael Jackson at a time when Jacko was so hapless he turned away songs that later became JT hits, such as the Neptunes-propelled "Rock Your Body." If Michael Jackson was the touchstone for Justified, Prince provides the cornerstone of FutureSex/LoveSounds, at least to a certain extent -- Timbaland, Timberlake's chief collaborator here, does indeed spend plenty of time on FutureSex refurbishing the electro-funk of Prince's early-'80s recordings, just like he did with Nelly Furtado's Loose, and Timberlake's obsession with sex does indeed recall Prince's carnivorous carnality of the early '80s. Each of the three opening songs has "sex" in their titles and Justin marries his innuendos to grinding, squealing synths that conjure the funky spirit of the Minneapolis Sound. Prince isn't the only R&B idol JT evokes here. He's also put together a Stevie Wonder-esque slice of protest pop in "Losing My Way," where he writes in the character of a man who had it all and threw it all away. This serious undercurrent when combined with Timbaland's retro-future production makes FutureSex/LoveSounds fascinating: Timberlake fuses a clear musical vision with a theatricality endemic to a show biz kid. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine