I’ve never been one to seek out any Justin Timberlake album upon release. *NSYNC’s No String Attached is a different matter, a quest joined by 2.399999 million others. While I eventually added both Justified and FutureSex/LoveSounds to my collection, I haven’t bought The 20/20 Experience, dissuaded by the album’s overlong, meandering tracks. (Timberlake’s predilection for puff seems to have clouded his judgment in the editing department.)

But today’s premiere of “Take Back The Night,” included on Part 2 of The 20/20 Experience, might just spur me to pre-order Timberlake’s new set of songs, out September 30. Co-written with Timbaland, Jerome “J-Roc” Harmon, and James Fauntleroy, and produced by Timberlake, Timbaland, and J-Roc, “Take Back The Night” captures the retro-disco zeitgeist by mixing Off The Wall-era MJ stylings and some lush Love Unlimited Orchestra strings. It’s exactly the kind of setting in which JT shines so effortlessly.

The album version of “Take Back The Night” clocks in just shy of six minutes, but I’ve no complaint with an extended groove when it’s good:

With Timberlake and Robin Thicke locked in a battle of the blue-eyed soulsters, in which YouTube serves as arbiter of the artistic merit of topless ladies, you’d think JT would steer clear of courting more controversy. But with Thicke being called upon to defend what some call “rapey lyrics” in “Blurred Lines,” I find it hard to fathom that no one in Timberlake’s circle ever raised the point that the phrase “Take Back The Night” carries an entirely different and widely known connotation. Maybe weed precludes the use of Google?

Purchase Justin Timberlake – “Take Back The Night” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.