Timbaland
“TIMBALAND PRESENTS SHOCK VALUE”
“Timbaland Presents Shock Value,” the super producer’s hour-plus of familiar innovations, is a decent listening experience, but it would have been a really great superhero franchise.
Nelly Furtado sets the scene in “Give It to Me,” the stuttery first single. “I’m a wonder woman, let me go get my rope,” she sings in that queen-of-the-corner snarl Timbaland brought out on her career-transforming 2006 album, “Loose.” Timba and Timber then each take a verse, feeding feuds and coolly popping muscles. The chorus unites the singers over a track that recalls a spaceship’s blinking control panel.
Flip your cape, Timbaland–we’re ready for the ride.
The guest cast on “Shock Value” easily could fill a few seasons of animated adventures. Dr. Dre, who rolls in alongside Missy Elliott for the aptly named “Bounce,” could be the Falcon; Fall Out Boy makes a fine Fantastic Four, with Pete Wentz in drag as Storm. 50 Cent, the Incredible Hulk! And hasn’t Elton John, who turns in a wicked piano jam, always wanted to play the Joker?
“Shock Value” presents the full spectrum of his sound to his new mainstream fans: icy, skittish beats; sweeping choral arrangements; an affinity for modern rock. Timbaland’s laser-focused sense of what pop should sound like has changed not only hip-hop but vast areas of pop, and it’s solidified here in daring beats and masterful arrangements. Yet the narrative pull that justifies the album format falls short.
A master alter ego, Timbaland seems to settle when it comes to his own persona. As musically rich as “Shock Value” can be, it doesn’t offer such powerful insights into its star. Yes, Timbaland, you can scale walls like Spider-Man, but where’s the Wolverine within?
RATING: 3 SOUND LEVELS
