I'm not necessarily a person who instantly runs out and buys an album on the strength of one song but I HAVE been a big fan of many Timbaland-produced tracks in the past, from classic Aaliyah tunes to the more recent ones he has done with Nelly Furtado or Justin T . . . AND after hearing "Give it To Me" I knew I had to give the album a spin and see if it was worth the hype I'd heard about it. And within the space of one listen I was hooked - it is a GEM of an album!!!
TRACK LISTING
1. Oh Timbaland - Timbaland 2. Give It To Me - Timbaland & Nelly Furtado/Justin Timberlake 3. Release - Timbaland & Justin Timberlake 4. Way I Are - Timbaland & Keri Hilson/DOE 5. Bounce - Timbaland & Dr. Dre/Missy Elliott/Justin Timberlake 6. Come And Get Me - Timbaland & 50 Cent/Tony Yayo 7. Kill Yourself - Timbaland & Sebastian/Attitude 8. Boardmeeting - Timbaland & Magoo 9. Fantasy - Timbaland & Money 10. Scream - Timbaland & Keri Hilson/Nicole Scherzinger 11. Miscommunication - Timbaland & Keri Hilson/Sebastian 12. Bombay - Timbaland & Amar/Jim Beanz 13. Throw It On Me - Timbaland & The Hives 14. Time - Timbaland & She Wants Revenge 15. One And
Only - Timbaland & Fallout Boy 16. Apologize - Timbaland & One Republic 17. 2 Man Show - Timbaland & Elton John 18. Hello - Timbaland & Keri Hilson/Attitude 19. Come Around - Timbaland & MIA
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Timbaland (real name Tim Mosely) was born in 1971 and originally started his career as a dj. Helped in a huge part by Missy Elliot, he ended up becoming a producer for a label called SwingMob, and it was here he was given his now famous moniker - named after the Timberland boot!!! (Did he realise he didn’t spell it correctly or was that a copyright issue I wonder…)
Songs he has written and/or produced include such hits as "Pony" by Ginuwine, "Cry Me A River" by JT and Aaliyah's "We Need A Resolution"
THE ALBUM
The recent smash "Give It To Me" featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake is one of the standout tracks on "Shock Value" and I reckon this is a good representation of the album as a whole, therefore if you like that track, you'll probably like the album in general. I think the style of that song alone is hard to define - sort of a mix of hip-hop, disjointed beats, r & b and dance. This indefinable style is probably the type of music that Timbaland excels in, and is the reason why he is so popular as a producer.
Justin lends a hand again in “Release”, which is a funky, albeit slightly repetitive, track, which possesses a sinister-sounding hook which works its way into your brain and won’t let go.
“The Way I Are” is the winner of the album as far as I’m concerned, and I know I’m not the only one who thinks so. I had the video of it on my flashbox on bebo for about three weeks and quite a few people commented on what an excellent track it was. I could seriously listen to the song over and over again (and I have been doing so for about five weeks now). It features DOE and Keri Hilson. (I can’t say I had ever heard of Keri Hilson before but she certainly pops up on this album quite a lot) and is the kinda song I can DEFINITELY picture myself trying to dance sexily to in a club (if I hadn’t recently decided I was too OLD for clubbing that is - but I can dance sexily around my bedroom and PRETEND it’s a club I suppose).
Other tracks which are particularly prominent in my own opinion are “Fantasy” and “Scream”, which don’t really follow the typical Timbaland vibe but seem a lot more poppy in style. “Fantasy” features Money, another singer I haven’t heard of, and is quite sweet, sounding more like something Ashanti would do. “Scream” features Hilson again along with Nicole from the Pussycat Dolls, and it has a slight gospel side to it. I know, I know, it sounds weird. But strangely, it works!!!
I’ve read reviews of this album where people have made the observation that it seems Timabland has just taken any spare beats he had lying around, grabbed some random collaborators and just flung some stuff together. I don’t think this is the case. I think that while, for some of his tracks he has perhaps played it safe and erred on the side of caution, he has also not been afraid to try something different. For example, his collaborations with The Hives, She Wants Revenge, Elton John, and FallOut Boy. Probably not the first people you would expect Tim to hook up with!!! Of these three, the FallOut Boy collaboration is probably my favourite, but it is certainly more recognisable as one of THEIR tunes than a Timbaland produced song. Timbaland also works with people you would EXPECT him to work with on this album, like old friend Missy Elliot, Magoo and Dr Dre. To me, it is the collaborations with these people ("Bounce", "Board Meeting") which let the side down. They’re TOO hip-hop, trying TOO hard to be cool - and as a result, they just end up more than a little boring. In general though, the highs definitely outweigh the lows. Okay, so the lyrics may not be the world's most thought-provoking (although Timbaland certainly gets a couple of digs in at other people)- but not all of us look for that in music. In terms of original and cool beats, its pretty hard to beat.
SHOULD YOU BUY IT???
A couple of weak links aside, this is a really great album and if you are already a Timbaland fan, I would thoroughly recommend it. If you liked either “Loose” by Nelly Furtado or “Futuresex/Lovesounds” By JT. It is definitely in a similar vein to them, so it is a pretty sure bet you’ll like it. If you’re NOT such a big fan of these artists it’s perhaps an idea to download a couple of the tracks and see if there’s any that take your fancy.
But in general if you like r&b and hiphop, like a catchy tune and love to shake your ass to some decent tunes, then “Shock Value” could be exactly what you are looking for.
AVAILABLE ON AMAZON FOR £7.97
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Nice review. Am thinking of asking for this for Christmas, as I am loving the Apologize song, out at the moment!
LAuren
Expired-Account 06.08.2007 21:50
This is not to my taste, very helpful review
dvdsprks2 03.08.2007 15:55
I don't really get hip hop and like rhythm and blues or the dreaded r & b but I do like a lot of Justin Timberlakes work I must have heard of Timberland too, but your review is very good. David
Advantages: Such a variety of genres put together with great, slick production Disadvantages: A few weaks tracks, and would have been great to have Promiscuous Girl included
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Jul 15th, 2007
very helpful by (100%):
