The reason people think Nelly Furtado is one hot mama or that Justin Timberlake has a sexy back is entirely due to eclectic producer, beat master and musician Tim Mosley, AKA Timbaland. Now, with his third solo release, Timbaland presents Shock Value to signal his own entrance into mainstream music, and it’s apparent he’s using a foghorn–or some other loud instrument.
Timbaland gives us 17 tracks of fantastic loops and beats–which could even make computer science majors want to dance–as well as solid performances from some of the featured artists on Shock Value. Guest stars–including aforementioned Timberlake and Furtado, as well as Dr. Dre, The Hives, She Wants Revenge, Missy Elliot, Fall Out Boy and a voiceless Elton John–help the album to branch out in myriad directions.
Shock Value intends to expand Timbaland’s musical directions and does it well enough. Occasionally, a track falls short. With so much material, one would think he could’ve pared down the act a bit to make a stronger album, but Timbaland chooses to be a victim of his own excess. Honestly, what bogs down certain songs are the laughable lyric moments.
Even the self-awareness Timbaland shows of his craftsmanship exudes the polar contrasts Shock Value provides. Telling the listener how well Elton John plays the piano is silly. “Scream,” a song all about sex that at first seems like a good song to have sex to, drags on without any singing to allow the listener a chance to “scream at the top of (his/her) lungs.” Of course, Timbaland starts to talk as if he were orchestrating the many couples who will be having sex to this song, which makes everything up to this point a joke, and dare I say, very tongue-in-cheek.
Timbaland may be one of the best, but the shock of Shock Value is its combination of so much bad with the oh-so-good. Nevertheless, Shock Value is entertaining, fun and somewhat experimental. I guess that’s what makes this disc valuable.