You know how your Mom always said that if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything? The same rule should apply to music - if you got nothing good to release, spare the buying public, unless you stand to profit in a big way. Shock Value II is now out, and Timbaland should’ve left it on the cutting room floor.
First off, let me say that Timbaland is one of my favorite producers of the last decade. Big Pimpin and Dirt Off Your Shoulder were ridiculous. Try Again was a seriously underrated single, and that sizzling electronic bassline still rattles my ribcage just from thinking about it. Say It Right is one of my favorite singles of the last five years. And those tracks are just the tip of the iceberg for a guy who’s built up a rep as one of the top producers in the game. The fact that he’s made hits with everyone from Jay-Z to Justin Timberlake and One Republic is a testament to the universal appeal of his beats.
Unfortunately, that’s part of the problem with Shock Value II. Maybe he got overconfident, or maybe he was just bored, but his choice of artists is questionable at best. Miley Cyrus? Seriously? I consider myself somewhat open-minded, but that’s pushing it. I like one track on this album:
And it’s telling that Morning After Dark is basically an elaborate variation on his 2007 hit The Way I Are.
The rest of the record is a combination of future Radio Disney hits, elevator music, and half-hearted club tracks bound to make the crowd sit down. This isn’t the Timbaland I came to appreciate back in the early 2000s, and it’s a shame that new fans are getting such a weak intro.
For someone who’s set the bar so high, I give this a 1.75 out of 5. Every artist should strive to put his or her best foot forward with every album they release, but Timbo’s career has taken a step back with Shock Value II.
Listen to samples and download the album:
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