Almost always I find myself loving them tracks that proudly can put the name Timothy Zachery Mosley among the production credits and the first volume of "Shock Value" was good. Damn good even. Just the whole mix of people, sometimes out of their ordinary element and comfort zone, on great Timbaland productions. A cash cow deluxe. So why not try to milk the most out of it? It worked for N.A.S.A earlier this year so why not?
The catch is, this, Timbaland's third solo studio album, is just serving as the second volume of the platinum-selling "Shock Value" which topped charts worldwide and received 16 platinum certifications, it's just an elongation to the previous release and feels a bit forced to say the least. Timbo feels stuck. Take the leftover 'Crazy Girl' featuring Justin Timberlake as an example. Why was it left out? It's a great track. Waaay better than some that actually made it all the way to the actual album tracklist. An album full of old collaboration partners like J.T, One Republic, Keri Hilson, D.O.E and Nelly Furtado. Wonder if he has trouble to cut the old umbilical cord... But all 17 tracks on the deluxe edition aren’t tumble dry, thank God.
Hearing Brandy aka. Bran'Nu rap on 'Meet In Tha Middle' & 'Symphony' is more than refreshing, 'Ease Off The Liquor' is pretty catchy, Parisian SoShy, Timbo's latest find is amazing and Drake sounds great on 'Say Something' (listening to it now actually made me cry, that’s how good it is).
My natural habit is to complain that an album is too short but this deluxe edition has the opposite problem. 17 tracks feels like at least 3 too many. And the standard edition is 13 tracks long but actually suffers the same problem. Wished that Timothy would have killed some of his darlings and I wouldn't miss that super unnecessary intro by DJ Felli Fel (like whyyyy?!, he says it himself "With shit like this you don’t need a intro") nor 'We Belong To The Music' ft. Miley Cyrus or the absolutely hideous 'Long Way Down' ft. Daughtry.
Best track of the album (besides the obvious singles 'Morning After Dark' ft. Nelly Furtado & SoShy, 'Say Something' ft. Drake & 'Carry Out' ft. J.T). is 'The One I Love' ft. Keri Hilson & D.O.E. Why? Definitely not cause off that old equation Keri & D.O.E, no listen closely and you hear the first part of the familiar anmd oh so lovely 'Popcorn'-instrumental by Gershon Kingsley. 
Hopefully Timbo realizes that a third volume would be to sign a death certificate... But well, I know, this shit is gonna sell. Most tracks off the album are tailor made for the radio and just by the mixture of featured artists will appeal to ALOT of people.
It’s like he self puts it: "I'm really proud of the calibre of artists on this album and all the work they put into making it a success. I can promise that no one has ever heard Katy Perry, The Fray, or Brandy sound like this before. It’s exciting because not only am I giving fans the best of me on each track, I’m giving them a glimpse of their favourite artist in a completely different light. This is an album that can be listened to from start to finish every single time because each song is so unique and the range of artists so diverse. I can’t wait for my fans to hear the collaborations".
But as I said, and here I have to clash with good old Tim above, 17 tracks are too many in a row, esp. listening to the album from beginning to end; it feels like cramming to be frank. "Shock Value II" is definitely not a shocker, far from, it's just s predicable as 1 2 follows by 3 4 5... The album is just repetitive and cranking old shit out, in different shapes.
Timbaland ft. Justin Timberlake - 'Crazy Girl' YSI | zShare Timbaland ft. Drake & Lupe Fiasco - 'Say Something' (Remix) YSI | zShare 
Listen to Timbaland - "Shock Value II" via Spotify
Monday, 7 December 2009
Review: Timbaland - "Shock Value II" | ♥ ♥ X X X
4 comments:
I can't necessarily agree wholeheartedly with this review. While I agree that the intro is unnecessary, it is not as bothersome as you imply. The albums moves as flawlessly as possible from one to the other considering how unique each track is. Where the first volume of "Shock Value" seemed like a B-Sides release of Timbo's work, "Shock Value II" seems to be Timbaland perfectly within his element. He does an even job at showcasing artists in ways we have never witness before, and for the most part it surpasses the first volume in this aspect (with the exception of perhaps "Apologize" and "The Way I Are". I am disappointed that you failed to mention the Jojo-featured track "Lose Control." We haven't heard her sound this good in a long time and Timbaland doea a great job and showing Jojo's vocal and musical growth as an artist. While there are weaker tracks ("We Belong to the Music" and "If We Ever Meet Again," the latter because of overproduction, the album as a whole is one of the strongest of 2009. You also seemed to look completely past the guaranteed club hit "Can You Feel It" as a powerful cut on the record. The beat and chorus are infectious at the very least and driving trance vibe makes the track addictive.
Standout Tracks:
"Symphony"
"Lose Control"
"Say Something"
"The One I Love"
"Meet Me in The Middle"
I can't necessarily agree wholeheartedly with this review. While I agree that the intro is unnecessary, it is not as bothersome as you imply. The album moves as flawlessly as possible from one track to the other considering how unique each track is. Where the first volume of "Shock Value" seemed like a B-Sides release of Timbo's work, "Shock Value II" seems to be Timbaland perfectly within his element. He does an even better job at showcasing artists in ways we have never witnessed before, and for the most part it surpasses the first volume in this respect (with the exception of perhaps "Apologize" and "The Way I Are"." I am disappointed that you failed to mention the Jojo-featured track "Lose Control." We haven't heard her sound this good in a long time and Timbaland does a great job at showing Jojo's vocal and musical growth as an artist. While there are weaker tracks ("We Belong to the Music" and "If We Ever Meet Again," the latter because of overproduction), the album as a whole is one of the strongest of 2009. You also seemed to look completely past the guaranteed club hit "Can You Feel It" as a powerful cut on the record. The beat and chorus are infectious at the very least and driving trance vibe makes the track addictive.
Standout Tracks:
"Symphony"
"Lose Control"
"Say Something"
"The One I Love"
"Meet Me in The Middle"
mmhmm..timbo should take a break then comeback with new music new beats new sounds something new!!
he just sounds old to me:/
alot is not a word...a lot
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