The Daily Spin, December 22
Timbaland | Shock Value
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite songs from each album right here.
Album: Shock Value (2007)
Artist: Timbaland
Link:
It’s through listening to this album that I’m reminded what a powerhouse in production Timbaland was through most of the early 2000s - there’s a reason that he earned the ‘Emperor of Sound’ moniker through his work - but it’s also a reminder that even emperors have their flaws.
When Tim is good, this album is beyond fantastic - and tracks two through four embody that idea brilliantly, most notably in the collaboration with Keri Hilson and D.O.E. - this is Timbaland at his creative apex, combining sawing synths with a deceptively simple beat, one that spirals gradually into unraveling itself, a thread snagged and slowly unwound.
The rest of the album, unfortunately, feels pretty heavily dated - and though Timbaland is undeniably good at executing from his end, his need to include such a extended list of collaborators winds up feeling like the death knell for this album in many ways - the collabs with The Hives, She Wants Revenge, and Fall Out Boy do almost nothing for me, and though he hit gold with OneRepublic via ‘Apologize’, the rest feels like pyrite to me.
Rating: 7.5/10
Best Tracks: The Way I Are; Give It To Me
Worst Tracks: Kill Yourself