Sometime during the noughties, pop music performed a 360 degree turn and became more about the producer than the performer. Just like in the days of Spector and Bacharach, knob-twiddlers like the Neptunes and (of course) Timbaland were the ones worth watching: they were, with the occasional honourable exception, the only real acts making interesting sounds in the mainstream. Cannily realizing that pop music in its purest form is so much more than “pretty ditties”, Timbaland in particular produced some truly visionary, genre-straddling sounds. Sadly, though, in the last few years he’s floundered and his third solo record Shock Value II might have all of pop’s heavy hitters (Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, One Republic etc) on board, but none of the substance of recent years.
It’s not all mediocre. ‘Meet In The Middle’ has an infectious groove, ‘Carry Out’ (which sadly isn’t a song about drinking cans before you head out for the night) is as strong a song as he’s ever written and the Katy Perry track (‘If We Ever Meet Again’) is a knowingly cheesy but still fun romp. However, the album falls down because for the most part it sounds like Timbaland on cruise control. There’s nothing to rival the likes of ‘Cry Me A River’ or even ‘SexyBack’ and apart from the Miley Cyrus track (‘We Belong To The Music’) he takes no real musical gambles.
Looks like it’s time for the bands to shine once more and the producers to get back behind the desk.
Key Track: ‘We Belong To The Music’