20100722

A music review: 'Shock Value II' by Timbaland

Origin: United States · Language: English
Genres: Pop, Dance, Pop Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B
Release: December 4, 2009

Producers: Timbaland, Barry Hankerson, Jim Beanz, J-Roc, The Fray, 
Polow da Don, Ryan Tedder 

Labels: Blackground, Mosely Music

I have mentioned about Timbaland's Shock Value II album once on my old blog, but that criticism was just from what I saw on the top layer. Of course, you can never deny the awesomeness of this rapping / singing / producing master, judging from the peeps he bonded together for both of his Shock Value albums and the diverse sounds the albums have produced.

This piece is actually coming from the hands of one of the genius musicians out there. Below is one of the tracks coming from the 'sequel' of sorts to the first Shock Value album.

#6: Tomorrow In a Bottle; Timbaland feat. Chad Kroeger & Sebastian


The first time I listened to Shock Value II, all I had in mind was; "Okay, he's got another set of artists with him. Another 'compilation' album. Get a new act, dude." I mean, there's nothing else that's shocking other than the different set of artists he featured. This time around, each and every song has the same, familiar vibe to it, despite the featured artists' field of genres (including the tracks that features Jet and Daughtry respectively).

And then, I came across the song Tomorrow In A Bottle. You see, I got a hunch that this number is definitely gonna have a sort of deep meaning to it, since the song features Nickleback's front man, Chad Kroeger on the chorus. Nickelback happens to be one of the bands that is most notable for writing inspiring songs as far as I know. It's a very catchy Pop-ish song incorporated with Kroeger's unique rockstar vocals. The song talks about not procrastinating in fixing up the wrongs in your life so that in the end, you can laugh about it (the 'bottle' probably representing the feeling one will have after the problems are resolved... or maybe it means alcohol?). I wonder why this song was not a single?

Other songs which I think has a strong message would be the song Say Something featuring the Canadian rapper, Drake. It's about how success can break a relationship apart; be it with your friends, soul mate or family members. This one however was released as a single. And just like the previous Shock Value album, Timbaland once again remixed a self-explanatory-titled track from his proteges, OneRepublic entitled Marchin On which the original is included in their second album, Waking Up. This time around however, it was not featured as single.

All in all, it looks like this time around, Timbaland actually followed the true purpose of making music; that is to express himself, but with the help of his featured artists. Nice one, man.

No comments: