Timbaland

By 2007, Timbaland got dance-flavored pop down to a science: giant, jittery bass lines; loose, snaking melodies; a guest roster that included some of the biggest names in music. Tim's sexy surrogate Justin Timberlake pops up on a few tracks (the best of which is "Give It To Me," where Nelly Furtado stops by for a threesome), but the real shock will come later when the legendary hip-hop producer teams up with Fall Out Boy ("One and Only"), the Hives ("Throw It on Me") and Elton John (the surprisingly decent "2 Man Show").

Timbaland can do whatever he wants. After the great hip-hop producer’s huge year in
2006, everyone and your grandmother wants to work with him. And on Shock Value,
almost everyone does: 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, Fall Out Boy, the Hives and Elton John
make appearances, among others. For the most part, the guests leave plenty of room for
Timbaland to do his thing. But on Shock, Timbaland’s thing isn’t quite what yo... More >