So, 2006 was really Timbaland's year ... especially when he took the careers of Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado to new heights. Even that song he did with the Pussycat Dolls was hot. Now, I've been a fan of his work for several years now, especially everything he did with Missy Elliot, so I was pretty excited to hear he had a solo album dropping. Virtually every track is a collaboration, ranging from predictables (Missy, Furtado, JT) to the unexpected (the Hives, M.I.A., Fall Out Boy, She Wants Revenge, Elton John). Now having listened to that whole thing over at
MySpace, and I have some mixed feelings.The shows are heavy on electronics, with the three Timberlake collaborations sounding as though they would have fit right in on
FutureSex/LoveSounds. Also, the M.I.A. track is only on the Japenese Import, and the Hives collaboration is not included in the stream (actually it's listed, but the wrong song is in its place). It certainly has its catchy moments, however most of the time Timbaland spits the first verse quickly, and then moves aside to let the high-profile guests do the talking. "Kill Yourself" also bites its chorus directly from Kanye West's "Bring Me Down."All that being said, he certainly has created a party record with dashes of the experimental. As usual, Timbaland is at his best when blowing way past pop's barriers ... especially on "Bombay" and "Apologize" (my personal favorite). Even She Wants Revenge collabo, "Time" ain't bad. Seems like the future of Timbaland is bringing back 80's new wave, with dashes of world music. Of course, I'm sure he'll be taking things in an entirely new direction by year's end.
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