Shock Value II

Photographer: Albert Watson .
Shock Value produced a pair of smash singles in "Give It to Me" and "The Way I Are," thus necessitating a sequel. Timbaland does not stock Shock Value II with quite as many guests, and performs a higher percentage of the vocals, and what results is less schizophrenic and more directly pop than its antecedent. The highs here are not as high, and the lows are as low, unless you consider the very presence of Chad Kroeger and Daughtry, or the unveiling of Brandy's rapping alter ego Bran' Nu, to be more odious than a sub-Coldplay ballad. What does come through is that the producer has his sight set on a younger crowd, a notion apparent through the appearances from Miley Cyrus and Jojo, as well as the album's lack of a parental advisory label (not to mention that a contribution from convicted felon Chris Brown was extracted a couple weeks prior to the album's release). ~ Andy Kellman