More like a startle

Timbaland

"Timbaland Presents Shock Value" (Interscope)

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IF a new release ever made the argument for pop abandoning the album format, it's "Timbaland Presents Shock Value." The kingpin producer's fourth name-brand release (three in partnership with rapper Magoo) and the first since hits with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado made him a household name beyond hip-hop, this hour-plus of familiar innovations is a decent listening experience, but it would have been a really great superhero franchise.

Furtado sets the scene in "Give It to Me," the sweaty, stuttery first single. "I'm a wonder woman, let me go get my rope," she sings in that queen-of-the-corner snarl Timbaland brought out on her career-transforming 2006 album, "Loose." Timbo and Timber then each take a verse, feeding feuds and coolly popping muscles. The chorus unites the singers over a track that recalls a spaceship's blinking control panel. Flip your cape, Timbaland -- we're ready for the ride.

The guest cast on "Shock Value" could easily fill a few seasons of animated adventures. Dr. Dre, who rolls in alongside Missy Elliott for the aptly named "Bounce," could be the Falcon; Fall Out Boy makes a fine Fantastic Four, with Pete Wentz in drag as Storm. 50 Cent, the Incredible Hulk! And hasn't Elton John, who turns in a wicked piano jam, always wanted to play the Joker?

Timbaland's upcoming projects with WWE wrestling and Rockstar Games might fulfill such fantasies; "Shock Value" has other fish to fry. It presents the full spectrum of his sound to his new mainstream fans: icy, skittish beats; sweeping choral arrangements; an affinity for modern rock. "Bombay" breaks out the \o7bhangra\f7 to prove his global roots, and "Time," with a vampiric cameo by She Wants Revenge, reveals the goth in his soul.

Other cuts point toward future projects. "Apologize" is a piano ballad that says hello to next month's client, Coldplay, by featuring OneRepublic, a barely known L.A. band with a serious debt to those Brits. Artists signed to Timbaland's Mosley Music Group litter the album, including the appealingly hiccup-prone singer Keri Hilson and rappers Sebastian and D.O.E. The cuts featuring Timbaland's already-famous friends are all Top 40 fodder.

Yet something falls short on "Shock Value." Timbaland's laser-focused sense of what pop should sound like has changed not only hip-hop but vast areas of pop, and it's solidified here in daring beats and masterful arrangements. Yet the narrative pull that justifies the album format falls short.