Timbaland on the Track: Madonna - 'Hard Candy'

For her eleventh studio album, ever-shrewd Madonna has teamed up with some of pop's biggest hit makers in her quest to keep on top of the game.

Usually a tastemaker herself, 'Hard Candy' sees the star tap into the already prevalent pop stylings of Timbaland and The Neptunes, who hog the production credits and place their trademark musical stamp all over the album. The brand of slick R 'n' B that makes them such in demand producers is the albums centre point, often outshining Madonna's pop sensibilities, to the effect that Madonna seems like a guest on her own record at times.

Next up is the lead single, and the first of a handful of Justin Timberlake collaborations, '4 Minutes'. It's typical Timbaland fare, with a punchy beat, marching band instrumentation, but it sounds more like JT featuring Madonna than her own track.

On 'Devil Wouldn't Recognise You', the main flaw of this album is most evident. The Timbaland production eerily echoes his much superior work with Justin Timberlake on 'Cry Me a River', down to the rain sound effects and vast beats. It doesn't even nearly match the genius of Timbaland's previous works. This blatant revisiting of old territory begs the question - Is Timbaland spreading himself too thinly?