The non-release of this album is a crime, pretty much. Easily the best work Timbaland’s done lately, along with Deliverence. Apparently the first single, “Make Me a Song,” wasn’t a big enough hit for the label and so Simple Girl hovers in this sort of industry stasis. It’s really a pity because this is one of the best R&B albums I’ve heard in ages.

Comparisons to Aaliyah are not particularly fair - Kiley Dean is no Aaliyah (though who is, really?). But what IS reminiscent of Aaliyah’s work (and Missy’s, for that matter) is the incredible relationship between producer and vocalist that seems to transcend the normal he’s-the-MC-I’m-the-DJ aesthetic of modern hip-hop and R&B. The beats are perfectly tailored to Kiley’s honey-dripped voice. Apparently Kiley was a back-up singer for Britney when Timbo overheard her singing and the two began to work together almost immediately. (You’ve probably heard her voice on “Nowhere,” the climax of Deliverence.

It’s interesting then that the first single would be “Make Me A Song,” a meta-style pop song that has Kiley requesting Timbaland for a song “like Rock Da Boat … that you and Missy wrote” - an interesting concept made stranger by the fact that Timbaland did not actually produce ‘Rock Da Boat’ in da first place. But still it bumps, overall a nice cut.

But it pales in comparison to the highlights of this album - most notably, “Keep It Movin,” which Tim Finney has expounded on elsewhere (see the Skykicking blog to the left), a track so elegent and evocative that it redefines any preconcieved notion of what a Timbaland track sounds like - its no club banger to be certain. Another favorite cut of mine is “Kiss Me Like That,” which starts off somewhat slowly but hits its beautiful stride in the chorus, where the texture of Kiley’s vocal harmonies (and there must be at least five different overdubs in her voice during the chorus) sounds absolutely heavenly, a transcendently beautiful moment that melts my heart. “Cross the Line” is a reworking of “It’s Hot (Some Like it Hot)” from Jay-Z’s Life and Times … Vol 3 but the mood of the original is entirely redefined - the entire track is an inner dialogue, Kiley trying to resist temptation - “I know you wanna cross the line/ but I can’t letcha” could be spoken to her man, but it almost sounds like she’s speaking to herself.

At 18 tracks there is suprisingly little filler, and although the lyrics are occasionally a bit inane (”War Song”) it never sounds anything less than genuine. Timbaland’s production is strikingly creative. Here’s hoping he continues to astound us, even as his output slows. And here’s hoping that the label releases this damn album.