By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

Among his assorted (and sordid) professional accomplishments, Sean “Puff Daddy” “P. Diddy” “Diddy” Combs (or whatever alias he’s going by these days) helped to make it acceptable (almost expected) for the producer to shine as brightly as (sometimes brighter than) the artist he’s producing.

Timbaland (nee Tim Mosley) is another such producer in the Diddy mold. His track record with top artists such as Missy Elliott, Ludacris, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado and the late Aaliyah, among others, speaks for itself. Firmly rooted in hip-hop culture, he maintains his ties to that scene even when he steps out minus former collaborator Magoo (albeit for the track “Boardmeeting”) on “Timbaland presents Shock Value” (Blackground/Interscope). Opener “Oh Timbaland,” which makes good use of a Nina Simone sample, but unfortunately relies on the passé “N-word,” assures listeners that he’ll keep the “killer beats” coming. The aforementioned Furtado straps it on for “Give It to Me,” which is a decent hip and shoulder shaker, and is joined by Timberlake, who tries his best to maintain the sexy he brought back with aid of Timbaland. Timberlake has better luck on “Release,” which puts sexy on its back and then has its way with it. Songwriter Keri Hilson makes the transition to dance diva on “The Way I Are,” “Scream” and “Miscommunication.” After working with Jay-Z, it’s not all that surprising to find Fall Out Boy here on “One and Only,” and new new-wavers She Wants Revenge also at home on “Time.” Sadly, sexist slop such as “Come and Get Me” isn’t shocking as much as it is disappointing and threatens to derail the whole affair.

Mark Ronson is a producer who is as in-demand as Timbaland. Like Timbaland, Ronson has also lined up a mind-blowing assortment of musical guest performers on his delightful “Version” (RCA) album. A clever celebration of other people’s songs, interpreted by different musicians, all processed in Ronson’s signature retro-soul style, “Version” is practically impossible to resist. He draws on more recent material, as in the case of diva of the moment Amy Winehouse’s intoxicating version of “Valerie” by The Zutons, Lily Allen’s rendition of The Bravery’s “Oh My God,” the heavenly shine that the Daptone Horns put on Coldplay’s “God Put a Smile On Your Face” and Radiohead’s “Just” as performed by Phantom Planet, with success. And Ronson excels when he extends his reach to include an early Bananarama-esque take on The Jam’s “Pretty Green,” featuring Santo Gold; on Robbie Williams’s restrained reading of The Charlatans’ “The Only One I Know;” and on the “Stop Me Medley” in which Daniel Merriweather borrows some soul from the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and applies it generously to the Smiths’ “Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One.”

Amy Winehouse performs at Lollapalooza in Grant Park on Aug. 5.