Janet.

Janet Jackson

Virgin Records, 1993

http://www.janetjackson.com

REVIEW BY: JB

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 08/23/1997

Opera being the first music that ever made an impact on me ("La Boheme", age 13), I tend to treasure "voice" over almost every other priority. Thus my interest in divas. But when ranking my "favorites", I do it ultimately by "technique". Whitney has a fuller voice but Alanis sings better.

Janet Jackson's vaulted position in my rankings therefore is justified. Sure she inheirited the Jackson Family's no-power vocals but the girl has some kick-ass funk going on. They don't make this kind of groove anymore; we have to settle for Gina G and other one-hit wonder dance groups.

Kicking off, "That's The Way Love Goes" is far from her typical material, and has obvious half-finished lyrics. It's still a good track because it's simply not *Janet*. To rephrase: simply not *Janet* and James Harris III-Terry Lewis-Jimmy Jam. The love-sex anthem has "growth" written all over it, though with artistry commercial viability always seems to suffer.

Change is all over this album. The songs have less bite, less funk. "You Want This," knowing Janet Jackson, could've been a lot more heart-starting but it teeters over the edge of - gasp! - midtempo. The song closest to her earlier material is "If" and even that is laid back somewhat. It's an excellent song dealing with the frustration of the Third Person. But I miss the funk, which has strangely disappeared from popular music.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Some of it has got to go; "THROB" is a lukewarm Sunday afternoon kinkiness which doesn't measure to much despite her in-studio orgasms. "Funky Big Band" isn't that funky, a boring-club-mix type song from beginning to end.

The change is great in some tracks, however. "This Time" features notorious soprano Kathleen Battle doing some surreal vocalizing in the background and, true to her prima donna form, the foreground in an extended bridge section. Jackson's vocals are equally determined and the two divas amazingly mesh well. It also shows that Battle has a hip side. "Because Of Love" also teeters on the edge of midtempo but it's not slow and uses the comfortable quality of Jackson's voice to full potential (I've heard some divas grate, but then again, I wouldn't know). The other ballads (last half of the album) are just as good, especially "The Body That Loves You" which is sort of an improved version of "That's the Way Love Goes".

My favorite change is "What'll I Do", for the reason that it was so unexpected. This song has zero funk in it but has a nostalgic 60's Motown feel to it. Even if her voice is all wrong for the song, you gotta admire her attempt at artistic experiment at this advanced stage of her career.

Some tracks echo of the Old Janet Jackson. "Where Are You Now", aside from being one if not the best ballad she has produced, reflects "Come Back To Me" ( Rhythm Nation 1814), perhaps a little too much. "New Agenda" expresses her social views with the loud and clear line " African-American woman / I stand tall with pride". The most blunt example however would be one of the interludes, "Go On Miss Janet" where a studio hand goes "Go on, girl" and an authoratative Jackson goes "Miss Janet." The hidden track "Whoops Now" (we know the title from her follow-up greatest hits package, Design of a Decade 1986/1996) which, in both theme and sound, has the light-heartedness of "Escapade" and an excellent, light way to end an otherwise heavy album ("linguila here we come / here we come now / to the restaurant / for some lobster" etcetera).

It's a little inappropriate to end the album with the word "Oops"; it's a solid effort by a woman, an African-American woman, with solid style. But the interlude overload is annoying, perhaps misleading, and the overall sound is too repeated. It's an experiment to be sure, but a large, extended 28-tracks of experiments with little blips in the surface of the pond. After personal freedom ( Control) and political freedom ( Rhythm Nation 1814), she had chosen to go for sexual freedom laced with some of the old stuff and the result is half-baked. She shouldn't rely too much on her sensual voice; nowadays there's Toni Braxton to compete with. Good job, but make sure you iron out some of that flatness ... Miss Janet.

Rating: B

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© 1997 JB and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Virgin Records, and is used for informational purposes only.