Janet Jackson : Releases >>

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Up until this point in her career Janet Jackson had been the good little girl of the family Jackson. 1993's Janet is where she gets all grown up and sexy--gone are the days of "Let's Wait a While", replaced instead by tracks chronicling the joys of being able to "boom boom boom until noon noon noon" ("Throb"). Janet contains something for everyone, from the huge-scale epic "Back" (with orchestral and operatic backing!) to poppier offerings such as "That's the Way Love Goes" and "Because of Love"; from the mushy ballads which she does so well ("Again") to the dance grooves which have you picturing synchronised dance routines in your head ("You Want This", "If"); and she even has a vague stab at folk on "What'll I Do". Janet co-wrote and produced the entire album with long-time collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and it features a handful of hits, as well as even more of the between-song interludes of which she has always been so fond. This was the album that made Janet a superstar, and on it, you can hear why. --Ronita Dutta

20 Y.O. >>

Janet Jackson opens her much-hyped, post-wardrobe-malfunction return to the studio with the following proclamation: "I've covered a lot in my 20 years, and I've uncovered a lot in my 20 years." There's a pause, then a giggle. And then comes an honest breakdown of this disc's DNA: "I want to have fun," chimes Janet (or J., or Miss Jackson if you're nasty and can remember that far back). Fun, then, is what we get. With a light heart, a light vocal touch, and no shortage of quips and unstaged-sounding between-song cut-ups, Janet and her Jermaine Dupri-helmed posse pull together a Sunday afternoon picnic of a disc: "Enjoy," among 20 Y.O.'s standouts, hauls in a kids' choir to reinforce the keep-it-simple, spirits-skyward vibe; "So Excited" reaches back to Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" for a subtle retro reference point; "Show Me" and "Do It 2 Me" buzz along to infectious midtempo sound melanges; and "This Body" is a heavy breather reminiscent of Damita Jo's likable smut. Nelly puts in a house call for "Call on Me," another easy-beezy standout and 20 Y.O.'s nod to name-dropping, but overall it's easiest to praise this fresh and frolicsome disc for what it does without--in a break from current pop customs, nothing's twitchy or trying too hard. -- Tammy La Gorce

1987: Control: Remixes >>

Design Of A Decade 1986-1996 >>

This decade-spanning compilation charts the singer-dancer-actress's transformation from rebellious teenager to sexy diva, along the way check-listing major hits like "Nasty," "Miss You Much," "What Have You Done for Me Lately?" and "Rhythm Nation." Two new tracks bookend the set, but even the older material--most of it helmed by writer-producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis--holds up remarkably well. --Courtney Kemp

Control >>

"Free at last / Out here on my own," Janet Jackson sings on the title track of her 1986 blockbuster, Control, an album about personal liberation, romantic longing, and, of all things, sexual responsibility. After two albums of middling dance-pop that were comfortably in the Jackson family mold, Janet dropped in on the burgeoning Minneapolis funk factory of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and came up with five top 10 hits, including the opening triad of "Control," "Nasty," and "What Have You Done for Me Lately," as well as the yearning "When I Think of You" and "Let's Wait Awhile," that rare song (considering some of Janet's hits to come) about not having sex. In its own way, Control is the most convincing declaration of artistic independence since Stevie Wonder's "Music of My Mind." --Daniel Durchholz

Discipline (Ltd Dlx Ed) >>

Velvet Rope >>

Teaming with her most accomplished collaborators, producer-songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson delivers what is easily her finest record since Rhythm Nation--and arguably her best ever. Highlights include jams like "You" and "Got 'Til It's Gone", which recontextualises samples from War and Joni Mitchell, respectively; the funky memorial to a dear departed, "Together Again"; and a slinky cover of Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night". Best of all, though, is "What About." An accusatory throw-down for a lover who beats and cheats even as he professes his love, it swings angrily between tender quiet and raging bitter funk. --David Cantwell

Janet Jackson : Releases >>

Discipline >>

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