Janet Jackson
janet.

Ok. I am not a fan of Janet Damita Jo Jackson nor do I know her vast musical repertoire by heart. I believe that in the acclaimed, "cursed" Jackson family, the non-plus ultra is the author of "Billie Jean" and other splendid melodies, who has been deceased for almost more than a year.

Why talk about this artist, loved and hated, now unfortunately far from the great successes pre-Super Bowl XXXVIII of 2004 where one of her ample breasts was exposed by her friend Justin Timberlake, an act that cost her the flop of 3 studio albums, her singles, and her image? Janet Jackson represented until a few years ago the top of the top of the global pop/r'n'b music, her works were particularly appreciated by both the public and critics. Now Janet represents something that no longer exists, she is the embodiment of a Superstar who, due to a "false" step (that being the Super Bowl show, as already highlighted), can no longer rise with great dignity and splendor, roaring and powerful. Contemporary society, especially in the United States, shows bigoted attitudes, a tiny mistake can turn into a five-star negative media phenomenon which has the absolute power to compromise an individual's reputation forever. A similar case to Jackson (although much more severe) where the creative and artistic abilities of an entertainment figure are nullified by socially sanctionable and deviant conduct is Chris Brown, a very young artist whose popularity drastically collapsed due to his "dispute" with Rihanna.

But let's move forward. The album "janet." from 1993 represents the peak of Jackson's popularity, where she delves into and takes to the extreme the analysis of themes like sex, sexuality, racism, a profound analysis of herself, of her own intimacy. An analysis that is already pushed in the promotional photo for the album cover where Janet, with curly hair, smiling and free from any thoughts, lets two unknown hands feel the bounty of her assets. The themes of this work will be further explored in the subsequent album "The Velvet Rope", but that is another story.

Musically speaking, this record is dominated by that "New Jack Swing" style extended with a bit of healthy R'n'B, pop, soul, funk, and '90s Dance. For this reason, many of the 27 (!) tracks (naturally excluding the various Intros, Outros, Interludes, a constant in Jackson's works) can be associated with their counterparts in the "Dangerous" and "HIStory" albums of her brother Michael. Despite this, there are the so-called "stand-out" tracks, meaning innovations, something different from the majority. The first of these stand-out tracks is "That's The Way Love Goes," the first single, a very valid, intense track, useful for a nice spicy evening given the "sex" atmosphere (please forgive this quote), where Miss Jackson avoids unnecessary vocal explanations to almost pant the track's lyrics. A brilliant example of innovation in a very pop and commercial context is "Throb", a particularly danceable track that ignites with a series of melodies, distorted sounds, and trumpets that brazenly allude to sex. The innovation I mentioned earlier is the almost lack of lyrics and Janet’s very voice, limited to singing a kind of chorus and mostly panting a few other phrases; what really matters in this track are distorted voices that barely say anything and a series of explosive and extreme sex orgasms. Very lyrical, accompanied by few instruments, piano, and violins in particular, without percussion, almost classical, like a "soundtrack" is the particular ballad "Again". In "What I'll Do" you encounter an atypical funk/rock when compared to the rest of the album.

The "New Jack Swing" sounds definitely recede towards the end of the album, moving towards a more mature and modern r'n'b seasoned with soul/funk in the tracks "Where Are You Now", "Any Time Any Place", "The Body That Loves You". Very funky is "Whoops Now", the hidden track of the concluding track "Sweet Dreams".

The uptempo "If" is very danceable, very suitable for mid-'90s clubs, yet still convincing to the ear now, a typical song that anyone who listens to it without knowing the artist’s name can easily attribute it to Janet Jackson. Convincing are also "This Time" and "You Want This", also uptempo oriented towards the typical New Jack Swing. With current hindsight, I notice great similarities between songs like "Funky Big Band" and tracks that are going to compose "HIStory" by her brother Michael, notably "Tabloid Junkie" and "2 Bad".

A fairly heterogeneous album, I intend to recommend "janet." to aficionados of '90s sounds, of the old r'n'b, to fans of the old Janet Jackson, to the nostalgic of her old image, but also to all her detractors who disregard what I consider her talent without having minimally considered her works prior to that stupid Super Bowl sketch.