Dammn Baby. You made me wait seven years for this?

I was liking every Janet Jackson album until Discipline. This new one, entitled Unbreakable as if her brother Michael didn’t already use that comeback concept, is worse. Janet Jackson is back with producers Jimmy Jam And Terry Lewis and I’m delighted; she should’ve never abandoned them; but even their glossy craftsmanship can’t transform a mediocre song into a good one. Black Eagle, for example, sounds gorgeous when it takes off, but it doesn’t do so until pass the halfway point. By then it’s too late. Elsewhere the album is a surprisingly disappointing affair.

Janet Jackson has long since had a talent for vocal melodies. “Soon you’ll be having fun,” she teased on All For You; her best song on one of her best albums; and it was a joyous experience. Then, while the rest of the world focused on her tit; that whole Superbowl thing being blown ridiculously out of proportion is a prime example of why I hate “PC” America; I was jamming to the Damita Jo project, her other best album. I like 20 YO too, but she seems to have lost her knack between then and now. These choruses; Gon Be Alright sounds like a reject from Jill’s Scott newest album; lack oomph.

Broken Hearts Heal is about Michael Jackson. Unlike LaToya, I’ve never heard Janet badmouth him and she supported him during his criminal trial, so the sentiment seems genuine, but the dedication isn’t anything special. Jimmy and Terry do a splendid job with the music, as usual. It’s the vocals, again with the chorus, that disappoints. Is It Scary, a Jimmy and Terry song by Michael Jackson, is a masterpiece. Nothing here comes close. Even Scream is better than this stuff. Invincible, Michael’s worst album, which also begins with a weak song entitled Unbreakable, is better than Unbreakable.

That means the album title isn’t true. From the sound of it, Janet is indeed breaking. Not bad; I don’t hear anything terrible here; but bad enough to need a fix. If it isn’t being reunited with arguably the best duo producers in pop music history, I don’t know what it could be. Though some songs are suspiciously short, there’s only one interlude and she’s not talking on it, so she’s wised up in that regard. Her harmonies still sound incredible. She’s older, but her girly voice is still there. Even the vibe of the album sounds like classic Janet Jackson. The songs simply don’t hold up.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015
 

Amazon Customer :

Preach!

TVonDVD :

You read my mind … totally agree..

This “love” ode, a dedication from Janet to fans and friends, sounds like it’s going to be another banger until the chorus comes in and ruins everything. It’s not awful, but it sounds like it belongs on another song. The contrast is jarring enough to make what the title suggests should be something special a bit of a mess.

Michael Jackson made the same mistake on his last album, which also begins with a song entitled Unbreakable. Both are disappointments from artists capable of so much better, but Janet’s has better music. In a battle of the beats, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, or either one, beats Rodney Jerkins just about every time.

my rating : 3 of 5