Discipline - Janet Jackson

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Janet's Voice and Some Good Songs
Disadvantages:	The Odd Weak Song

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

=WHO IS JANET JACKSON=

Just in case anybody out there doesn't know already!

Janet Jackson , born May 16th 1966 in Gary, Indiana, is the youngest of 9, very famous children, the most famous being The King Of Pop, Michael Jackson. Even though all of her 6 brothers were the very famous boy band, The Jacksons, Janet is the most famous, and successful woman in her family, and the 2nd most famous of her siblings, Michael obviously being the first.

Janet first shot to fame as an actress at age 7 on The Jacksons Variety Show with 5 of her older brothers, the original Jackson 5, and her 2 older sisters, before appearing in several well known American sitcoms. She launched her singing career in 1982 with 'Young Love' in America, and in 1985 with 'The Power Of Love' with Cliff Richard in the UK. Her first successful hit worldwide was 1986, with 'What Have You Done For Me Lately', which was her first number 1, and is one of her most well known releases. Since then she has released a further 54 solo singles, 32 being number 1 hits, although she has never had a number 1 hit in the UK! Some of her most well known singles are, 'Control', 'Rhythm Nation', which first shown her dancing talent, after using Michaels moves in the video, 'The Best Things In Life Are Free' with Luther Vandross, 'Scream' with Michael Jackson, and 'Together Again'.

She is the only female artist to have more than 5 top ten singles from just 3 consecutive albums. She was the first ever artist to have number ones in the 80's, 90's and 00's on the US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. She is the second female artist to have number 1 hits on the R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Chart.. She is also one of the top ten best selling artists in history on the Billboard Charts, being the 2nd most successful female artist in history.

Being a fan of hers for as long as I can remember, I know that she has always tried to distance herself from the fame of her brother's and tried to be successful in her own right, which, obviously, she has done.

=DISCIPLINE=

This album, Discipline, released on 25th February 2008 in the UK, is Janet Jackson's 10th album release, and her 6th number one album.

This is her first album release for Island Def Jam Music Group. She signed with Island Def Jam in December 2007, after being with Virgin for 15 years. Island Def Jam was created in 1999 when Universal merged 2 of it's major recording companies together. These were Island Records and Def Jam Recordings. Def Jam is one of the most popular Hip-Hop, Rap and R&B record labels in the US and the UK, which is perfect for Janet's new found R&B style which she has on this new album.

Discipline is Executively Produced by Janet herself, alongside Jermaine Dupri. Dupri is one of America's most popular Record Producers and Rappers. It is also Produced by Rodney Jerkins aka Darkchild, another well known and very talented Singer, Songwriter and Record Producer. He is also the VP of A&R for Island Def Jam.

=TRACK LISTING=

I.D. (Skit)
This is just a quick intro to the album, which is Janet logging into her 'media player' and loading her album, then a countdown to the album starting. Actually a good intro!

Feedback
This is Janet's first single from the album, released on 26th December 2007, and her latest number 1. The song is an upbeat R&B track, and very catchy, especially the chorus. The first time I heard this song, I loved it and knew it off by heart near enough straight away. It doesn't have any particular story to the song, to be honest I don't understand it, but it's still a good song. 5/5

LUV
This is another upbeat R&B track, although a bit quieter than Feedback. I don't really like this song. The chorus is quite catchy, but is annoying after a while as it is repetitive. It's all about Janet falling for a guy which she shouldn't have fallen for. Not one of the best songs on the album, but it's ok. This was released as the third single off of the album, on 11th February 2008, and has only got to number 34, which is quite bad for a Janet Jackson song. 3/5

Rollercoaster
Another upbeat song, with a very catchy beat. The verses are quite fast and you can imagine dancing to it, but the chorus is a bit slower. I like the chorus but the effect that they have put on Janet's voice makes it quite annoying. I also like the theme of the song, which is all about Janet's feelings for a guy. "You make me up and down through emotions, like a rollercoaster, spinning like a Ferris Wheel." I think most of us, if not all, can relate to the theme of the song in some way. 3/5

Rock With You
The beat of this song actually sounds like the Sunbeamz built in ring tone on my Sony Ericson which I cannot delete and is very annoying. Janet's voice is like a robot sound. The song itself sounds like an attempt at a dance tune, but it's just too annoying to dance to. The lyrics are just "I want to rock with you" repeated most of the way through the song. Not a good track. This was released as the second single off of the album, on 5th February 2008, and the furthest it has got is 114! 0/5

2nite
This starts with a Hip-Hop/Southside kind of beat, which sounds good, but then it leads into another kind of dance tune attempt, although this is actually better than Rock With You. The chorus actually reminds me a bit like Britney's comeback, Gimme More. The song is basically about going out. Good beat for the theme of the song, but is another one of the weak tracks. 2/5

Can't Be Good
This is the first slow song on the album, and unlike the other tracks, which are R&B, this is Janet's root genre of Pop. This is one of the tracks on the album that actually feature Janet's true voice with no effects going over it. You can tell this by the fact she sounds like Michael Jackson, which Janet always has done in her slow pop tracks. It isn't a really good song, but is decent enough to feature as the first slow song on the album. The chorus is repetitive of the title, and we all know this can be annoying. The theme of the song is about being scared to fall in love again, or maybe for the first time. An ok track but not one of my faves, which is disappointing as Ive always like Janet's ballads. 3/5

Never Letchu Go
This has become my favourite track on the album, the one I seem to press repeat on and listen to 10 times over, and it still isn't doing my head in! Another slow Pop song, and again, Janet's true voice, which is beautiful. She sounds more like Michael on this track than she does on Can't Be Good, which is one of the things I love about it. A very catchy, slow Pop track, that would probably be a very good second single. The bridge is a true Michael Jackson sounding beat, and the tune is very nice. You can tell fro the title that this song is all about never letting her guy go. Very good, easy to listen to, classic Jackson pop song. 5/5

Greatest X
Another slow song, although this is more of an R&B track than the previous 2. Another catchy track that's easy to listen to. I like the theme to the song which is all about Janet being in love with an X and saying she always will, therefore he will always be her greatest ex. The chorus is very catchy, but I don't find myself singing the verses. All in all, the song is really nice. 4/5

So Much Betta
Another of my faves on the album. It's an R&B track, which is slightly faster than the 3 previous songs. The chorus isn't Janet's voice, it's a quite squeaky voice, kind of like Akon's Lonely, but not as squeaky. The chorus is repetitive but isn't annoying. Janet is saying she's better for a guy than his girlfriend. I find myself wiggling round to it in my room. Quite catchy, but I can see it getting annoying after a few more plays. 3/5

The 1
Back to the fast tracks with this one. It features Missy Elliot on the chorus. An up-beat song that's very catchy, and I think might possibly be the next single off of the album. I can actually see myself singing and dancing to this in the clubs, especially if somebody releases a dance remix. Janet and Missy sing about how they want to be 'the 1' for a some guy. The chorus is another repetitive one, but isn't annoying. Missy puts in one of her raps on the last verse, quite comedic as usual, which adds a freshness to Janet's usual style of songs. Good song. 4/5

What's Ur Name
A slower song with an up-beat tune. Quite catchy, but I don't really like it. The song is all about meeting a guy and getting to know him. I can't quite decide if I like this song or not. 3/5

Discipline
Title song to the album, this is another of the slow tracks. The beginning of the song is like an Alicia Keys track. It's actually quite a sexy song. Janet wants to be disciplined by her man. Different points in the song remind me of many different artists, it's like an R.Kelly, Boyz2Men, J.Lo, Alicia Keys song mixed into one with the tune, beat and sound of her voice. A good song, but I think it could be quite a lot better with it being the title track for the album. 3/5

Curtains
This starts with a very chilled out, R&B beat. Another slow, chilled-out track. Again, her true Jackson voice comes through on this song. The verses and bridge are quite catchy, but she sings quite high in most of the chorus which I don't really like. The tune on the chorus also kind of drowns out her voice. A good song, but it could be better. 3/5

Let Me Know (UK Bonus Track)
Oh, it's good living in the UK, you always get bonus tracks unlike America! Some can be very good, some can be very bad. This is just ok. It kind of up-beat, and sounds like her old 90's style. In the chorus is repetitive, being 'Let Me Know' over and over. The track is on the verge of Dance, with a mix of R&B. Quite catchy, but the chorus is annoying. 3/5

=ALBUM ART=

The front cover to the album is in black and white. It has a very nice picture of Janet dressed in either leather or PVC. She's stood with her arms crossed, and is wearing long black gloves, which have Discipline written in what looks like white paint on one arm, and the sae on the other arm, which says Janet.

The back cover, again is in black and white with a good picture of Janet in the same outfit, with her finger near her mouth in a sexy pose. The tracks are written in black and white, along with the album info.

The CD itself is grey, with Discipline at the top of the CD, in the same writing as the Front Cover, this time in black. Other info and logos are written in silver at the bottom of the CD.

=MY OPINION=

I've always been a fan of Janet Jackson, and usually love her single releases and her albums. Although this is her 6th number 1 album, I don't think it is as strong as her previous releases. This is the first album since Janet's debut that does not feature even 1 song written by her. I think this album shows how good of a songwriter Janet is, because this album has quite a few weak links in it.

Being Executively Produced by Jermaine Dupri, one of the most famous and successful R&B producer's in history, and also produced by Darkchild, another very famous, and one of the most requested producers in Hip-Hop, R&B and now even Pop music, I would have thought the album to be much better than it is.

I think 'Feedback' was a good release for the first single, as it is a track that is very 'now', and has proved that by becoming a number 1 hit, but her 2 other releases, 'Rock With You', which is one of the weakest songs on the album, and 'LUV', even though it's a lot better than 'Rock With You', are bad choices as follow up singles. There are plenty of other good tracks on the album which could have been released. If they wanted to release a slow song, they could have released 'Never Letchu Go', which is a brilliant, beautiful, slow, chilled-out R&B song, or for a fast song, they could have released 'The 1' with Missy Elliot, which is very catchy, and again, very 'now'.

All in all I think the album is worth buying if you are a fan. Janet Jackson isn't an artist that needs promoting. She has been away for 2 years, and came back with a very good single, so I think fans will buy as they haven't had an album for 2 years. Apart from the odd weak links, it's a good album. I think it would have been a lot better if Janet had written the songs, as like I said before, being the first of her albums which she hasn't wrote any songs, has maybe made it a bit weaker than it could have been initially.

I have just read recently that reception from press and reviewers has been quite bad, some saying the album is boring, some saying it's bizarre. I think the fans have proved the critics wrong by buying this album and making it a number one. Just goes to show that the critics aren't always right!

=WHERE TO BUY=

I downloaded the album on a P2P, so it was free, but you can buy it on Amazon for £7.98, or &5.95 on Used and New. Play.com has it for £8.95.

Thanks for reading
(o: x-stcy-x :o)