2 stars (out of 5)

As far as this cd is concerned, Janet Jackson's sin was not in exposing her breast during the Super Bowl. After all, the lady just wanted to show off a new piece of jewelry. The sin was in stripping down without titillating anyone. Overnight, she destroyed the highly sexualized persona she'd been cultivating for the last ten years and undermined Damita Jo, which is all about her sexuality -- from the cover (which features her topless and airbrushed) to songs such as the orgasmic "Moist." Sample lyric: "Boy, you're about to make the rain come down."
Then there's "Warmth," which makes R. Kelly sound subtle. The audio equivalent of a Penthouse "Forum" letter, "Warmth" leaves nothing to the imagination. It begins with Jackson's "hands wrapped around, stroking" to a porno bass thump. "I feel you get erect," she sings, before cooing, "There's no place warmer than my mouth." And, finally, after nearly four minutes, she demands, "Now it's my turn."

Like the Super Bowl stunt, Damita Jo (titled after Jackson's middle name) smacks of trying too hard. It wants to be all things to all pop fans: There's some following in Beyonce's footsteps, a little Jay-Z piggybacking, whiffs of classic Eighties Janet, teeny-bopper pop, a Nelly impression, old-school funk, push-button rock & roll, even a little country & western. And the spoken-word interludes -- a staple of most of her albums -- in which she talks intimately to the listener, as if answering interview questions, are just plain weird.

"When you look at me, do you want me just for what you see?" Jackson asks breathily in one such interlude. "Do you think I'm that person that you watch on TV?/There's another side that I don't hide, but may never show."

While wags may quip, "The left breast," the truth is that Jackson is just trying to humanize herself, as she did so well on her breakthrough 1986 album, Control. But here she succeeds only in sounding even more out of touch, exposing her so-called real self -- her Damita Jo side -- by talking about how she used to enjoy listening to music while doing her homework and likes to read a good book on the beach. Who cares? This is the twenty-first century, and celebrity gossip and diet plans are now hard news: If you're going to talk to us intimately on your CD, at least tell us about your divorce, your workout tips and what you were thinking on Super Bowl Sunday.

Instead, Damita Jo alternates between Jackson trying to play fantasy object and Everygirl, neither of which she really seems to be. Further evidence of the personality crisis comes from the production, which mixes the loyal architects of her sound -- Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis -- with the producer of the moment, Kanye West. The net result is that Jackson just sounds self-conscious.

Jackson has had eighteen years of monster hits, so it's hard to fault her instincts. Even her last lackluster CD, 2001's All for You, sold better in its first week than her best albums have. But the tough-talking teenager of Control, the high-minded soldier of Rhythm Nation and even the comeback queen of The Velvet Rope are all gone now. If reduced to a quarter of its size (it's twenty-two tracks long), Damita Jo could be a great CD. The candy-coated, Jay-Z-sampling "Strawberry Bounce" is undeniable; on "I Want You," with help from West, she evokes the Motown dreams her siblings lived; and "Thinkin' Bout My Ex" is a classic Babyface ballad that would make any self-respecting boy band jealous. But there's too much of Jackson's moistness to wade through to get to Damita Jo's solid ground.

NEIL STRAUSS
(RS 946, April 15, 2004)

**It's the lowest rating Janet has ever gotten from RS

-----

I love Janet but "Moist" sounds like she's trying too fucking hard so it simply seems goofy.
[This message was edited Wed Mar 24 18:20:42 2004 by VoicesCarry]

i haven't been interested in a rolling stone review in years and years. anytime they give backstreet boys a good review yet slam prince's come cd...puh-lease. their reviews are worth
[This message was edited Wed Mar 24 19:09:44 2004 by SassierBritches]

SassierBritches said:

Yes, but this review is pretty typical of what's being said about the record. All her sex talk overshadows the good things. Anyway, it's one of their more reasonably written reviews. But then again, they did give AFY 4 stars .
[This message was edited Wed Mar 24 19:11:23 2004 by VoicesCarry]

Janet's albums are critic proof as well as Madonna's. Janet makes dance music, with some rnb and a rock tune thrown in. She's a pop princess and she does that role well. People who dig that music are generally not disappointed with her relaeses ( or Madonna's). Im sure there aint a damn thing wrong with this record if you're a fan of hers. Im not saying fans will love every song etc..thats dumb..just like Madonna fans's dont like some of her songs or missteps in cd releases. But this release is fine and will do fine.

This coming from a publication who...

-recently dubbed Justin Timberlake "The New King of Pop"

-had Mary Kate & Ashley Oslen on their magazine cover



I haven't marked Rolling Stone reviews with any special reverence in years.

JANFAN4L said:

exactly.

We're all going to buy it anyway -- despite how spot-on that review probably is.

Rolling Stone has become the People magazine of music magazines. It's musically irrelevant. As soon as they start out a review with Janet's Super Bowl appearance and pepper it with references to it throughout, you know the critic's agenda; you know it's not based entirely on the music within the album (if at all).

The whole country having PMS over Janet's SB appearance is the most ridiculous, overreacting, crap I've witnessed in ages.

JANFAN4L said:

My thoughts exactly.

I guess Virgin didn't cut RS a cheque

This album is gonna be HOT, and it's less than a week away!

Well, AMG has also given the album 2 stars. Odd. Oh well, I already bought it but this is disappointing. A lot of the reviews will no doubt focus on the superbowl, which probably highlights why that wasn't a savvy move on Janet's part.

BTW, SassierBritches, do you like "My Baby" as much as I do? Janet sounds ultra-sexy on that.

"I Want You" impacted pop radio this week and debuts at No. 74 on the Hot 100.
[This message was edited Thu Mar 25 19:39:24 2004 by VoicesCarry]

At first blush, I have a couple of "hunches":

1. The natural human instinct of "piling on" has set in, either consciously or sub-consciously, among the critic set. If she had stayed home during the Super Bowl, the media would be hyping the release.

2. Janet's darn near 40 years old. There are new kids on the block these days. By comparison, Janet has become "passe" to the masses, just as Prince did until very recently. Janet is not immune from the celebrity arc.

The LP could be good, tho. It could be her best. That doesn't mean it will be received as such.

JANFAN4L said:

I haven't read a good review of the album anywhere ... apart from the usual sub-literate appreciations here, of course.

Shapeshifter said:

That wasn't the least bit bitchy at all.
[This message was edited Fri Mar 26 8:41:49 2004 by VinnyM27]

Shapeshifter said:

Sub-literate? For your information, I'm one of Janet Jackson's biggest fans, and I'm sure considerably more "literate" than you.

theVelvetRoper said:

Now now, don't get touchy, VelvetNooser. I didn't mean YOU in particular, but, for your information, "I'm sure considerably more "literate" than you" is grammatically incorrect.

Pay attention in your English class. Stop writing "Eye Heart U Janet" on the desk!

Lesson over. You can go back to memorising your "Damita Jo" lyrics and singing them into your mouldy toothbrush.

theVelvetRoper said:

Now now, don't get touchy, VelvetNooser. I didn't mean YOU in particular, but, for your information, "I'm sure considerably more "literate" than you" is grammatically incorrect. Can you see your mistake?

Pay attention in your English class. Stop writing "Eye Heart U Janet" on the desk!

Lesson over. You can go back to memorising your "Damita Jo" lyrics and singing them into your mouldy toothbrush.

theVelvetRoper said:

Now now, don't get touchy, VelvetNooser. I didn't mean YOU in particular, but, for your information, "I'm sure considerably more "literate" than you" is grammatically incorrect. Can you see your mistake?

When you do, you can go back to memorising your "Damita Jo" lyrics and singing them into your mouldy toothbrush.

Shapeshifter said:

I don't care if you were referring to me in particular or not, but you made an insulting statement about Janet fans in general, which was a ridiculous one at that. And, no, I don't see my grammar error, but I do, however, see spelling mistakes of yours. For now, I'll return to my "mouldy" toothbrush.
[This message was edited Fri Mar 26 14:21:24 2004 by theVelvetRoper]

theVelvetRoper said:

No spelling mistakes in what I wrote, Velvetfingertips. You see I'm English, not American. We write some words with extra vowels. But please, carry on with your mouldy toothbrush.

But, you're right, I took a savage swipe at Janfans in general. You're a touchy bunch aren't you? Like jellyfish in peak season.

theVelvetRoper said:

No spelling mistakes in what I wrote, Velvetfingertips. You see I'm English, not American. We write some words with extra vowels. But please, carry on with your mouldy toothbrush.

But, you're right, I took a savage swipe at Janfans in general. You're a touchy bunch aren't you? Like jellyfish in peak holiday season.

theVelvetRoper said:

VelvetRoper, don't try to rationalize what goes on here at the Org -- it's not even worth the energy (learned that a while ago). Check your OrgNotes, I've left a message for you.


"Special Treat" edit.
[This message was edited Fri Mar 26 15:21:44 2004 by JANFAN4L]

Shapeshifter said:

What exactly do you have against Janet Jackson fans?

kiss85 said:

Ditto

Janet is very overrated in my opinion. She cannot sing! Yes, she works with great writers and producers but in my opinion she is very similar to Britney Spears. I think she is very much a video artist and pre MTV she would not have lasted. I do love some of her songs and I have several of her cd's but c'mon. Where would she be if her big brother wasn't MJ?

rialb said:

Don't know, but she's been having more success than him for the past 12 years or so. She's maybe the only sane one left in that family, and she never depended on him to wrangle her producers, songs, etc.

I'm sorry, but albums like Control, Rhythm Nation, janet. and The Velvet Rope are NOT comparable to Britney Spears records. That's like comparing Madonna's music to that of Samantha Fox.

Considering her last great album was in '93, she's probably had this coming. Janet plays it safe, same producers, no innovation or imagination, albums structured the same = boring.

VoicesCarry said:

I agree that's she's had great success but I think that's down to her visual appeal and not her music. I don't think there is any doubt that she got a record deal because of her last name. Control and Rhythm Nation are great albums, but janet. and the Velvet Rope have way too much filler, in my opinion. I think Design of a Decade is a hell of a great listen. But her newer stuff is much more hit or miss.

rialb said:

...tryin' to hold it back, folks.

VoicesCarry said:

Nothing personal. This is cyberspace. For all you know, I could be sitting at home right now listening to "When I Think Of You".
[This message was edited Sat Mar 27 1:26:21 2004 by Shapeshifter]