DavidEye said:

is she afraid to venture out or does she simply make the kind of music she likes to make? janet doesn't jump with the trends...she never has and i hope she never does. is it possible that janet just doesn't like electroclash (and all the other trendy sounds that die in a week)? electroclash and american bands ripping the european pop scene was such a short lived trend in the states...fischerspooner, air, etc. i'm not saying those bands aren't still popular in certain crowds but not the way they were a few years back. besides, excluding damita jo, didn't janet make a loud guitar song called 'black cat'? and 'what about'? and 'trust a try'? why does she need to make a 'rock' album? clearly she enjoys dance, pop and r&b. i think janet can leave trend hopping sounds to other performers. its funny, i hear people say that sade makes the same record every time and, other than a few critics, people expect that. that's whay they like her. the same can be said of janet. i like her because janet is janet. i don't have to worry about what trend she's gonna jump on for the next record. if i want to listen to a trendy rock band of the moment/sound of the minute i can just go to my local record store and pick up their cd. i don't need janet to give it to me. i like air. that's why i listen to them when i want to hear their sound. and that's why i listen to janet when i want to hear her sound.

is she afraid to venture out or does she simply make the kind of music she likes to make? janet doesn't jump with the trends...she never has and i hope she never does. is it possible that janet just doesn't like electroclash (and all the other trendy sounds that die in a week)? electroclash and american bands ripping the european pop scene was such a short lived trend in the states...fischerspooner, air, etc. i'm not saying those bands aren't still popular in certain crowds but not the way they were a few years back. besides, excluding damita jo, didn't janet make a loud guitar song called 'black cat'? and 'what about'? and 'trust a try'? why does she need to make a 'rock' album? clearly she enjoys dance, pop and r&b. i think janet can leave trend hopping sounds to other performers. its funny, i hear people say that sade makes the same record every time and, other than a few critics, people expect that. that's whay they like her. the same can be said of janet. i like her because janet is janet. i don't have to worry about what trend she's gonna jump on for the next record. if i want to listen to a trendy rock band of the moment/sound of the minute i can just go to my local record store and pick up their cd. i don't need janet to give it to me. i like air. that's why i listen to them when i want to hear their sound. and that's why i listen to janet when i want to hear her sound.

SassierBritches said:

glad you brought up sade..i will agree that sade (and someone like tracy chapman) also sticks to the same musical pallet however with those artist. they have allowed themselves to expand on the limited formats they choose...sade has grown masterfully lyrically..so much I could consider her one of our premier poets.....and there are subtle changes...notice the abscence of horns from lovedeluxe to lover's rock?....and while the substance of the sound may sound the same their entire instrumentation has evolved.....she went from brass big band sounds to electronica-lite.....

janet's last three albums have relied on the same forumala...a few r&b dance tracks, a lot of slow r&B songs that sound like all the other r&b songs that others are doing and sample heavy instrumentation....at least the only one doing sade is sade..

sosgemini said:

I love me some Sade, but Janet produces some very eclectic mainstream pop albums. Take some of her dance tracks, for example. "Throb" is a house track aimed squarely at the crotch. "Together Again" is a great midtempo number set against a subtle disco backdrop. "Go Deep" is a party track, with a bouncy but somehwat menacing backbeat. "All Nite (Don't Stop)" is skittish and a bit trancey in tone, but very addictive too. You might say "Janet does dance" and dismiss her, but productionwise I would say she's much more varied than Sade AND she's one of the more eclectic artists in mainstream R&B at the moment. Everything R. Kelly does sounds the same, but the same can't be said of Janet IMHO.

VoicesCarry said:

except on DamitaJo, which is the problem. it sounds like everything she's done for the last 10 years, which wouldn't be that big of a problem except that most of the tracks on this album sound like each other. the only shock is there's no tear-jerker AC ballad on this one. yeah, she's really changed it up for this one

I want to like Damita Jo so bad, but I honestly can only listen to a few tracks also.
And ditto on the interludes,I was laughing out loud because I was thinking the same thing--these damn interludes don't make sense.

At least on the other albums, I felt they fit in creating the theme. But, I don't think Janet was being lazy, I just think she tried to venture out to other producers and was way too determined to use them, but I was bored by the time I got to track 9.

.

AaronX said:

"it sounds like everything she's done for the last 10 years"

I'd have to disagree with that. Besides, don't you like some artists who basically don't change? Sade, for example. They're like comfort food.

VoicesCarry said:

generally, no. i don't want to hear the same people doing the same thing over and over again.


but with janet, the problem is more pronounced because i could look past all of the songs being retreaded ground if the songs themselves were of higher quality. that's what made AFY enjoyable. yes, it was the same old thing she'd done twice before, but the songs were of pretty good quality, and you could at least tell most of them apart (aside from the middle and end passages).

AaronX said:

And I thought AFY was a disappointment that overall lacked strong songs. Guess we know where we stand .

VoicesCarry said:

Yeah, for me All For You was a real disappointment, too.

Did a "Janazi" just say that?!

....at least the only one doing sade is sade..

theVelvetRoper said:

I think this album is definitely a BIG improvement over AFY. I'm spinning it a lot more than I did that disc.

sosgemini said:

I'd do Sade.

DavidEye said:

is she afraid to venture out or does she simply make the kind of music she likes to make? janet doesn't jump with the trends...she never has and i hope she never does. is it possible that janet just doesn't like electroclash (and all the other trendy sounds that die in a week)? electroclash and american bands ripping the european pop scene was such a short lived trend in the states...fischerspooner, air, etc. i'm not saying those bands aren't still popular in certain crowds but not the way they were a few years back. besides, excluding damita jo, didn't janet make a loud guitar song called 'black cat'? and 'what about'? and 'trust a try'? why does she need to make a 'rock' album? clearly she enjoys dance, pop and r&b. i think janet can leave trend hopping sounds to other performers. its funny, i hear people say that sade makes the same record every time and, other than a few critics, people expect that. that's whay they like her. the same can be said of janet. i like her because janet is janet. i don't have to worry about what trend she's gonna jump on for the next record. if i want to listen to a trendy rock band of the moment/sound of the minute i can just go to my local record store and pick up their cd. i don't need janet to give it to me. i like air. that's why i listen to them when i want to hear their sound. and that's why i listen to janet when i want to hear her sound.