Twenty years ago, Janet Jackson took Control of the music landscape with an album by that very name. To celebrate the anniversary of that explosion onto the scene, she gives us 20 Y.O., a disc that gets Janet back to her R&B roots and proves that she still knows how to fill a dance floor.
20 Y.O. is definitely a dance album. Whether she's cooing a ballad or throwing down an irresistibly catchy groove, Jackson makes it clear that she's looking for a good time. Her last album, Damita Jo, suffered from a big case of bad timing when it was lost in the publicity surrounding the 2004 post-Super Bowl scandal. On this disc, she shakes off the recent past while digging deeper into her roots. It results in an album that feels like sheer joy.
She jumps into the music with "So Excited," the disc's second single that features a guest turn by Khia. The song has an infectious, funky beat that immediately pulls you in and gets you moving. It's a song about desire that, like the rest of the disc, is suggestive without pushing the envelope. It's incredibly easy to slip into its groove, and it is a great way to ease into a rather enjoyable collection of songs.
Janet shows her versatility on this disc, and reinforces her ability to present breathy, exciting music. She shows her younger rivals that she still has the chops and the moves to be queen of the scene. "Show Me" is a catchy, teasing number that should work well in a nightclub -- or just for nighttime. Immediately after that track, she slips into "Get It Out Me," a song in which a man has caught her eye in a way that no one else has managed to do. It brings up some rather strong feelings that she presents in a most enticing way.
Nelly makes an appearance on the lead single "Call On Me," a love song that shows some smooth R&B style and comes off as a complete class act. It's a beautiful number and the two voices blend together extraordinarily well. Like many of the tracks on the disc, this one stands on its own.
She picks up the pace on songs like "Daybreak" and "Enjoy," the latter of which has such a happy-go-lucky feeling that it even sounds like a smile. This tune about living in the moment and making the most of every day is hard to resist; in lesser hands it could have come off as a hokey number, but Jackson does a remarkable job of making it sound truly joyous.
Janet Jackson has a lot riding on 20 Y.O. and after a disappointing showing with Damita Jo, it was time for Jackson to put out the album of her career. She has done that, raising the bar for herself -- and for a lot of other younger artists who now have fresh competition from a familiar face.
By Paula Felps