Biography

Few celebrity siblings can emerge from the shadows of their already famous relations to become superstars in their own right and with their own distinct personalities. That's exactly what Janet Jackson did in becoming one of the biggest female pop and R&B stars of the '80s and '90s. Since her breakthrough in 1986 with the album Control, Jackson's career as a hitmaker has been a model of consistency, rivaling Madonna and Whitney Houston in terms of pop-chart success over the long haul. A big part of the reason was that Jackson kept her level of quality control very high; her singles were always expertly crafted, with indelible pop hooks and state-of-the-art production that kept up with contemporary trends in urban R&B. Once established, her broad-based appeal never really dipped all that much; she was able to avoid significant career missteps, musical and otherwise, and successfully shifted her image from a strong, independent young woman to a sexy, mature adult. With a string of multi-platinum albums under her belt, she showed no signs of slowing down in the new millennium.

Janet Damita Jo Jackson was born May 16, 1966, in Gary, IN. She was the youngest of nine children in the Jackson family, and her older brothers had already begun performing together as the Jackson 5 by the time she was born. Bitten by the performing bug at a young age, she first appeared on-stage with the Jackson 5 at age seven, and began a sitcom acting career at the age of ten in 1977, when producer Norman Lear selected her to join the cast of Good Times. She remained there until 1979, and subsequently appeared on Diff'rent Strokes (1981-1982) and A New Kind of Family. In 1982, pushed by her father into trying a singing career, Jackson released her self-titled first album on A&M; a couple of singles scraped the lower reaches of the charts, but on the whole, it made very little noise. She was cast in the musical series Fame in 1983; the following year, she issued her second album, Dream Street, which sold even more poorly than its predecessor. Upon turning 18, Jackson rebelled against her parents' close supervision, eloping with a member of another musical family, singer James DeBarge. However, the relationship quickly hit the rocks and Jackson wound up moving back into her parents' home and having the marriage annulled.

Jackson took some time to rethink her musical career and her father hired her a new manager, John McClain, who isolated his young charge to train her as a dancer (and make her lose weight). McClain hooked Jackson up with producers/writers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, whom she'd seen perform as members of the Minneapolis funk outfit the Time. Jackson collaborated with Jam and Lewis on most of the tracks for her next album, Control, which presented her as a confident, tough-minded young woman (with a soft side and a sense of humor) taking charge of her life for the first time.

In support of Jackson's new persona, Jam and Lewis crafted a set of polished, computerized backing tracks with slamming beats that owed more to hard, hip-hop-tinged funk and urban R&B than Janet's older brother Michael's music. Control became an out-of-the-box hit, and eventually spun off six singles, the first five of which — "What Have You Done for Me Lately," the catch phrase-inspiring "Nasty," the number one "When I Think of You," the title track, and the ballad "Let's Wait Awhile" — hit the Top Five on the pop charts. Jackson was hailed as a role model for young women and Control eventually sold over five million copies, establishing Jackson as not just a star, but her own woman. It also made Jam and Lewis a monstrously in-demand production team.

For the hotly anticipated follow-up, John McClain wanted to push Jackson toward more overtly sexual territory, to which she objected strenuously. Instead, she began collaborating with Jam and Lewis on more socially conscious material, which formed the backbone of 1989's Rhythm Nation 1814 (the "1814" purportedly stood for either the letters "R" and "N" or the year "The Star-Spangled Banner" was written). Actually, save for the title track, most of the record's singles were bright and romantically themed; four of them — "Miss You Much," "Escapade," "Black Cat," and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" — hit number one, and three more — "Rhythm Nation," "Alright," and "Come Back to Me" — reached the Top Five, making Jackson the first artist ever to produce seven Top Five hits off of one album (something not even her brother Michael had accomplished).

Aside from a greater use of outside samples, Rhythm Nation's sound largely resembled that of Control, but was just as well-crafted, and listeners embraced it enthusiastically, buying over six million copies. Jackson undertook her first real tour (she'd appeared at high schools around the country in 1982) in support of the album and it was predictably a smashing success. In 1991, Jackson capitalized on her success by jumping from A&M to Virgin for a reported $32 million, and also secretly married choreographer and longtime boyfriend René Elizondo.

Once on Virgin, Jackson set about revamping her sound and image. Her 1992 duet with Luther Vandross from the Mo' Money soundtrack, "The Best Things in Life Are Free," was a major R&B hit, also reaching the pop Top Ten. The following year, she also resumed her acting career, co-starring in acclaimed director (and former junior high classmate) John Singleton's Poetic Justice, along with rapper Tupac Shakur.

But neither really hinted at the sexy, seductive, fully adult persona she unveiled with 1993's janet., her Virgin debut. Jackson trumpeted her new image with a notorious Rolling Stone cover photo, in which her topless form was covered by a pair of hands belonging to an unseen "friend." Musically, Jam and Lewis set aside the synthesized funk of their first two albums with Jackson in favor of warm, inviting, gently undulating grooves. The album's lead single, the slinky "That's the Way Love Goes," became Jackson's biggest hit ever, spending eight weeks at number one. It was followed by a predictably long parade of Top Ten hits — "If," the number one ballad "Again," "Because of You," "Any Time, Any Place," "You Want This." janet.'s debut showing at number one made it her third straight chart-topping album, and it went on to sell nearly seven million copies.

In 1995, Janet and Michael teamed up for the single "Scream," which was supported by an elaborate, award-winning, space-age video that, upon completion, ranked as the most expensive music video ever made. The single debuted at number five on the pop charts, but gradually slid down from there. In 1996, A&M issued a retrospective of her years at the label, Design of a Decade 1986-1996; it featured the Virgin hit "That's the Way Love Goes" and a few new tracks, one of which, "Runaway," became a Top Five hit. Jackson also signed a new contract with Virgin for a reported $80 million. Yet while working on her next album, Jackson reportedly suffered an emotional breakdown, or at least a severe bout with depression; she later raised eyebrows when she talked in several interviews about the cleansing value of coffee enemas as part of her treatment.

Her next album, The Velvet Rope, appeared in 1997, and was touted as her most personal and intimate work to date. The Velvet Rope sought to combine the sensuality of janet. with the more socially conscious parts of Rhythm Nation, mixing songs about issues like domestic abuse, AIDS, and homophobia with her most sexually explicit songs ever. Critical opinion on the album was divided; some applauded her ambition, while others found the record too bloated. The lead American single "Together Again," an elegy for AIDS victims, was a number one hit; also popular on the radio was "Got 'Til It's Gone," which featured rapper Q-Tip and a sample of Joni Mitchell over a reggae beat. "I Get Lonely," featuring Blackstreet, was another big hit; but on the whole, The Velvet Rope didn't prove to be the blockbuster singles bonanza that its predecessors were, which was probably why its sales stalled at around three million copies.

Jackson toured the world again, and stayed on the charts in 1999 with the Top Five Busta Rhymes duet "What's It Gonna Be?!"; her appearance in the video remade her as a glitzy, artificially costumed, single-name diva. In 2000, she appeared in the Eddie Murphy comedy Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, and her soundtrack contribution, "Doesn't Really Matter," became a number one single.

Unfortunately, Jackson's marriage to Elizondo had become strained and the couple divorced in 2000, sparking a court battle over her musical income. Jackson returned with a new album, All for You, in 2001, which largely continued the sensual tone of janet. and The Velvet Rope; it debuted at number one, selling over 600,000 copies in its first week alone. The title track was issued as the album's first single and quickly topped the charts, followed by another sizable hit in "Someone to Call My Lover."

While Jackson spent much of 2001 and 02 on the road supporting All For You, she also found time for some guest appearances, most notably with Beenie Man on his Tropical Storm LP and Justin Timberlake on Justified, his solo debut. By 2003 she was back in the studio, working once again with Jam and Lewis on tracks for a new album; additional producers included Dallas Austin and Kayne West. Later that year, it was revealed Jackson would take part in an MTV-produced extravaganza during halftime at the Super Bowl.

2004 began with an Internet leak of the upbeat Austin production "Just a Little While". The singer's camp rolled with the punches, offering the track to radio as an authorized digital download, but the buzz this business caused was minuscule in comparison to the nightmare union of free exposure and bad publicity that Jackson's next adventure caused. Appearing at halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII as scheduled, Jackson performed "All For You" and "Rhythm Nation" before bringing out surprise guest Timberlake for a duet on his hit "Rock Your Body".

But the real surprise came at song's end, when a gesture from Timberlake caused Jackson's costume to tear, exposing her right, pierced breast on live television to hundreds of millions of viewers. The incident caused furious backpedaling and apologizing from Timberlake, Jackson, the NFL, CBS, and MTV, which swore no previous knowledge of the so-called "wardrobe malfunction", and led to speculation over how Damita Jo - Jackson's upcoming album and her first in three years - would be received. But while the controversy gave Jackson both grief and a bit of free advertising, it was also the impetus for a national debate on public indecency.

A federal commission was set up to investigate prurience, the FCC enacted tougher crackdowns on TV and radio programs broadcasting questionable content, and suddenly everyone from pundits to politicians to the man in the street had an opinion on Janet Jackson's chest. Later that March, the singer quietly started making the talk show rounds. She was still apologizing for the incident, but she was also promoting Damita Jo, which Virgin issued at the end of the month.

Albums

1. 1982 Janet Jackson A&M
2. 1984 Dream Street Universal
3. 1986 Control A&M
4. 1989 Rhythm Nation 1814 A&M
5. 1993 janet. Virgin
6. 1997 The Velvet Rope Virgin
7. 2001 All for You [Original Version] Virgin
8. 2004 Damita Jo Virgin

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Biography

On her eponymous debut album, Janet Jackson demonstrates no distinctive musical personality of her own, which isn't surprising considering that she was in her teens. If her producers had concocted a sharper set of songs and more interesting beats, Janet Jackson might have been a pleasant set of sunny dance-pop, but as it stands, only "Young Love" stands out among the undistinguished, sub-disco thumpers and drippy ballads. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Album Songs

1. Say You Do (Moore/Winbush) - 6:50
2. You'll Never Find (A Love Like Mine) (Moore/Winbush) - 4:11
3. Young Love (Moore/Winbush) - 4:58
4. Love and My Best Friend (Moore/Winbush) - 4:48
5. Don't Mess up This Good Thing (Meyers/Potts/Sarna) - 3:55
6. Forever Yours (Giles/Ingram) - 4:57
7. The Magic Is Working (Dozier/Pride) - 4:08
8. Come Give Your Love to Me (Barbee/Sylvers) - 5:03

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Biography

A listen to Janet Jackson's Dream Street brings to mind remembrances of the then-teenaged singer's appearances on American Bandstand, shyly answering questions from host Dick Clark, as well as her short stint as a regular on the syndicated series Fame. The first single, "Don't Stand Another Chance," was a family affair, produced by brother Marlon Jackson with vocal ad-libs by Michael Jackson.

It was a Top Ten R&B hit during the summer of 1984. The extended 12" mix rocks, showcasing outstanding synth work by John Barnes. Other standouts are the smeary Minneapolis funk cut "Pretty Boy" produced by Jesse Johnson, and both "Hold Back the Tears" and "If It Takes All Night" are prime examples of pleasing '80s pop. — Ed Hogan

Album Songs

1. Don't Stand Another Chance (Barnes/Jackson/Jackson) - 4:18
2. Two to the Power of Love (Beckett/Kipner) - 3:08
3. Pretty Boy (Johnson) - 6:37
4. Dream Street (Barrow/Bellotte/Shenale) - 3:57
5. Communication (Bliss) - 3:16
6. Fast Girls (Johnson) - 3:20
7. Hold Back the Tears (Eaton) - 3:15
8. All My Love to You (Jackson/Patler) - 5:46
9. If It Takes All Night (Bryant/Gruska) - 4:08

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Biography

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis tailored their contemporary dance-pop to the emerging personality of Janet Jackson, who attempted to take control of her life on this record. In the course of that attempt, she came across as an aggressive, independent woman, notably on "What Have You Done for Me Lately."

But the album was primarily a production showcase; it may have been tailored to Jackson's persona, but the real artists were Jam and Lewis. — William Ruhlmann

Album Songs

1. Control - 5:53
2. Nasty - 4:03
3. What Have You Done for Me Lately - 4:59
4. You Can Be Mine - 5:16
5. The Pleasure Principle (Moir) - 4:58
6. When I Think of You - 3:56
7. He Doesn't Know I'm Alive - 3:30
8. Let's Wait Awhile - 4:37
9. Funny How Time Flies - 4:28

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Biography

After shocking the R&B world with 1986's Control — a gutsy, risk-taking triumph that was a radical departure from her first two albums — Michael and Jermaine Jackson's younger sister reached an even higher artistic plateau with the conceptual Rhythm Nation 1814. Once again, she enlists the help of Time graduates Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (one of the more soulful production/songwriting teams of 1980s and '90s R&B) with wildly successful results.

In 1989, protest songs were common in rap but rare in R&B — Janet Jackson, following rap's lead, dares to address social and political topics on "The Knowledge," the disturbing "State of the World," and the poignant ballad "Living in a World" (which decries the reality of children being exposed to violence). Jackson's voice is wafer-thin, and she doesn't have much of a range — but she definitely has lots of soul and spirit and uses it to maximum advantage on those gems as well as nonpolitical pieces ranging from the Prince-influenced funk/pop of "Miss You Much" and "Alright" to the caressing, silky ballads "Someday Is Tonight," "Alone," and "Come Back to Me" to the pop/rock smoker "Black Cat." For those purchasing their first Janet Jackson release, Rhythm Nation would be an even wiser investment than Control — and that's saying a lot. — Alex Henderson

Album Songs

1. Interlude: Pledge - :47
2. Rhythm Nation (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 5:31
3. Interlude: T.V. - :22
4. State of the World (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:48
5. Interlude: Race - :05
6. The Knowledge (Harris/Lewis) - 3:54
7. Interlude: Let's Dance - :03
8. Miss You Much (Harris/Lewis) - 4:12
9. Interlude: Come Back Interlude - :21
10. Love Will Never Do (Without You) (Harris/Lewis) - 5:50
11. Livin' in a World (They Didn't Make) (Harris/Lewis) - 4:41
12. Alright (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 6:26
13. Interlude: Hey Baby - :10
14. Escapade (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:44
15. Interlude: No Acid - :05
16. Black Cat (Jackson) - 4:50
17. Lonely (Harris/Lewis) - 4:59
18. Come Back to Me (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 5:33
19. Someday Is Tonight (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 6:00
20. Interlude: Livin'...In Complete Darkness - 1:07

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Biography

After Control and Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet Jackson had quite a lot to live up to. Anyone who expected Jackson to top Rhythm Nation — her crowning achievement and an incredibly tough act to follow — was being unrealistic. But with janet., she delivered a respectable offering that, although not as strong as either Control or Nation, has many strong points.

As before, Jackson is joined by the prolific Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis team, and their input is valuable on everything from the angry "This Time" and the hypnotic "That's the Way Love Goes" to the '60s-flavored "What'll I Do" and the sociopolitical "The New Agenda" (which features Public Enemy leader Chuck D). But perhaps the CD's most exciting track is "Funky Big Band," which samples jazz legend Lionel Hampton's 1938 big-band classic "I'm in the Mood for Swing" with thrilling results. There are a few throwaways (including the lightweight ballad "Again"), but despite its shortcomings, janet. is a welcome addition to her catalog. — Alex Henderson

Album Songs

1. Morning - :31
2. That's the Way Love Goes (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:24
3. You Know... - :12
4. You Want This (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 5:05
5. Be a Good Boy... - :07
6. If (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:31
7. Back - :01
8. This Time (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 6:58
9. Go on Miss Janet - :01
10. Throb (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:33
11. What'll I Do (Cropper/Jackson/Shamwell) - 4:05
12. The Lounge - :15
13. Funky Big Band (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 5:22
14. Racism - :08
15. New Agenda (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:00
16. Love, Pt. 2 - :11
17. Because of Love (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:20
18. Wind - :11
19. Again (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 3:46
20. Another Lover - :11
21. Where Are You Now (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 5:47
22. Hold on Baby - :12
23. The Body That Loves You (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 5:32
24. Rain - :18
25. Any Time, Any Place (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 7:08
26. Are You Still Up - 1:36
27. Sweet Dreams - :14

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Biography

Where janet., Ms. Jackson's third blockbuster album, implied sexuality with its teasing cover and seductive grooves, its sequel, The Velvet Rope, is sexually explicit, offering tales of bondage, body piercing, and bisexuality. Not that you'd necessarily know that from listening to The Velvet Rope, since the album sags with endless interludes, murmured vocals, and subdued urban grooves.

Working with her mainstays Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jackson essentially reworks the hushed atmosphere of janet., neglecting to put a new sonic spin on the material — for an album that wants to push the limits, it sounds surprisingly tame. Similarly, Jackson's attempts to broaden her sexual horizons frequently sound forced, whether it's the references to piercing or her recasting of Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night" as a lesbian anthem. Furthermore, the album is simply too long, which means the best moments sink into the murk. And that's unfortunate, because there are good moments on The Velvet Rope, but at its running time of 70-plus minutes and 22 tracks, it's hard to work up the patience to find them. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Album Songs

1. Interlude: Twisted Elegance - :41
2. Velvet Rope performed by Jackson / Vanessa-Mae - 4:55
3. You (Elizondo/Fareed/Harris/Jackson/Lewis/Mitchell) - 4:42
4. Got 'Til It's Gone performed by Jackson / Q Tip / Joni Mitchell - 4:01
5. Interlude: Speaker Phone - :54
6. My Need (Elizondo/Harris/Jackson/Lewis/McLeod/Stewart) - 3:44
7. Interlude: Fasten Your Seatbelts - :19
8. Go Deep (Elizondo/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:42
9. Free Xone (Brown/Buti/Elizondo/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:57
10. Together Again (Elizondo/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 5:01
11. Interlude: Online - :19
12. Empty (Elizondo/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:32
13. Interlude: Full - :12
14. What About (Elizondo/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:24
15. Every Time (Elizondo/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:17
16. Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright) (Stewart) - 5:07
17. I Get Lonely (Elizondo/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 5:17
18. Rope Burn (Elizondo/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:15
19. Anything (Elizondo/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:54
20. Interlude: Sad - :10
21. Special (Elizondo/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 3:30

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Biography

The Velvet Rope was a fairly bold move on Janet Jackson's part, as she got seriously sexy — too serious, actually, since it had a fairly bitter tone, underscored by hints of perversity. Four years later, marked by one hidden marriage revealed through a divorce, Janet returned with All for You, an album that is as about sex as much as The Velvet Rope, yet there's a key difference — it feels sexy, not pornographic.

With her trusty collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis in tow, she's created a record that's luxurious and sensual, spreading leisurely over its 70 minutes, luring you in even when you know better. And there are certainly moments that make you wish you knew better. For one, it's plotted like The Velvet Rope, filled with skits and deliberately recalling the record with its obsession with flesh and how it builds on '70s soul and soft rock. This time around, instead of Joni Mitchell, she appropriates America's "Ventura Highway" for "Someone to Call My Lover," one of the record's best cuts, and "interpolates" Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" on "Son of a Gun," with Simon singing and...well, I guess you could call it rapping...right along.

The twist is, this is an anti-music industry song and a particularly foul-mouthed entry on the album, sitting comfortably alongside another industry song, the slow groove "Truth." And that fills out the three main themes of the album — divorce, industry, and sex — with a little bit of love on the side. These keep things humming throughout this overly sultry, overlong album, which intrigues with its very texture even as it lulls at its length. After all, there's a lot to be said for texture, and All for You is alluring, easily enveloping the listener. Though it's hardly as explicit as The Velvet Rope, apart from a section where she proclaims "I just want to suck you, taste you, ride you, feel you, make you come — come inside of me" (mind you, this album did not have a parental advisory sticker on its first pressings), this is her sexiest-sounding record, thanks to Jam and Lewis' silky groove and her breathy delivery, two things that make the record palatable throughout too many spoken interludes and songs that just don't quite click.

Even if there is a fair share of filler, this is hardly as strained as The Velvet Rope (though in many respects, it's every bit as self-conscious), and there's an ease to its construction, topped off by such songs as "All for You" and "Doesn't Really Matter" that maintain Janet, Jam, and Lewis' reputation as the leading lights of contemporary urban soul. It'd be nicer if the album was leaner, concentrating on just the great songs, but indulgence is what this record encourages. Janet sprawls out throughout the album, indulging her whims, desires, and fantasies, but — fortunately for us — her indulgences are alluring in their self-absorption. Of course, it helps to have Jam and Lewis on your side to articulate your indulgence. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Album Songs

1. Intro - 1:00
2. You Ain't Right - 4:32
3. All for You - 5:29
4. 2wayforyou (Interlude) - :19
5. Come on Get Up - 4:47
6. When We Oooo - 4:34
7. China Love - 4:36
8. Love Scene (Ooh Baby) (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:16
9. Would You Mind (Harris/Jackson/Lewis/Stinson) - 5:31
10. Lame (Interlude) - :11
11. Trust a Try - 5:16
12. Clouds (Interlude) - :19
13. Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is... performed by Jackson / Carly Simon - 5:56
14. Truth - 6:45
15. Theory (Interlude) - :26
16. Someone to Call My Lover (Bunnell/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:32
17. Feels So Right - 4:42
18. Doesn't Really Matter - 4:25
19. Better Days (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 5:05
20. Outro - :08

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Biography

Relax, it's just sex," Janet Jackson murmurs at the conclusion of "Sexhibition," the third song on her eighth album, Damita Jo. Those words were recorded long before Jackson wound up America with her breast-baring exploits at the halftime show at the 2004 Super Bowl, but they nevertheless play like an casual response to the hysteria that engulfed the nation following her infamous "wardrobe malfunction." But, really, they're there to head off any criticism that could be leveled at

Damita Jo, yet another album that finds Janet exploring her sexuality, a voyage she's been on for about 11 years (Magellan and his crew circled the globe in a third that time, but hey, who's counting?). While sex indisputably fuels much great pop music, it isn't an inherently fascinating topic for pop music — as with anything, it all depends on the artist. Prince, of course, found an endless amount of ways to write intriguingly about sex, since it fired his imagination, a quality that has been missing on Janet's albums since 1993's janet.. With its preponderance of slow-tempo, sensual grooves, sexual imagery, occasional up-tempo jams, and endless spoken interludes, it provided the blueprint for every record she made since, from the heavy eroticism of 1997's The Velvet Rope to the bedroom sighs of 2001's All for

You. The latter suggested that she was abandoning the explicitness of The Velvet Rope, but Damita Jo proves that she was merely flirting with modesty, since it's as explicit as pop music gets. Actually, it's the aural equivalent of hardcore pornography — it leaves nothing to the imagination and it's endlessly repetitive. Like a porn star, Janet adopts an alter ego built on her middle name ("There's another side that you will never know: Damita Jo"), provides detailed oral-sex manuals with "Warmth" and "Moist," nicknames her clitoris, and tosses around allusions to a variety of taboo sex acts; in this context, all the interview snippets scattered throughout the record — "I love curling up with a good book and relaxing by the ocean with my baby," "When you look at me, do you want me?" — recall nothing less than a Playboy or Penthouse centerfold confessing her turn-ons. Such doggedly literal lyrics lack any sensuality, and weigh Damita Jo down. If the music had its own sensuality or spark, it'd be easier to forgive or overlook Jackson's whispered vulgarities, but the album's slow grooves blend together, lacking rhythmic or melodic hooks. Jackson disappears into the productions, once again largely the responsibility of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, becoming part of the arrangement instead of standing in front of it.

And while there are a couple of cuts that do cut through the slow-groove loops — on the slower side, "I Want You" has a verse that's memorable, while "Just a Little While" is a good dance tune — they pale next to the hits from All for You; that they stand out on Damita Jo says more about the album than the songs themselves. Ironically, for an album with so much sex on its mind, it's not a good make-out record because its grooves are cold and Janet's ceaseless dirty talk spoils whatever mood the music had struggled to create. Once, Ms. Jackson's sexual obsession was indeed sexy and erotic, but by this point, it's not just tired, it's embarrassing. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Album Songs

1. Looking for Love (Dumont/Haeri/Hetier/Jackson/Ritzs) - 1:29
2. Damita Jo (Avila/Avila/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 2:45
3. Sexhibition (Andrews/Austin/Jackson) - 2:29
4. Strawberry Bounce (Atkins/Carter/Harris/Irving/Jackson/Lewis/Tolbert/West) - 3:10
5. My Baby performed by Jackson / Kanye West - 4:17
6. The Islands (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 0:39
7. Spending Time With You (Avila/Avila/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 4:14
8. Magic Hour (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 0:23
9. Island Life (Dennis/Jackson/Storch) - 3:53
10. All Nite (Don't Stop) (Bagge/Birgisson/Hancock/Harris/Jackson/Lewis/Tolbert) - 3:26
11. R&B Junkie (Harris/Jackson/Jones/Lewis/Tolbert/Trevisick) - 3:10
12. I Want You (Bacharach/Ben-Ari/David/Lilly/Stephens/West) - 4:12
13. Like You Don't Love Me (Avila/Avila/Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 3:39
14. Thinkin' Bout My Ex (Babyface/Cramer/White) - 4:33
15. Warmth (Harris/Jackson/Lewis/Stinson/Tolbert) - 3:44
16. Moist (Avila/Avila/Harris/Jackson/Lewis/Tolbert) - 4:54
17. It All Comes Down to Love (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 0:38
18. Truly (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 3:58
19. The One (Harris/Jackson/Lewis/Ritz) - 1:01
20. Slolove (Bagge/Birgisson/Danvers/Jackson/Poole) - 3:44
21. Country (Harris/Jackson/Lewis) - 0:30
22. Just a Little While (Austin/Jackson) - 4:13