PopSyndicate.com

After the lukewarm reception of her last CD, 20 Y.O., you would think that Janet Jackson would try to go in a different direction.  You would be mistaken.  Janet Jackson continues her downward spiral with Discipline.  Like with 20 Y.O., each track is swimming with sexual references both blatant and explicit.  She once again enlists the help of producer/boyfriend Jermaine Dupri, who after resurrecting Mariah Carey’s career with The Emancipation of Mimi, should have been able to bring Jackson back to relevancy.  Discipline proves the old adage; you shouldn’t poop where you eat.

Janet desperately wants to compete with Beyonce, Rihanna and even Mariah Carey. Instead of setting trends and styles like she did in the 80’s and 90’s, Janet blindly follows along with no real clue about why the current musical trends work.  She tries to sex it up but comes off juvenile and cheap.  It’s like a twelve year-old singing about sex but not really knowing what they’re talking about. 

The first single proves that Janet has lost it.  With lyrics like “Cause my swag is serious/Something heavy like a first day period”, you have to wonder who’s writing for her and why she would agree to such moronic lyrics.  “Luv” is an extended car metaphor where she basically rams the idea down your throat. “I tried to switch (my lanes)/But then I hit (my brakes)/Sparks turned into (flames)”. Check out Rihanna’s “Get Into My Car” for a better use of extended car metaphors.  It’s a shame the lyrics are so uninspired considering the talent Janet brought with her to the album. Ne-Yo, Rodney Jerkins, The-Dream, StarGate and Missy Elliott all lend their talents to the album. It makes Discipline a slick, smooth over produced affair but lacks any soul or feeling.

“Can’t B Good” is reminiscent of her brother Michael’s “Human Nature”.  Fans hoping for “Rock With You” to be a cover of Michael’s classic will have their hopes dashed.  It’s another poppy dance track about Janet wanting sex.  To help better emphasize Janet’s sexiness, she breathily heaves through all the songs making one track pretty much the same as the others.  The only the closing track “The 1” featuring Missy Elliot, offers any variation on the theme but only in style.  The subject matter is still the same. 

There are 22 tracks on Discipline but only 13 are actual songs.  The rest are little moments where Janet can sex it up in-between the songs about sex. By the time Discipline is over, it’s hard to remember one song to the next.  Sexy albums can be made.  Madonna did it in the 90’s with Erotica.  Janet Jackson’s Discipline sounds more like someone wanting to be sexy but having no idea how to achieve it.

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