Album Review: "Discipline" by Janet Jackson

Album review: Discipline by Janet Jackson

The youngest sibling of the famous musical dynasty that is the Jackson family, Janet released her tenth studio album ‘Discipline’ in 2008. Some were quick to label the album as a comeback album perhaps because Janet hadn’t released an album for two years. Others regarded it as a re-invention of Janet the artist, as Janet had cut ties with her label Virgin and joined Island Def Jam group.

I tend to agree with the latter because on receiving the album, the first thing that struck me was the very ‘futuristic’ Janet on the cover. The cover featured Janet in a somewhat revealing bondage type clothing, her hair long and slick a far cry from the Janet I was used to. The shy, girl-next-door type Janet was replaced by this more edgier, in-your-face woman. This was definitely a ‘new’ Janet and so eagerly I listened to the album.

The album opens with a conversation (intro termed ID) between Janet and a robot identified as Kiyoko. The futuristic theme was well in gear but does Janet (or Miss Jackson if you’re nasty) pull it off?  Well let’s start with the basics first; ‘Discipline’ is largely a dance/pop/R&B album in that it features mainly dance/pop songs with some ballads. This is true to most of Janet’s previous albums however what sets this album apart is that the melody and vocal expression including the lyrics are edgier as will become clearer later.

Secondly, ‘Discipline’ contains fourteen songs, although the album shows twenty-three tracks. This is because nine of the ‘tracks’ aren’t really songs but simply ‘intros’. This won’t surprise any Janet fans, as Janet has become synonymous with including short parts between songs in her albums. These short parts act as ‘intro’ to either the feel or subject matter of the song to follow. However this ‘quirk’ could be a slight put off by the non-Janet fans. 

The ‘intros’ aside, ‘Discipline’ is a great album by Janet. Indeed it’s hard to truly find songs that are completely mediocre. Take the first song released from the album ‘Feedback’; it’s easy to see why this song became such a hit. ‘Feedback’ is a hard-hitting dance song with a very techno sound and makes you want to bust some moves. Janet’s lyrics are also more daring in ‘Feedback’, who can forget the line ‘I am heavy like a first day period!’ With such daring lyrics Janet needed to express this song with confidence that would carry through to the listener otherwise the songs risks sounding ‘cringe-worthy’. Fortunately Janet does so very well. Another expression of the ‘new/futuristic’, daring Janet on this album comes in the tenth song ‘The one’, which features Missy Elliot. Again just like in ‘Feedback’, Janet’s confidence in her vocals and expression is carried through to the listener making the songs very engaging.

If after listening to ‘Feedback’ you are still unsure of what I mean by ‘edgier, futuristic vibe’ then song nine ‘So much beta’ should answer that question. In ‘So much beta’, again a dance/pop song, Janet sings with the help of the robot, Kiyoko.

The second song ‘Luv’ also carries the hard dance vibe that ‘Feedback’ has however ‘Luv’ is expressed with a softer tone of Janet’s voice. The same softer tone also features in ‘Rock with u’, the seventh song. These songs showcase the versatility of Janet’s vocal expression and interpretation of lyrics despite the fact that vocally, Janet is quite limited. In ‘Luv’ the melody is more upbeat whilst ‘Rock with u’ is melodically very stripped, the sound is less busy than in ‘Luv’. Despite these differences in melody of the songs Janet is able to adapt vocally well enough to allow the listener the versatility of the melody and engage in the song.  In doing so Janet is able to move on to more daring melodies and lyrics without compromising on her vocal abilities or alienating the listeners.

Although this ‘new’ edgier Janet is well executed in the named songs above, Janet also brings back the familiar Janet signature/vibe in songs like ‘Rollercoaster’, ‘Greatest X’ and ‘can’t be good’. Janet’s vocal expressions on these songs return to the Janet vibe with her sweet and gentle vocal expressions. That is to say, although these songs are melodically different in that ‘Rollercoaster’ (the third song) is another upbeat tempo song whilst both ‘Greatest X’ (eight song) and ‘Can’t b good’ (sixth song) are the only ballads on the album, Janet’s sweetness of her vocals make these songs very reminiscence of her previous work.  For anyone who enjoys Janet’s ‘vibe’ in her previous albums, they will enjoy these songs very much.

‘Discipline’ is indeed a great album from Janet. It will appeal to any Janet fans and non-fans alike. Janet is more daring as discussed earlier, however this makes the album more exciting to listen to. Furthermore despite some in-your-face lyrics, Janet carries the songs well enough to make them enjoyable without been offensive or cringe-worthy. This album is definitely a work of a growing artist who has had enough maturity to understand her creative limitation and strength but at the same time, an artist that wants to venture away from her comfort zone. This album will however not appeal to anyone who doesn’t enjoy dance/pop songs with an R&B/urban twist. Nor will it appeal to anyone who dislikes in-your-face lyrics especially those centered on the subjects of love/lust/sex.