| CUSTOMER REVIEWS: | 5/5 - *Celebrating Janet's 20 Years!*
While some artists have come and gone, Janet Jackson has achieved a lot in her 20 years thus making a mark that her success and rise to the top have been truly smashing and grand! "20 Y.O." is a celebration of all that she has covered in her 20 years; It's about having fun, not being serious, and just feeling great! From start to finish the album has touches of class, details, and striking surprises!
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<br />Not only did this album have the lyrics, beautiful disc artwork, and greetings to God, Jermaine Dupri [her man], and her adoring fans, but she had numerous photo covers done for the same album. Janet wanted to capture the different looks throughout her career. All the different photos were collected from major photographers. Amazon surprisingly sent me a striking album cover that was done by the contest winner designer Nicole Marie Clark! But aside the cover, the contents are what made this even more of an epitome of the ICONIC image she is!
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<br />There are some excellent dance tracks that will create party vibes sure to make you to want to dance, feel energized, or just feel positive and uplifted! While the album could have taken this dance route all the way and perhaps made a stronger mark to some, it was nonetheless fabulous to enjoy for its variation! Aside the dance tracks, there are slower jams carrying more mellow vibes creating vast emotions all positive and meaningful! The tempos have booming blends adding a more R&B touch! Her vocals are soft, sensual, and pleasant in sound. From my tastes, every song had something special to offer! Enjoy the varying styles and feel invigorated, energized, and in the mood to dance, relax, or get ready to unwind with that special someone!
3/5 - 3-1/2 stars -- Somewhere in the middle of both decades
When I first got word that Janet Jackson's new album was going to be called 20 Y.O. (short for Years Old, if you don't know that yet), I thought that it was a reference to her career longevity, but Janet actually said in interviews that the album is titled as such because she feels like she's twenty years old; to that I said, "OH, boy." But this album really isn't that bad.
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<br />It would be too easy to say that this album is better than Damita Jo because I thought that album was horrendous, although Janet never really lost her vocal ability. But I initially wondered if I would even be able to give this album more than three stars because the first five actual songs are extremely okay (and why would you purposely have Khia on your album?). But things start to pick up when "With U" comes around, even though the song is slightly corny. And when I really listened to the Nelly-assisted "Call On Me" (an obvious single due to "Y'all know what this is!"), I realized that it's actually pretty good.
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<br />The only real disappointment here is that there aren't many sexual ballads this time around; in fact, the only ones are the last two ("Take Care" and "Love 2 Love", which are both highlights). And although "Enjoy" and "Daybreak" are catchy, they would sound better coming from someone who actually IS twenty years old, not someone who ACTS like it (sorry if I sound cruel). Anyway, while 20 Y.O. isn't on the same level as Control or Rhythm Nation 1814 (and it still shows signs of Janet trying to cater to the teenage crowd a little too much), it's still a good enough album to have in your collection.
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<br />Anthony Rupert
3/5 - 20 Y.O.
Two years ago Damita Jo was released and it did not do well. Given the circumstances, how well could it have done. Boobgate tarnished her image causing her to recieve a lot of negative press. She went from pop sensation to a scarlet letter jezzebel in a span of a day. It was not like Damita Jo was that stellar of an album. I'm not saying it was horrible, but when you come off of fun album like All For You which is standard Janet fun music, and make something with more diverse song selection and less dance oriented, then you cant help but be somewhat disaapointed with DamitaJo! But here we are two years later and we have 20YO! The first single, "Call on Me", had me concerned because to me it does not sound like a Janet track. Then I immediately resolved that 20YO was going to be DamitaJo part 2. I mean to me its more of a Nelly/JD song then it is Janet Jackson. Even to this day the song is probably my least favorite on 20YO. So then she released "So Excited", which is a big step up for her as far as singles, mainly because the song is fun, but it still lacks the vibrant upbeat feel that is normaly associated with Janet. So while I liked the track it still was not perfect for me. What made the song grow on me is seeing her dance in the video. But then that was tainted because once again sex was being used to make the video attractive and not the music. So the cd is finally released, I purchase it, and then i begin to form my final thought on Janet's 20YO. I like the album. Its worth the money and time to listen to it. The eleven tracks(plus 5 interviews) are a major improvement from her last effort because they each have the fun element that gives you a spark of hope that Janet still has what made her loved by so many people. But then that ray of hope that is present on the album is over shaddowed by her sexulality which has a strong prescence on the CD. I also think that while Jermaine's production does make her relevant and youthful, I think it produces more of a hip-hop/R |
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Sunday, December 27, 2009
Last visit: 26/12/2009
