Discipline - Dark Publications

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Album Description
"A PASSION FOR DISCIPLINE" by Janet "It's the idea that unifies the songs on this record. As a concept, and even a lifestyle, discipline goes extremely deep. It can be applied to so much about ourselves. In my case,I see it as one of defining aspects of my character. Discipline was there for me from the start. But it was not until this record that I began to understand its full meaning. "In putting Discipline out front -- as both the title of the album and title of a song about sexual surrender -- I wanted to announce that I was venturing into new creative waters. That meant working with producers like Jermaine Dupri, Rodney Jerkins, and Ne-Yo, whose songs spoke to the immediacy of my emotions. Like all my records, this one, whether intentional or not, has autobiographical roots. It's difficult for me to work any other way. I don't feel it, if I don't believe it, I can't sing it.

"So Discipline, as a storyline, begins in my childhood which someone could see as a classic study in discipline. Discipline was part of a family culture that I absorbed. I was born with it.

"I also believe that discipline has given me the confidence to jump out of the nest. When L.A. Reid, Chairman of Island Def Jam, and I discussed co-executive producing this record, we both agreed that the feeling had to adventuresome and fresh. I was interested in exploring musical scenarios--some exotic, many erotic, but all deeply emotional. "I wanted to push the envelope. And I'm glad that Discipline, both as a song and an album, does just that."

Customer Reviews: Read 129 more reviews...

2 out of 5 stars

What we have here is a failure to communicate February 28, 2008
71 out of 82 found this review helpful

For me, The Velvet Rope was Janet's masterpiece, though I didn't feel that way at the time. It wasn't until later that I realized how often the CD found its way back into my CD player. Velvet Rope seemed to culminate all the ideas and concepts Janet had been toying with since she first came on the scene. It represented Janet at her most personal, vulnerable and sexy with songs that ranged from an abusive relationship, to loss of a loved one to being tied up (presumably with ropes that were velvet) during sexual encounters to a bunch of emotions that ran the gamut of chaste to...not so chaste. It was expressive, dark and moody. Since then, her releases have been very cheery, which isn't a problem in and of itself.

Here's the thing. I've been listening to Janet Jackson since Control, when I was a young kid in the 80s. I've loved every single album she's released and even when the last two haven't been so great, I've still enjoyed them. The problem is, ever since All For You, the CDs have begun to run together. While I really enjoyed 20 Y.O., I was hoping for further evolution of Janet as an artist and I placed my hope in Discipline. Unfortunately, what I'm finding is an artist that seems to be trying so hard to gain a hit again that she's giving up everything that makes her unique.

It starts with getting rid of Jam and Lewis, her cohorts in crime since the beginning. When 20 Y.O. came out, I had thought that maybe finding new producers might help her freshen her image, but that has backfired. The songs on Discipline are...well, a lot of them are boring. They feel like any of the other nameless R&B artists out there, pumping out music that anyone of them could sing as opposed to personal songs that have defined Janet over her 20+ year career.

"Feedback" is a fun song; I was hoping that it was a sign that Discipline would be a great, daring new CD. But, after that song, I found myself stuck in music that wasn't exciting, daring or different. The only songs that really stuck out to me throughout my listens were "The 1" with Missy, "The Greatest X," and the aforementioned "Feedback." Those are ones I've listened to on a few occasions because I've enjoyed them and they remind me of some of Janet's fun, good songs. A few songs in the middle, like "Rock With You" are enjoyable, if easily forgetable. Then there are the ones that simply are crud. The title track, for instance, is probably the biggest misstep of Janet's career. It's not the sexy, sultry song she wants it to be and he use of the word "daddy" just adds to the weirdness. Honestly, at 40, shouldn't Janet be past the father-figure authoritarian fantasy? Even if not, this was done much better...in the Velvet Rope with "Rope Burn."

Instead of being the comback album Janet and friends have been hoping for since 20 Y.O., Discipline finds Janet so desperate to make a comeback album that she's willing to sacrifice her soul to do so. Melodramatic, I know, but this is the first time I've seen her singing songs she didn't write. Granted, Janet's not exactly the great poet of R&B, but it was her words, they came from her heart and they were about things she was facing. Instead of writing her album, she hired "hitmakers" to create songs and it shows. None of the songs really feel like a Janet song; they could just as easily be sung by any of the countless other R&B performers out there. What's worse, a lot of the songs feel like filler and I'm having trouble, looking at the song list, trying to remember how some of the songs go. By trying so desperately to make a comeback, Janet gave up what made her, her.

I know this isn't going to be a popular review and I'll have to be content with that. Believe me when I say that I'm sad that this is my first non-glowing review for Ms. Jackson. Before I bought this album, I was hearing a lot of less than stellar things being said here and elsewhere, I just told myself that these people were the haters and that her album would be good. Unfortunately, that's not the case and I've been seeing some fans, both longtime fans and new, saying similar things.

In a career that spans more than 20 years, everyone is entitled to a dud. As a fan of her work, this would be that one for me.

2.5 stars

4 out of 5 stars

She Ain't No Quitter! February 26, 2008
31 out of 45 found this review helpful

Work it out Ms. Jackson. Radio may have ignored the pure sexiness of "Feedback" with its undulating base, raunchy and quirky lyrics that were a shot in the arm to the dead Dance/R&B that's been clogging the radio, but anyone who heard it knew it was pure Janet.

Entertainment Weekly wrote a nasty review of "Discipline" stating that Ms. Jackson was now too old to explore her sexuality; backhandedly stating that she needs to cover it up and tackle a new theme. I want to know what is wrong with this theme? A woman's sexuality at any age should be in the forefront and with numbers like "So Much Betta" with it's whinny quips about being "Tired of being number two" and reversed break is proof that nothing's wrong with being grown.

"Rollercoaster" "Luv" and the PHENOMENAL "Rock with U" have to be some of the best songs of this decade. Jebus! The latter has Janet's voice snaking beats, electronic quips and her revelation that "Strobe lights make everything sexier" is pure magic leading the listener into a trance.

This album has a clean and pure focus: Fun and energetic. Oh, if it was only a complete dance album. The slow songs are not Janet at her best. "Curtains" is all shimmy, shake, and coos, making up for the other less than perfect slow jams.

Janet has been one of -- if not -- THE most consistent female artist in music as of late. The woman has made herself a sex symbol around the world for not only playing coy but overtly and openly displaying her sexuality. Why is there a need all of a sudden to knock her down a few pegs?

I will continue to buy her albums! The woman may not be breaking new ground but out of the rubble -- she's made an empire.

3 out of 5 stars

Janet Jackson (n.): In Need of 'Discipline' February 28, 2008
14 out of 17 found this review helpful

Listeners of expertly crafted, perfectly packaged dance-pop have a quick - if temporary - fix in "Discipline," Janet Jackson's new comeback effort. Results are mixed, but the set sports a handful of high-energy morning pick-me-ups frothier than a Starbucks latte. Recent LPs like "20 Y.O" and the full-on porn of "Damita Jo" may have yielded lackluster results, but Jackson has been an established figure in the pop game since today's college crowd was in diapers for a reason: given the right material, she is a formidable performer.

The album's feel is icy, distant and thoroughly modern, complete with Jackson's customary interludes, this time including a computer named Kyoko that gives her pep talks and even duets on the bizarre "So Much Betta." Despite such oddball moments the effusive, ultra catchy lead single "Feedback" and the roller disco-ready duo of "Rock with U" and "2nite" sizzle with flavor and catchy beats. With its instantly unshakable hook the sensuous "LUV" should be a massive hit, and "Never Letchu Go" is a pleasant slice of lovelorn r&b with 80's-inspired guitar work.

It's only when she gets sentimental about her finest orgasm ("The Greatest X") or objectifies male genitalia ("7 inches? Yup, that'll do!" on "The 1" featuring Missy Elliot) that the collection drifts into clumsy sexual perversions and, importantly, amelodiousness. The pretense climaxes as Jackson coos "Did I upset you daddy? Take out your frustrations on me." on a BDSM-themed title track that would make Madonna blush. Somewhere out there Ron Jeremy's ears are burning.

"Discipline" is typical late career Janet with obvious singles and equally obvious padding with overbearing sexual themes. This time, however, the singles rank among her best.

2 out of 5 stars

Bordering on Ridiculous : The Descent of A Legend February 26, 2008
12 out of 20 found this review helpful

Janet Jackson has ruled the airwaves in my home since 1990. 'janet" from 1993 was one of the seminal 'soundtrack of my life' albums back in the day. That said, what can one say about "Discipline" without sniggering or holding back contempt? I don't know. This much is true though - this is an album where the interludes are vastly more interesting and entertaining than the actual songs themselves - which I'm afraid doesn't bode well for the entire enterprise. Also, lead single "Feedback" (a tremendous radio failure) is the best thing here - which again isn't saying much.

Janet's last 'great' album was from 1997, titled "The Velvet Rope". It was also her last masterpiece. Since then, she has steadily lost whatever momentum she had. Even if she discarded all of her human rights and racism anthems for more sensual grooves, it would have been alright if the music was spectacular. But it wasn't to be. "20 Y.O" was a humungous disaster, a smoldering lump of catastrophe if there ever was one.

"Discipline", unfortunately, despite boasting of some excellent production (especially in the first half of the record), is very much like "20 Y.O". Its eminently forgettable (this is one Janet album you won't be playing much a year from now), and nothing here really stands out. Forget about potential singles - it will be interesting to watch which songs they choose to market from this, considering the music is so, so weak.

Also, the album goes in for a 'robotic' theme that doesn't gel. It eerily reminded me of that Victoria Beckham video from the last decade ("Out of my Mind"). The opening interlude has a robot asking Janet what she'd like to listen to, and the same robot closes the album. In between, Janet does what she does best - sing about sex. And the songs here, while not as graphic as some of her more sickening experiments ("Moist", anyone?), definitely make me believe that there is nothing more to this woman but a clump of overactive hormones. You'd think that when she hit 40 they would have quietened down, but its only gotten worse.

If you thought the lead track "Discipline" actually meant for discipline at work or personal life, you're wrong. It isn't anything that straightforward or decent. Instead, the song is a sexual come-on to her 'father', and throughout the entire track she talks to 'daddy' and asks him to do all sorts of weird things to her. Incest is definitely something most people aren't comfortable with, but this song will make you queasy no matter what your beliefs. Personally I found it disgusting.

Also, this is the record that has finally made me loose any shred of respect for Janet. Is there no life beyond her groin region? Are her private parts the only reason she sings anymore? How on earth can she make album after album of songs dedicated to her fallopian tubes? I do not understand. As a man, this sort of album from a woman is worrying and saddening - maybe this is what it takes to sell records these days. But remember, Janet was once a champion for a host of social causes, and much of her original fanbase, such as me, were attracted to her because of both her music and message - both of which have been hitting rock bottom of late.

The songs. Well, the best thing here is definitely "Rock With U". It has a light, happy vibe to it and reminded me a lot of her "All For You" days. "Greatest X" is dedicated to, you got it, an ex who is 'like, the greatest!'. The great production of "What's Your Name" elevates the songs mundane songwriting to another level - this is indeed one of her better tracks in a long while. "So Much Better" has a chorus sung by a child (or is that Janet's voice all vocoded?) and it works. Be reminded though, that most of these songs sound like something a B-Grade starlet such as Olivia, Nivea or even Ashanti would record - that 'classic Janet' stamp is not there at all, leaving all the songs sounding quite generic. In fact, the closest comparison I can draw for you is the "LeToya" album from a year ago. Its innovative in places, has a lot of sampling, but doesn't quite gel together.

The interludes are interesting to a point - especially "Spinnin", "Truth or Dare" and "Good Morning Janet". Janet, while making interludes, acts as if they were all recorded impromptu, lending the tracks an air of believability (somewhat). I like that she still uses this concept, but the only album where every single interlude worked was "Rhythm Nation 1814". I was also hoping that the ballads here would throw up something classic, but I was rather disappointed. Remember "Where are you Now?" from the 'janet' album, or even "Feels So Right" later in her career? The woman can ride a groove when she wants to. Sadly, none of that can be found here. The ballads are cheesy, and very infantile

Lastly, the songwriting. Janet has never been much of a poet, but much of what is going on here looks as though its from 16 year olds' torrid love-diaries (and not even in a voyeuristic or remotely interesting way). Especially infuriating are her constant obsessions with private parts and sex in general. In fact, "Discipline" would be the wrong title for this album. She may as well have titled it "Desperate" and gotten it done with. The final album closer "Curtains" brings some of that 1990s Janet spirit back, but albeit shortly. The entire sordid experiment is over in about 58 minutes, which is about an hour of your life you can invest doing more creative and productive things.

What a let-down. And this comes from a longtime Janet fan. Give "Discipline" a miss. If I wanted to listen to a middle aged woman croon about how much she needs sex constantly, there are numerous other places I can find this.

Two Stars.

5 out of 5 stars

How Janet got her groove back... February 26, 2008
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

Janet Jackson returns with her tenth studio album, "Discipline", hoping to regain the chart glory she once had before that infamous Superbowl incident. Ditching long-time producers Jam and Lewis, she's hooked up with a slew of producers and songwriters (she doesn't write anything this time, she'd previously co-written most songs on every album from "Control" to date) such as Rodney (Darkchild) Jerkins, Ne-Yo, Tricky Stewart, Stargate, and boyfriend Jermaine Dupri, to mention a few. More upbeat (and much better) than her previous release "20 Y.O.", the moods range from club bangers, mid-tempo numbers, edgy funky numbers, and chilled out baby making music.

Falling into the Upbeat club bangers category are lead-off Darkchild produced single "Feedback" (with stomping beats, intermittent rolling marching band drums, and distorted vocodered vocals), "Rock with U" (not big brother Michael's hit, but a funky song with bubbly 80s sounding synths, and Janet cooing over the beats, penned by Ne-Yo and Jermaine Dupri - the interlude before this song, "Bathroom break" is quite funny with a Daft Punk song playing in the background), and the club friendly Stargate produced "2nite" (with great bubbling synth breaks). Taking the tempo down a bit (and still highly danceable), we have the lovely "LUV" (nice echoing chorus and harmonies and a heavy bassline), and "Let me know" (a bonus on the Japanese version, as well as on iTunes) which is cut from the same Pop fabric as her hit "Runaway".

The edgy funk numbers are the rather atonal and sparse Darkchild produced "Rollercoaster" with percussion giving a spinning sound (faintly reminiscent of "Escapade" and it's catchy and grows on you), the Prince-like "So much betta" with chipmunk vocals and a sample from Daft Punk (who really must remember to buy Kanye West a nice "Thank you" card) it reminds me a bit of "Nasty", and the sexually charged "The 1" with Missy Elliott, nice percussion, chiming sounds and bursts of electric guitar. These three sound most like Janet's Jam/Lewis stuff of the past.

For ballads, there's the soothing lite-jazz of "Can't be good" (which reminds me a bit of "I can't help it" by Michael), the catchy "Greatest X" (she must have an ex fixation, there was "Thinkin' bout my ex" on "Damita Jo"), "What's ur name", and (for the first time on a Janet album) the title track "Discipline" which is the best of the lot; A steamy slowed down Jodeci/R Kelly style soulful ballad with lovely harmonies, (again) sexually charged masochistic lyrics about "having misbehaved and wanting her daddy to discipline her and make her cry", and heavy breathing at the end. What was her crime? "I touched myself/when you told me to wait". Surprisingly, it works very well, and is her most memorable ballad since "I want you".

The other ballads; "Never letchu go" (with sprinklings of electric guitar), and "Curtains" are not bad, but I get the feeling they would sound better sung by someone like Mary J Blige or Mariah Carey. They are so-so songs which need someone with powerful vocal chops to carry them off, Janet sounds lost in the mix here. I feel these could have been replaced with more upbeat songs, but like I said, they are not bad.

Good to see that she has toned down the overt sexual nature of her lyrics that appeared in her last 3 albums (we really didn't need to know about the temperature or humidity of her hidden body parts, "Warmth" and "Moist"), she doesn't have to be an oversexed android all the time. I think this album could bring Janet back on top, IF radio gives her a chance. So far, "Feedback" has been given a wide berth, but that doesn't detract from the fact that this is a very good fun album which should give Janet her 6th #1 album.
P.S. I do not like the album cover photo; she looks like a bad drag queen. :-)

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