Janet Jackson
20 Y.O.
(Virgin)
There can be only one explanation for Janet Jackson calling her new disc 20 Y.O.: mid-life crisis. Twenty years on from Control, which announced her emergence from the shadows of her siblings, Jackson wants to show she still has what it takes to conquer the charts and the gravitational pull of age.
Where growing old is concerned, the 40-year-old pop queen is as sexy as ever, with gym-worked abs and a face as free of creases as a mannequin's. But where music is concerned, the fantasy ends.
Fifteen tracks follow the now obligatory but usually futile 'intro'. Lest shoppers think they're on to a bargain, however, the 15 include three interludes and an 'outro'. Which brings us to 11 songs, many of which bear titles that show what's on Janet's mind: she's So Excited she wants (insert name, probably Jermaine Dupri, her boyfriend and executive producer on the album) to Do It 2 Me, then Call on Me for more Love 2 Love.