janet. the discography rate.

nikkysan

nikkysan

he/him
nikkysan said:
I feel this on a spiritual level. Like... the first 4 albums alone??? I have to somehow whittle some of those songs which would be 11/10s in most other artists discographies down to like... 8s and 7s? Impossible.
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I’m going through Rhythm Nation as we speak and I’ve already given out no less than seven 10s

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See, when you do iconicery…
 
Dangerous Maknae

Dangerous Maknae

RainOnFire said:
@nikkysan and I have similar journeys when it comes to Janet, where I didn't grow up with her music, but then I dove into her discography about five years ago and my life was completely transformed to say the least. She's become one of the most important artists of my life, even if I only discovered her a relatively short while ago. And as someone who loves pop music, it was a huge wakeup call to realize that so many things that I had credited to Madonna and especially Britney were actually Janet's doing (and I don't mean this in a stan-wars-y type of way in case this gets misconstrued - but it's no secret that many of Janet's contributions to music and pop culture have been either ignored or erased).
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This also sums up my feelings as a Janet fan. I had never listened to her albums until the pandemic, when I had plenty of time to delve into her (and Mariah's) huge discography. It was then that I realized how much of the pop music that I grew up stanning was influenced by her. Like, Britney's self titled album was a masterpiece to me at 14-15 and I didn't know that it's basically a Janet album until almost a decade later.
 
nikkysan

nikkysan

he/him
I've nearly finished with my own scoring (all the albums are done, just the extras to go) and it really shouldn't be understated what an amazing a return to form Unbreakable was. After 20 Y.O. and Discipline, which while I enjoy them (20 Y.O. I especially found to be much more solid than I remember it being), they were just missing that magic that most of Janet's albums have. Going back to work with Jimmy and Terry was the only way she could have returned after such a long hiatus. The production is so rich and warm. It never ceases to amaze me how versatile and adaptable Jimmy and Terry are over the years with music trends ever changing, while still managing to keep Janet's musical DNA woven in. I don't know a better artist/producer team that created so much music for over 3 decades. I admitedly don't return to Unbreakable as much as I do with the first 4 albums, but I should probably change that. I love being reminded that it's truly up there with those albums as her best work.
 
boom bazooka joe

boom bazooka joe

he/him
nikkysan said:
I've nearly finished with my own scoring (all the albums are done, just the extras to go) and it really shouldn't be understated what an amazing a return to form Unbreakable was. After 20 Y.O. and Discipline, which while I enjoy them (20 Y.O. I especially found to be much more solid than I remember it being), they were just missing that magic that most of Janet's albums have. Going back to work with Jimmy and Terry was the only way she could have returned after such a long hiatus. The production is so rich and warm. It never ceases to amaze me how versatile and adaptable Jimmy and Terry are over the years with music trends ever changing, while still managing to keep Janet's musical DNA woven in. I don't know a better artist/producer team that created so much music for over 3 decades. I admitedly don't return to Unbreakable as much as I do with the first 4 albums, but I should probably change that. I love being reminded that it's truly up there with those albums as her best work.
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In many ways, I would rank Unbreakable 4th in her canon. I'm actually an unashamed, unabashed 20 Y.O. and Discipline apologist, but I can totally understand the dip in quality, or at the very least, the lack of "Janet's signature" in those albums, and Unbreakable was a course correction in every since of the world. It felt both new and classic for her, and the fact that over 30 years into her career she was still releasing some of her "best" material felt so rewarding as a long time fan who had felt like Janet had become the brunt of a joke for a lot of her post Damita Jo years.
 
boom bazooka joe

boom bazooka joe

he/him
I'm finding it way too hard just giving each song a 10, 9, 8, etc. (I've done it twice and then I'll look at all the 8's I gave, for example, and I don't feel like they are all on the same level at all ddd) so instead I'm just ranking them all from favorite to least favorite. Then I can easily just go "this section is the 10s" "the 9s" and so on.

Thankfully I know nearly all of these songs except for a few extras like the back of my hand.
 
RainOnFire

RainOnFire

Staff member
I'll have a more definitive ranking once I figure out my averages, but I think I might place Unbreakable at #3 or #4 for me. I love that the production touches on so many genres and soundscapes while still feeling like a cohesive unit, and there's such a warmth that permeates through the whole thing. It's a magical album as you guys have said.

I do think it's a touch too long though, I would remove 3-4 songs to make it tighter. And even though I think the title track is beautiful, Unbreakable as an album title just feels so overdone and cliché. The Great Forever would've been an amazing album title.
 
RainOnFire

RainOnFire

Staff member
boom bazooka joe said:
I’ve just never been a fan of when Janet flirts with yee-haw. (I’m similarly not a fan of What’ll I Do and though it’s not quite the same, Just A Little While.)
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This is fair. I don't mind a bit of yee-haw, but it's also about the emotions for me because I think it's one of the most touching songs she's ever done, lyrically and vocally. I think it's the perfect closer for the album and her career at this point
 
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