Review:
I've been working through the albums from the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die." Some of the the albums on this list are bound to be discoveries, but here's one that I've deeply absorbed into my bones. Sorry, Ms. Jackson, that this is the only entry you've been given on this list (I've always been more of a janet guy myself), but there's no debating its worthiness. Pop music doesn't get much funkier, more urgent or more packed with confidence. From front to back, this is loaded with hits, and even the few comparatively bum tracks (e.g. "Livin' in A World (They Didn't Make)) are purposeful reminders that this is just as much an album as a nearly unparalleled set of singles (8 of them, seven of which hit the top 10). Most of our contemporary pop ingenues struggle in their transition to adulthood. Between the coming of age statement that was Control and the fully-formed ambition represented here, Jackson makes one of the genre's most purposeful and believable transitions. She offers a thin voice that demands to be heard, pushing through Jam and Lewis' commanding production and the vapid cacophony of most pop radio.
Top Tracks:
The swooning, propulsive "Love Will Never Do (Without You)." The gritty, muscular "Black Cat."
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