{blackbabes} Album of the week: Janet Jackson turns reflective on 'Unbreakable'

 

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It's been nearly 30 years since Janet Jackson established Control. With that 1986 album, and follow-ups Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) and janet. (1993), Michael Jackson's kid sister not only forged her own creative identity, but also eventually surpassed her brother as a commercial and cultural force.

If Janet lacked Michael's dizzying gifts as a singer and musical visionary, the songs she crafted with longtime collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis proved similarly vital; and the confidence she exuded influenced a generation of female pop and R&B artists — and the young women and girls listening.

Jackson is 49 now, and hasn't released a studio album since 2008's misguided Discipline, which featured various producers and drew more attention for its references to sadomasochism than its sonic dexterity or daring. Happily, Unbreakable (three out of four stars), out Friday, reunites her with Jam and Lewis and provides a more cohesive, convincing showcase for Jackson's gifts and her growth.

 

The young woman intent on liberating herself and the world is still socially and spiritually conscious, but she has evolved into a more settled, reflective artist. Those aren't qualities you'd necessarily associate with Jackson, and some of the more contemplative tunes on Unbreakable can seem static. The sleepy After You Fall suggests Jackson's old hit Again without the melodic vibrancy. Broken Hearts Heal teases us with jazz accents but wears out its crisp, easy groove.

There are affecting surprises, though, such as the folky, poignant Lessons Learned; and exuberance, from the brightly infectious title track to Take Me Away, with its ebullient waves of synth and sudden bursts of electric guitar. Jackson brings on the funk for the breathless BURNITUP!, with Missy Elliott, and the joyful retro-soul workout Gon' B Alright.

Jackson's voice sounds a little duskier now, and at its most quavering encourages comparisons to Michael's even more than it did in her youth. Whether riding a blithe groove on Take Me Away or pleading that "hate will only divide" on The Great Forever, she wields the shivery vibrato that emphasizes her shared DNA with a fuller, more fluid voice.

Of course, Jackson is long past the point where such comparisons are an issue. "I've come a long way / Got a long way to go," she sings in the anthemic Well-Traveled, a summation of the album's themes of compassion and inclusion.

With Unbreakable, Jackson, already a proven survivor — of both her family's well-publicized struggles and decades of changing trends in pop music and culture — gives us no reason to doubt that people will keep watching, and listening.

Download: Unbreakable, Shoulda Known Better, Take Me Away.

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