Closer

This is an uptempo song. This is the lead single off the cd. He seems to be talking about getting closer to a woman. It's a great song to dance to.

Nobody

This is another uptempo song. This song is about no one being better than the woman he wants. He is really channeling Michael Jackson in this song. This is also a great song to dance to.

Single

This is a cross between ballad and midtempo song. He is singing about being a single woman's boyfriend for a night and until the song goes off. Guess that's not really a long time to be someone's boyfriend.

Mad

This is a ballad. This song is about reaching out to his woman to make up since they are constantly fighting. I can see this song being the third single released. It is really good in my opinion.

Miss Independent

This is another uptempo song. It's the second single released off the cd. This song is about a woman taking care of herself. This can be a woman's anthem from a man's point of view.

Why Does She Stay

This song is a ballad. It's about a woman who puts up with his schedule and their lack of time together as well as his attitude. He really sounds like Michael Jackson in this song too. I think it's a really pretty song.

Fade Into the Background

This is an uptempo song. It's about watching his woman moving on with someone else. This reminds me of the 80s or early 90s song called “Congratulations” by Vesta.

So You Can Cry

This is a mid to uptempo song. It's a song about him being there for a woman going through a breakup.

Part Of The List

This is a ballad. He makes a list of things he misses about the girl he lost. This is another song where he sounds like Michael Jackson. This is one of my favorite songs on the cd.

Back To What You Know

This is an uptempo song. This is a song about a woman going back to the other man she really loves. I thought this song was going to be about something else. I thought it would have been about things he missed as a kid.

Lie To Me

This is a ballad. He suspects his woman is cheating on him and he doesn't want it to be true. He wants her to lie to him instead. He really sounds like Michael Jackson in this song. This is another one of my favorite songs.

Stop This World

This is a ballad. This is a love song. He doesn't want anyone to stop his love with his woman. He feels like he's in heaven and doesn't deserve the woman he loves. I thought this song would have been about saving the world or something. I didn't expect it to be a love song.

Overall

I enjoyed every song on the cd. In my opinion, there are no filler songs. There are no interludes or guest appearances with the exception of the beginning of “Single”. If you're a fan of Ne-Yo or a new listener to his music, I think you'll enjoy the cd.

Control - "Nasty"

This song launched Jackson into the mainstream, prompting millions of girls to echo the stern warning, "No, my first name ain't ‘baby,' it's Janet! Ms. Jackson if you nasty!" A taste of what was to come, "Nasty," a modern classic, made Janet accessible to a wider fan base with its harder-edged R&B sound.

Rhythm Nation 1814 - "Miss You Much"

One of the best times in Janet's career, this album saw Janet reflecting on the social injustices of the era. It is by far her most socially conscious album, but one of the best cuts is this ode to separated love. It's a funky dance track with a great video. She'll "send it in a letter, baby, tell you on the phone," ‘cause she "miss you much"!

Janet - "If"

In the early nineties, Janet had would some would call a change in image, others just sat scratching their heads wondering where this self-empowered seductress came from. Janet didn't care, she was out to be herself, and she was really a bit of a nympho. One listen to this startlingly explicit track and the change is apparent. Mixing rock, hip-hop, R&B, pop, and dance, this is one of Janet's finest tracks to date. One thing is for sure, she isn't your girl... But if she was...

HIStory - "Scream"

Before continuing to her next album, the still hyper-empowered Jackson cut this track with her brother, who you may've heard of in passing... Trading verses of angst, Janet and Michael go on a tirade about life, seeing the King of Pop even drop an f-bomb! Thankfully, he lightened up, but even so, this is one solid track.

The Velvet Rope - "You"

Summing up the dark yet hopeful feel of this album, Janet presents an open letter of sorts to an unknown recipient whom most speculate to be Michael. "You" finds Janet contemplating action and its consequence, ultimately concluding that sometimes "you can't blame nobody but you." On The Velvet Rope, with its more varied sound and deep lyrical content, Janet allows us a window into her depression and hope. Possibly Janet's best album to date.

All for You - "You Ain't Right"

While I may've taken the obvious route and chosen the title song, it seemed better to dig up this painfully overlooked cut. A club banger sure to get the crowd on their feet, Jackson's back to her empowered self and taking names. With a lighter view on life, All for You provides the ultimate summer soundtrack. "You Ain't Right" is only a taste of what this superior pop album has to offer.

Justified - "And She Said (Take Me Now)"

Before recording her next album, Janet joined Justin for this funky slice of R&B. The track finds them trading suggestive verses leading to a quite direct chorus, in keeping with Janet's theme but a bit of a departure for clean-cut boy-bander Timberlake. Stick around for the song's Timbaland-infused outro. This track leaves one wishing the two would collaborate more often, just maybe not onstage... And for those of you who haven't picked up a copy of Justin's excellent first solo album, do so.

Damita Jo - "All Night (Don't Stop)"

Experimenting with a more rhythmic sound, "All Night" is one of the best tracks on this somewhat disappointing effort, with the notable exception of "R&B Junkie." Not terrible, but pornographic songs like "Moist" and "Warmth" leave much to be desired.

20 Y.O. - "So Excited"

Move over Ciara, Ms. Jackson's back! Well, not exactly. Audiences didn't warm up to the album as they should've, considering they were still prudishly bitter from the SuperBowl incident and dirty Damita Jo. But 20 Y.O. was actually a pretty solid album, with "So Excited" being only one example of its modern dance-R&B offerings. Just watch out for the yawners like "Enjoy."

Discipline - "So Much Betta"

Now she's back, and people (thankfully) aren't so bitter. While missing the deeper side of nineties Janet, it's safe to say Janet is now on her A-game. Returning to the club-ready tracks that are her comfort-zone, Discipline was made for the dance floor. This is an album worth owning.

The first single off the album, "Feedback," is one of the best pop releases in recent memory. Using metaphor only workable by Ms. Jackson, Janet gives us a club slammer. This is "Come On Get Up" to the 100th power. But thankfully the energy hardly runs out here. Janet continues with the solid "LUV," a Ciara-esque tune proving Janet knows how to work it with the modern R&B crowd. But she doesn't really have time for much more of that. After all, that's not why audiences love Janet, they're in it for the shock, creativity, and most of all dance. This brings us to the bizarre but immensely entertaining and catchy "Rollercoaster." One of the best tracks on the album, Janet gives a space-y and funky dance tune that surprisingly hasn't been released as a single.

"Rock with U" and "2night" are thoroughly modern house and dance tracks, respectively. The former lays down a disarming house beat that'll keep the ravers busy for awhile, while the latter drops a hard dance beat sure to become a regular at dance clubs.
If you were thinking to yourself, "yes, she finally realized ballads just aren't her ‘thing'," think again. We get three cooing slow-jams in a row, but thankfully none are particularly painful. And actually "Can't B Good" is a rather surprising twist on the formula, at least one reviewer has drawn a comparison to her older brother's (albeit superior) "Human Nature."
Enough about ballads, when one thinks Janet, they think dance. And that's just what she wants us to do for the next few tracks. "So Much Betta," a weird funky slice of R&B, has Janet trading verses with her creepy and ambiguous robot-tour-guide maybe-more friend. (Don't ask... it's Janet.) If this track doesn't get you on your feet, you're probably dead. A thoroughly different sound for Janet, this is a standout, hence my giving the song its own full paragraph. I could go on, but I'll refrain...

"The 1" with Missy Elliott is another party track, but fails in comparison to the focused "So Much Betta." "What's Ur Name" is the cool-down track, pleasant, but hardly groundbreaking. That brings us to the title track... Seriously, I'm not gonna lie, it's scary. Hearing a grown woman coo about wanting her "daddy" to "come punish" her for "touching herself" when he "commanded" her to "wait" for him invites psychological analysis. Were it not so creepy, it's a pretty good slow-jam, with the chorus being a bit less disturbing than the verses. Still, there's no avoiding its creepiness. Whoever decided not to put a parental advisory on this disk needs fired or analyzed, maybe both.

This brings us to the album closer, the awesome "Curtains." This is classic Janet; chilled out and insanely cool. Mixing gospel, pop, and R&B, Janet gives the perfect closing to an album that proves she's in it to win again.