All For Janet

Sometimes hot, sometimes cold, Janet Jackson never ceases to surprise.

After a three-year hiatus, Janet Jackson has a new album, "All For You", in stores. Driven largely by the infectious beats and dance riffs of the title track, "All For You" is a fair collection of dance grooves and softly-suggestive ballads, produced and mixed by the team behind many of her earlier hits.

Among the notable tracks on "All For You" are "Come On Get Up", a peppy dance number; "You Ain't Right", an edgy pop-funk combination; and "Doesn't Really Matter", the R&B-influenced hit from last year's "Nutty Professor II". "China Love", "Better Days" and "Truth" are bitter-sweet ballads, each backed with seductive vocals and some unique tinges of pop and R&B.

Despite this, there are a few flaws as well: the numerous verbal interludes a la Britney Spears are simply annoying, while the explicit lyrics in "When We Oooo" and "Would You Mind" may have parents reeaching for their earplugs. Sometimes hot, sometimes cold, "All For You" is worth a look, if only out of admiration for an artist who never ceases to surprise.

This article was first published on28 May 2001.