Janet Jackson: Janet. (Virgin, 1993)

As befits the era of CD bloat, Janet Jackson albums are inconsistent, exhausting things, largely due to the ballads smashed into the latter third of the running time. There are far too many of the latter here. But this is pop so who cares about consistent albums? As it is, Janet. just so happens to feature her greatest song - "Throb," a platinum-plated house track that keeps revealing sound effects thirty years later. It's the quintessential example of how singers can "die" into their songs, with disembodied Janets moaning amongst the myriad folds of the mix. Then there's her third greatest track (after "Rhythm Nation"), "If" which fuses pop control with rock abandon. Jam/Lewis/Janet coat the middle eight with an elephant wail of guitar noise up top and a barrage of oil drums on the ass end. It's as much a guitar solo as an industrial-disco break. And the snare return at 3:21 is one of the funkiest, most kinetic moments in all popular music history. Be sure to stick around for the funky, big band "Funky Big Band," one of many demonstrations of Janet Jackson the Music Lover. She's the biggest fan of her own music and she lets us in on her joy. Ok here we go!

Grade: A-minus