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What really differentiates the album from its predecessors is that there's almost no trace of tension to be heard. It's all about fooling around and being in love.
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Dupri exits the album halfway through, leaving the final five songs almost entirely to Jam-Lewis-Jackson. She seems hopelessly drawn to their old-school settings of strings, real pianos and quiet-storm drama.
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Janet is as crafty and poised as ever. Her flirtations are still a pleasure, but an overly familiar one.
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There's a little too much consistency across the album -- too few moments stand out, and too many of the hooks just blend together.
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Dated songs like "So Excited" and "Do It 2 Me" end up sounding like they're, well, 20 years old.
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Sharp production can't mask the absence of any standouts likely to be remembered 20 months from now.
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There’s precious little to get, well, excited about here.
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The saddest thing about 20 Y.O. is that Janet's decision to hedge her bets on an album whose backbone is made up of terrible R&B instead of great dance music.
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BlenderIt's hard to catch much buzz off fun that sounds so much like work. [Dec 2006, p.170]
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A record that surgically removes all trace of sensuality and replaces it with calculated, mechanical, by-numbers bump'n'grind action.
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Almost all of the tunes here (particularly "So Excited") try to replicate Jackson's early work, with diminishing returns.
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Sexuality doesn't sink 20 Y.O. as much as the beats do.
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Uncut20 Y.O. is a lazy timewarp, not a retro treat. [Dec 2006, p.114]
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It's a bland album that rarely shifts tempo and shows almost none of the personality Jackson used to have.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 44 out of 98
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Mixed: 24 out of 98
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Negative: 30 out of 98
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Sep 28, 2022
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Jul 2, 2022
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Aug 21, 2021