Janet’s latest is produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and goes for the modern afro-latin pop sound popularized by Pitbull the last couple of years. Pit appears here of course, although we’re not quite sure why he chose to interpolate “Watagatapitusbery” at this point in the game. Anyway, sounds like pretty standard club fare. Can’t see this one shattering the room and honestly this is already sounding a little bit dated in comparison to the hottest sounds of uptempo club music (i.e. LMFAO, DJ Chuckie, etc). Really hoping she doesn’t try to use Michael’s death to market her new record… she’s got more class than that.

Listen: Janet Jackson + Pitbull + Rock City + Machel Montano – “Heart, Beat, Love”

Plenty of buzz surrounded the first single, an up-tempo dance number called “Feedback” co-produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and D’Mile, with the word “comeback” tossed around liberally by Jackson’s fans. Truthfully, though, it’s been only a mild hit with the music-buying public, meaning her days as a top ten single machine probably aren’t coming back.

Janet’s biggest challenge in the 21st Century has been figuring up how to keep up with the fickle currents of pop music. Since she doesn’t have the reinvention skill of a Madonna or the musical gifts of a Prince, that hasn’t been easy, but the good news is that Discipline marks her most successful attempt at putting a current twist on her classic sound.

To pull it off, she had to say farewell to long-time collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and enlist the help of a team of new producers and writers ranging from the Norwegian duo Stargate on “2nite” to the ubiquitous Ne-Yo on “Rock With U” – which isn’t an updated version of brother Michael’s old hit. Janet does channel a little of big brother’s old school sound on the wistful “Can’t B Good” and her team up with Missy Elliott on “The 1″ is a winner.

The dance tracks are stronger as a whole than the slower cuts, which include the limp “Never Letchu Go” and “Greatest X.” Listeners also shouldn’t expect anything revolutionary on the subject matter front – no “Rhythm Nation,” for sure – as Jackson sticks to the relatively safe and well-explored topics of love and relationships.  And since it wouldn’t be a Janet album without an unabashedly sexual song or two, the title track focuses on “Discipline” in the bedroom sense.

As the album closes on a high note with “Curtains,” combining Jackson’s suggestive singing about a private show for the listener with a mellow groove and some timely horns provided by Jerkins, it’s hard not to call her tenth time out a success. The heady, chart-topping days of the past might be gone for good, but Miss Janet proves she can still put together a nice batch of R&B-flavored pop. As long as she’s disciplined enough to accept a slightly lower standard of success, it’s all good. – Nick Tylwalk