Janet Jackson - From Janet to Damita Jo (Virgin)/Live in Hawaii & The Velvet Rope Special Edition Double Disc (Eagle Rock)

Don’t get me wrong – I’ve got nothing against Janet Jackson’s boobs but I thought the whole Superbowl ‘wardrobe malfunction’ publicity stunt was totally wrong. Having spent the 90s carving a highly creative niche with Janet and The Velvet Rope (by far the best two albums ever created by a Jackson), she seems to have blown the 00s on mellow bedroom music and formation dancing.

Janet’s experimental streak - both musically and visually - hit a zenith with What’s It Gonna Be?, her collaboration with Busta Rhymes. This and her laid back but equally mesmerising Beanie Man collaboration are sadly missing from Virgin’s new compilation disc. But it does hold a slew of promos, almost of all of which are perfect examples of their form and are available for the first time on DVD.

Eagle Rock’s double DVD is also available now, with a concert from the Velvet Rope tour on one disc and a Hawaiian date from the subsequent All For You on the other. Disc two is best, leaving me wondering just how much more theatrical a show like this can get. Can the costumes and set pieces Janet pioneered over ten years ago really get any bigger or better? Can Janet carry on out-cirque de soleiling cirque de soleil?! Visually breathtaking, but the music suffers from far too much ‘you-had-to-be-there’ audience participation.

The live box proves just where Britney, Justin et al find their inspiration for everything they do on a live stage. But Janet’s been doing the Tribly hat-meets-synchronised dancers routine for so long it left me yearning to see her do an altogether new type of live performance - a small stage, a band and a microphone - where the songs, already perfectly illustrated on From Janet to Damita Jo, stand up on their own merits.