Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope

Don't it always seem to go....

  • Total voters
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Why oh why did Everytime flop on it's arse? Was it badly promoted or did people just not care. I still think it is one of her finest moments, and given it's a fifth single maybe a #20-odd placing would've been fine, but to miss the top 40 is ridiculous given the four singles before had all been top 15 hits.
 
Sheena said:
Oh I like "The Velvet Rope" enough, absolutely, but it isn't a PATCH on the three albums that preceeded it and I cannot believe ANYONE would think "Control" was anything other than a TOWERING TRIUMPH OF 80s GENIUS

Well, other than donna...:D
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I actually NEARLY bought 'Control' in a charity shop the other day but then I remembered how much I hate 'Let's Wait Awhile' and CHANGED MY MIND

Mind you I also nearly bought SCHIZOPHONIC so MAKE OF THAT WHAT YOU WILL

:rusty:
 
Rapture said:
As for Control, maybe it's just because I wasn't around when it hit big and for her initial impact, but although I do like most of the songs, I just don't CONNECT with it as much as I do with RN1814, Janet, TVR..."Nasty", "When I Think of You", and "Pleasure Principle" are my favorites of the Control album.
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But you weren't born when RN1814 came out either!
 
Donna Winter said:
I actually NEARLY bought 'Control' in a charity shop the other day but then I remembered how much I hate 'Let's Wait Awhile' and CHANGED MY MIND

Mind you I also nearly bought SCHIZOPHONIC so MAKE OF THAT WHAT YOU WILL

:rusty:
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:D ANY OLD SHIT!

"Let's Wait Awhile" is the anomaly...I like it personally but there's NOTHING like it on the album and CRUNKY CRUNK CRUNK early Janet is the BEST Janet there is...

On the whole
 
I only first heard of Janet when one of the Rhythm Nation videos was on TOTP. I completely forgot she even existed again until 'janet' came out. That's ME, a child Michael Jackson fan. She just so wasn't on the radar for anyone when I was growing up.
 
I was onboard from "Control"...

I can't remember which single I bought that album on, but I think it was actually after "Let's Wait Awhile", oddly enough...

After that, I was VERY MUCH a Janet fan. Not a patch on MADGE, obviously, but RN1814 was on my birthday or christmas list from the moment of it's release...
 
Ellie is right - PATCHY AS HELL

Musically it's far more interesting that anything she did AFTER this album, and there isn't anything I find completely offensive, but most of it just doesn't have the anthemic OOMPH factor that her previous albums did


09 Velvet Rope
08 You
08 Got Til It's Gone
06 My Need
07 Go Deep
04 Free Xone
08 Together Again
05 Empty
09 What About
05 Every Time
05 Tonight's the Night
06 I Get Lonely
07 Rope Burn
06 Anything
05 Special
 
Ellie said:
And yet not a single UK Top 20 hit amongst those singles :D Shocking, isn't it?
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It amazes me how unsuccessful the singles were over here, but I guess she never bothered doing any promo.

The album did ALRIGHT though...it was charted FOREVER and went platinum. It still amazes me that everything stalled where it did...
 
But you are wrong...she had 3 top 20s from RN1814 if I remember...not one top 10 though
 
Yep...just checked "Black Cat" was the biggest hit at #15, but "Escapade", "Alright" and "Come Back to Me" made the top 20...only just, the last two were #20 hits.

So it was four, I was wrong too...
 
'Miss You Much' was a TUNELESS LOAD OF OLD CLANKING that FULLY DESERVED TO FLOP
 
NAR: unexpected moopy love-in saved me from the PIES, says touched janft
 
Donna Winter said:
'Miss You Much' was a TUNELESS LOAD OF OLD CLANKING that FULLY DESERVED TO FLOP
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An investigation reveals me to be MISTAKEN. I was of course thinking of RHYTHM NATION. MISS YOU MUCH just sounds like something the SOS BAND would have done 1000000 times better but would still have REJECTED for being SUBSTANDARD
 
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Jonfessions said:
But you weren't born when RN1814 came out either!
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I don't know how to explain it, but I just WARM UP to those albums better than Control, which like mentioned before is more like a mini-GH rather than a proper studio album you can sink your teeth into like RN1814.
 
"Come Back to Me" is quite underrated I feel...I mean she has NO RANGE whatsoever throughout the track, but there's something so somber when she sings 'All my life I've waited, to see your old smile again..' :(
 
Donna Winter said:
An investigation reveals me to be MISTAKEN. I was of course thinking of RHYTHM NATION. MISS YOU MUCH just sounds like something the SOS BAND would have done 1000000 times better but would still have REJECTED for being SUBSTANDARD
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OH MY GOD, Donna is TURNING INTO A JANET FAN
 
Donna Winter said:
An investigation reveals me to be MISTAKEN. I was of course thinking of RHYTHM NATION. MISS YOU MUCH just sounds like something the SOS BAND would have done 1000000 times better but would still have REJECTED for being SUBSTANDARD
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OH MY GOD, Donna is TURNING INTO A JANET FAN
 
I Get Lonely is fucking awful, tuneless crap. Together Again is annoying and whiny too.

I like Empty and the title track, but yeah it's rather patchy as was said. But this was the last time she was good.
 
I'd give it a solid 9. Not the masterpieces that Control or Rhythm Nation are, but definitely third place for me.
 
As of today, it has officially been 15 years since Janet Jackson's last great album.

Anniversary rate:

10 Velvet Rope
08 You
08 Got Til It's Gone
09 My Need
10 Go Deep
05 Free Xone
10 Together Again
06 Empty
09 What About
07 Every Time
06 Tonight's the Night
10 I Get Lonely
09 Rope Burn
07 Anything
05 Special

I guess I stand by my 8/10 vote. It has some dull moments and doesn't quite reach the glorious highs of RN1814 but there's such a warmth about the whole affair and it's a lovely album to listen to start to finish.
 
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Deluxe Edition out yesterday. 90 minutes of remixes added on plus two unreleased songs, Accept Me (OK) and God's Stepchild (not OK).

Still not the biggest fan of the album, but it's an enjoyable relisten.

Component 1:
1. Interlude -Twisted Elegance
2. Velvet Rope [feat. Vanessa-Mae]
3. You
4. Got 'Til It's Gone [feat. Q-Tip & Joni Mitchell]
5. Interlude - Speaker Phone
6. My Need
7. Interlude - Fasten Your Seatbelts
8. Go Deep
9. Free Xone
10. Interlude - Memory
11. Together Again
12. Interlude - Online
13. Empty
14. Interlude - Full
15. What About
16. Every Time
17. Tonight's The Night
18. I Get Lonely
19. Rope Burn
20. Anything
21. Interlude - Sad
22. Special
23. Can't Be Stopped
24. Accept Me [Bonus Track] *
25. God's Stepchild [Bonus Track] *

Component 2:
1. I Get Lonely (TNT Remix Edit) with BLACKstreet *
2. Got 'Til It's Gone (Ummah Jay Dee's Revenge Mix) *
3. Go Deep (Timbaland/Missy Remix) featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott *
4. Together Again (Jimmy Jam Deeper Mix) *
5. Every Time (Jam & Lewis Disco Mix)
6. I Get Lonely (Jam & Lewis Feel My Bass Mix) *
7. Got 'Til It's Gone (David Morales & Frankie Knuckles Def Club Mix) *
8. Together Again (Tony Moran 12" Club Mix) *
9. Go Deep (Masters at Work Thunder Mix) *
10. Together Again (Tony Humphries Club Mix Edit)
11. I Get Lonely (Jason vs. Janet The Club Remix)
12. Go Deep (Masters At Work Vocal Deep Disco Dub)
13. Got 'Til It's Gone (Armand Van Helden Bonus Beats)
* = new to streaming
 
I actually played it yesterday and it’s a hell of a lot better than I remember. But as with ALL Janet albums, I got up to What About and after that it dropped off in quality instantly.
 
Neither "Accept Me" or "God's Stepchild" were unreleased. The former was a bside and the latter was a Japanese bonus track.
 
The interlude thing was a nice touch once but then it just made her albums seem unwieldly and long. The Velvet Rope, at 16 tracks, was already that WITHOUT the interludes...
 
I think the harsher ranking Sheena of the old days probably did it down a bit, though- it's probably an 8 overall:

08 Velvet Rope
08 You
10 Got Til It's Gone
09 My Need
07 Go Deep
05 Free Xone
10 Together Again
07 Empty
11 What About
09 Every Time
08 Tonight's the Night
10 I Get Lonely
08 Rope Burn
06 Anything
03 Special

07 Can't Be Stopped
 
As I’m not an audiophile, I’m now questioning exactly what there is to “remaster” on some of the music released in the late 90s that came from the top artists with the top producers and engineers at the time?

The fact that not long after that, a lot of music was being created using now quite dated sounding home studios, was there ever a “peak”? Does that make sense? It’s just with a lot of 25th anniversary releases at the moment, I can barely hear a difference compared to remasters of older music.
 
Ellie said:
As I’m not an audiophile, I’m now questioning exactly what there is to “remaster” on some of the music released in the late 90s that came from the top artists with the top producers and engineers at the time?

The fact that not long after that, a lot of music was being created using now quite dated sounding home studios, was there ever a “peak”? Does that make sense? It’s just with a lot of 25th anniversary releases at the moment, I can barely hear a difference compared to remasters of older music.
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It's all smoke and mirrors. 80s to (arguably) early 90s is definitely the cut off point. Post that, there's fuck all difference.
 
Ellie said:
As I’m not an audiophile, I’m now questioning exactly what there is to “remaster” on some of the music released in the late 90s that came from the top artists with the top producers and engineers at the time?

The fact that not long after that, a lot of music was being created using now quite dated sounding home studios, was there ever a “peak”? Does that make sense? It’s just with a lot of 25th anniversary releases at the moment, I can barely hear a difference compared to remasters of older music.
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Isn’t it that music these days is recorded with technology that’s suited to these new audio experiences, you know when they started doing the equivalent of UHD audio files on Spotify and Apple, and Amazon got mocked for being a bit behind or something. I can’t remember now.

But I imagine they’re just remastering to better match the streaming platform technology?

I don’t actually know though.
 
It's Spotify that doesn't have a lossless tier. Apple has Lossless and Dolby Atmos included, and Amazon has HD and Ultra HD.

That's got nothing to do with remastering though. I'm no expert but Sheena is right that it is a marketing thing to a certain extent, though I'm sure it can make a massive difference with the right equipment and the right ear.
 
I think people are too critical of this album. I prefer it to all others. The three preceding it definitely come close but there is such a MOOD to it all.

I really only skip “Tonight’s the Night” and “Special” these days.
 
I like the positioning of it being the birth of alternative R&B. Not quite, but possibly in the mainstream sense yes. When you think of artists like FKA Twigs, Tinashe, Solange… the blueprints are there.
 
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