I ran with Mike's idea and put together an anthology for Janet. It's heavy on singles, but it's a collection of my favorite songs (and favorite versions) by her. It ended up being 4 discs, but they're all about an hour long.

1. Gaining Control
I'm one of those people who loves Janet's first two albums. The debut and Dream Street are (relatively) jam-packed, concise, and better than all of her post-1997 albums except Discipline to my ears; 3 songs per era works well (with the fabulous b-side "Rock 'N Roll" easily making the cut). The rest of this disc contains all of the Control singles and "Diamonds" in chronological order of single release. I didn't want to cut "Funny How Time Flies," but I think the disc is slightly stronger without it.



2. Nation!
Make no mistake, Rhythm Nation 1814 is far and away my favorite Janet album. The songs are all strong and the interludes are cute instead of irritating (e.g., "Baby"). I could've just included the whole album, but I had to include her two best b-sides, "You Need Me" and "The Skin Game Part I." Other than the "Alright" remix with Heavy D. and the video mix of "Black Cat," I stuck with the album versions. I debated using the Abandoned Heart Mix of "Come Back to Me," but ultimately decided against it.



3. Virgin & Velvet
The two albums represented here are good, but flawed. Both are too long and uneven (and I won't even get into how tired the interlude thing becomes here). That being said, there's a lot of good. "Where Are You Now" and "This Time" are two of my favorite album tracks of hers; I've always thought they should've been singles. "Whoops Now" is just fun. I probably could've added "Go Deep"...



4. 2000 & Beyond
The new millennium hasn't been as kind to Janet as the old one was, but she's still had her share of gems. For the life of me, I can't understand how songs like "Who," "Put Your Hands On," "Could This Be Love," and "Weekend" didn't make their respective albums.

Excellent. We have similar tastes. The later albums had some rather good outakes. "Who" is great.

VinnyM27 said:

"Who" and "Weekend" would've been the best songs on their respective albums IMO.

AlexdeParis said:

Her verision of "Weekend" is good but doesn't do a lot for me. It's no "Enjoy", which is probably her best written song in a damn long time.

AlexdeParis great selection!

I'm so happy you put the 12´´ r&b of alright. it's great

Dude I may do one for madonna with 4 discs! Gimme a week!
[Edited 10/5/08 10:34am]

Thanks, Mike and Vinny.

MikeMatronik said:

That's the only version AFAIC.


I'd love to see it. Maybe I'll work on one as well.

lol I was listening to some RN outtakes and remixes on my record player earlier on, great choices! I forgot how brilliant the beats were, and sooo new jack swing!

Where's "Making Love In The Rain"?

AlexdeParis said:

I think mine will have more discs. While travelling home, I noticed that I cannot separate madonna into 4 disc/eras. Too much material, so many great stuff! Maybe 6 disc like a boxset.

It's impossible to put 84 to 89 in one disc!

[Edited 10/5/08 13:47pm]

dude...you put Lonely!!!

that my favorite baby making song!

bboy87 said:

Too much Lisa and not enough Janet. If I were going to add another song to the first disc, I'd go with "Funny How Time Flies" over that one.

MikeMatronik said:

I put the whole album except "Livin' in a World (They Didn't Make)"... and I wanted to include that as well.


I could be wrong, but I would think being celibate and gay would put a crimp in the baby-making process.

good list i admit. apart from some of the outtakes u included, (where can i cop those, are they "legally available"?) i thought the list was kinda predictable and too "hit laden". my list would have a few "edgier" dance numbers like Trust A Try, Throb, and even the instrumental with her vocal overdubs from the Mo Money Soundtrack. Would've included My Need and a couple of the ballads from Velvet over some of the other ballads. Funny How Time Flies should've definitely been included. Come Give Your Love is a no brainer (she needs to perform it live).

datdude said:

You can find the outtakes and other Janet media floating around on the Information Superhighway. Anyway, I realize there are a lot of hits, particularly on the first two discs. Those are songs from my childhood, so it's only natural that the singles resonate more with me. That being said, Janet's singles were her strongest songs back then (and she released a lot of singles). I would've released "All My Love to You" over "Fast Girls," but I can't argue at all with the JJ and Control singles. The 3rd disc has a good share of album tracks. It's the last disc that's telling; I think part of Janet's decline stems from poor song and single choices. "Who" had no business being on the cutting-room floor!

I thought about "Trust a Try," but that song has never completely clicked with me. I can get into it some days, but other times it leaves me cold. No way would I consider it a favorite. "Who" fills that "edgier" dance number void and it's a superior song. "Throb" was also a consideration, but I included 2 album tracks and a b-side from janet. instead (and I think they're all stronger tunes).

As I mentioned, I'm not a huge fan of The Velvet Rope. Generally, I tried to highlight my favorite albums more -- that's why there are so many Control-era songs and her best album gets a whole disc. More specifically, I find the Velvet ballads to be largely boring.

Looking at it now, the songs I miss the most (that I haven't already mentioned) are probably "New Agenda" and "Because of Love." I hated the latter as a single, but it hit me years later and I fell in love with it. I also could've added "With U" or "Take Care," but I usually try to pretend that album doesn't exist.

What are the names of the Rhythm Nation outtakes?

bboy87 said:

All I know are the b-sides "You Need Me" and "The Skin Game."

You Need Me (about her father, Joseph Jackson)


The Skin Game Part I

Who (All for You outtake)

AlexdeParis said:

Japanese bonus track

thnks for posting those songs. i missed those. i will give them a listen and see if i concur with u about their exclusion