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Thread started 01/30/16 11:11am

JabarR74

Janet Jackson "Control" 30th Anniversary Thread

This year will mark the 30th anniversary of Janet Jackson's groundbreaking 3rd album, "Control" and this thread is dedicated to this album, so discuss and post anything and everything 'Control'!

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Reply #1 posted 01/30/16 11:40am

Scorp

GO JANET, GO JANET, GO JANET
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Reply #2 posted 01/30/16 1:04pm

getxxxx

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Nick Ashford was someone I greatly admired, had the honor of knowing, and was the real-life inspiration for Cowboy Curtis' hair. RIP Nick. - Pee Wee Herman
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Reply #3 posted 01/30/16 1:06pm

getxxxx

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Nick Ashford was someone I greatly admired, had the honor of knowing, and was the real-life inspiration for Cowboy Curtis' hair. RIP Nick. - Pee Wee Herman
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Reply #4 posted 01/30/16 1:08pm

getxxxx

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Nick Ashford was someone I greatly admired, had the honor of knowing, and was the real-life inspiration for Cowboy Curtis' hair. RIP Nick. - Pee Wee Herman
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Reply #5 posted 01/30/16 1:11pm

lowkey

i remember the first time i heard whydfml on the radio and when they said its janet jackson i was shocked, also remember seeing the video on nyc hot tracks and whitney houston was the one who introduced it. she was a breath of fresh air for young black women.

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Reply #6 posted 01/30/16 1:36pm

Hudson

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Here is Let's Wait Awhile without the spanish subtitles. Her Vevo account is shamefully exclusive.

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Reply #7 posted 01/30/16 4:49pm

phunkdaddy

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Am I correct in saying the album came out March of 1986.
Don't laugh at my funk
This funk is a serious joint
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Reply #8 posted 01/30/16 10:10pm

alphastreet

lowkey said:

i remember the first time i heard whydfml on the radio and when they said its janet jackson i was shocked, also remember seeing the video on nyc hot tracks and whitney houston was the one who introduced it. she was a breath of fresh air for young black women.



Wow that must have been quite the experience
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Reply #9 posted 01/30/16 11:43pm

lowkey

phunkdaddy said:

Am I correct in saying the album came out March of 1986.

February 4, 1968

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Reply #10 posted 01/31/16 7:45am

Linn4days

It would have been a good Cherelle CD.

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Reply #11 posted 01/31/16 8:36am

JanFan

Linn4days said:

It would have been a good Cherelle CD.


Who?
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Reply #12 posted 01/31/16 11:39am

alphastreet

Linn4days said:

It would have been a good Cherelle CD.



You're right, it could have been, but maybe she just wasn't interested...
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Reply #13 posted 01/31/16 12:03pm

alphastreet

All I know is I could not stop playing control the remixes when I bought it, the one with the black and white picture and colourful font. That pleasure principle extended video mix and nasty cool summer mix part 2 are to die for, especially with those horns


I also like the accapella with beat boxing on the when I think of you vinyl. Gives you an idea of how th track may have sounded in its early stages and the most authentic it's going to get. To me she didn't just release great albums but her singles and vinyls were always a treat to own, like an extension of the album almost, it's no wonder she has so many platinum, double platinum and gold records

Pleasure principle, nasty, control, you can be mine, and funny how time flies are my personal favourites off the album. Really funky record start to finish. This may sound silly but when I was younger, I always thought Janet looked younger with time and she looked younger during the Janet era than control era cause she was so mature at 19-20. Did anyone else feel the same?
[Edited 1/31/16 12:05pm]
[Edited 1/31/16 12:07pm]
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Reply #14 posted 01/31/16 12:24pm

jdcxc

Janet was seriously snubbed by the Rock and Roll HOF voters.
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Reply #15 posted 01/31/16 5:31pm

alphastreet

jdcxc said:

Janet was seriously snubbed by the Rock and Roll HOF voters.


It would have been the best time to honour her but there's still hope for next year. If what she said about 2 year promo is true, maybe they'll do it for her next year
[Edited 1/31/16 17:32pm]
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Reply #16 posted 01/31/16 8:06pm

lowkey

alphastreet said:

Linn4days said:

It would have been a good Cherelle CD.

You're right, it could have been, but maybe she just wasn't interested...

control wouldnt have been a cherelle album, the theme and songs wouldnt have fit her. the title song itself is like a mini autobiography.

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Reply #17 posted 02/01/16 9:12am

alphastreet

lowkey said:

alphastreet said:

Linn4days said: You're right, it could have been, but maybe she just wasn't interested...

control wouldnt have been a cherelle album, the theme and songs wouldnt have fit her. the title song itself is like a mini autobiography.

Yeah I agree, that part of it was pure, authentic janet. But from my understanding, the music tracks were offered to another artist, and several tracks were offered to Whitney Houston the year before before they went to Janet. Songs like Didn't Mean To Turn You On had that Prince-Janet sound, also produced by Flyte Time several years before Control, so I can definitely hear how Control sounds could have also worked for Cherelle.

[Edited 2/1/16 9:13am]

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Reply #18 posted 02/01/16 2:56pm

Cinny

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JabarR74 said:

some other hits I recall from that time:

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Reply #19 posted 02/01/16 3:37pm

lowkey

alphastreet said:

lowkey said:

control wouldnt have been a cherelle album, the theme and songs wouldnt have fit her. the title song itself is like a mini autobiography.

Yeah I agree, that part of it was pure, authentic janet. But from my understanding, the music tracks were offered to another artist, and several tracks were offered to Whitney Houston the year before before they went to Janet. Songs like Didn't Mean To Turn You On had that Prince-Janet sound, also produced by Flyte Time several years before Control, so I can definitely hear how Control sounds could have also worked for Cherelle.

[Edited 2/1/16 9:13am]

not true at all. i dont know where people get these stories from but they should read some of jimmy's interviews. control was crafted specifically for janet, the only track that was done was whydfml, that was gonna be used by jimmy and terry for an album they were working on. whitney's 'how will i know' was meant for janet and she turned it down, maybe thats where you are confused. please when you have time check out jimmy's interviews, he is a wealth of info. he just tweeted an interview today he did with a french magazine where he talks about recording control .

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Reply #20 posted 02/01/16 5:05pm

alphastreet

lowkey said:



alphastreet said:




lowkey said:



control wouldnt have been a cherelle album, the theme and songs wouldnt have fit her. the title song itself is like a mini autobiography.




Yeah I agree, that part of it was pure, authentic janet. But from my understanding, the music tracks were offered to another artist, and several tracks were offered to Whitney Houston the year before before they went to Janet. Songs like Didn't Mean To Turn You On had that Prince-Janet sound, also produced by Flyte Time several years before Control, so I can definitely hear how Control sounds could have also worked for Cherelle.


[Edited 2/1/16 9:13am]



not true at all. i dont know where people get these stories from but they should read some of jimmy's interviews. control was crafted specifically for janet, the only track that was done was whydfml, that was gonna be used by jimmy and terry for an album they were working on. whitney's 'how will i know' was meant for janet and she turned it down, maybe thats where you are confused. please when you have time check out jimmy's interviews, he is a wealth of info. he just tweeted an interview today he did with a french magazine where he talks about recording control .



Yeah you're right about the Whitney thing, now I remember. I get foggy sometimes from chronic pain.
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Reply #21 posted 02/01/16 5:24pm

JabarR74

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Reply #22 posted 02/01/16 6:13pm

alphastreet

This woman is too beautiful and talented. But geez Diana Ross was high on something lol
[Edited 2/1/16 18:13pm]
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Reply #23 posted 02/01/16 7:57pm

Abdul

I know that most consider Rhythm Nation Janet's masterpiece but IMO Control is, I never skip a track!
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Reply #24 posted 02/02/16 6:54am

alphastreet

Abdul said:

I know that most consider Rhythm Nation Janet's masterpiece but IMO Control is, I never skip a track!

Though I love RN start to finish and play it more often, it's overproduced when placed next to the minimalistic and raw funk production of Control. Plus the album length is short and sweet, RN is much longer. Though RN songs are still popular, I honestly feel with time, the Control hits are remembered so much more of the two albums

[Edited 2/2/16 6:54am]

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Reply #25 posted 02/02/16 7:44am

JabarR74

CELEBRATING OUR LOVE AFFAIRS WITH ALBUMS PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

TRIBUTE: Celebrating 30 Years of Janet Jackson’s Breakthrough Album ‘Control’

February 2, 2016

Happy 30th Anniversary to Janet Jackson’s third album Control, originally released February 4, 1986. [Stream album and watch videos below]

By Justin Chadwick

“I'm not saying I don't want to be a part of the Jackson family, because, of course, that's my name,” a 20 year-old Janet Jackson confided to People Magazine, back in July of 1986, a few months after the release of her seminal album Control. “But I wanted this record to be my own.”

Indeed, through her teenage years, the demure and soft-spoken youngest of nine Jackson children patiently observedand at times participated inher brothers’ extraordinary rise to super-stardom from the sidelines, first with The Jackson 5’s hyper-prolific 1970s heyday, followed by her brother Michael’s stratospheric solo ascent. Michael owned the first half of the 1980s, as he redefined and revolutionized the pop music landscape through his unforgettable, Quincy Jones orchestrated songs from the timeless albums Off the Wall (1979) and Thriller (1982).

While Michael was off conquering the world with hit after hit after hit, his precocious little sister devoted her energy toward her fledgling small-screen acting career, appearing for abbreviated stints on Good Times, A Different Kind of Family,Diff’rent Strokes, and Fame through 1985. In parallel to cultivating her acting chops, Janet also quietly launched her recording career. At the behest of her father and manager Joseph Jackson, Janet secured a record deal with A&M Records in 1982 and released her self-titled debut album later that year. However, both Janet Jackson and its 1984 follow-up Dream Street failed to captivate audiences, both critically and commercially.

Despite the early career disappointments, Janet refused to lose faith. Instead, she determinedly took control of both her personal life and career, having her short-lived marriage to James DeBarge annulled and severing professional ties with her father Joseph. Around this time, she aligned more closely with John McClain, A&M’s Senior Vice President of A&R, who, in retrospect, proved instrumental in kickstarting her career, as he introduced her to the powerhouse Minneapolis Sound Machine of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Co-founders of The Time and musical colleagues of Prince, Jam & Lewis boast one of the most revered and successful production repertoires in the history of pop music, and their hitmaking services were in high demand upon meeting Janet.

Janet’s stubborn perseverance and fortuitous partnership with Jam & Lewis paid off in a huge way. Recorded in 1985 at the duo’s Flyte Time studio in Minneapolis, her masterfully crafted third album Control represented the defining moment—indeed the tipping point—of her burgeoning career and developing persona. “I think Control is timeless, because it was basically the coming out of a budding flower,” Lewis reflected during a recent conversation with Idolator. “That was when Janet found her voice. Prior to that record, people just gave her songs to sing. But on Control she really had the opportunity to figure out who she was musically and what she wanted to say. That was the beginning of everything, in terms of success.” Effectively her declaration of creative freedom and independence, Control is a fierce, self-assured and vibrant record that laid the groundwork for what has proven to be one of the most durable and dynamic pop music careers of the past thirty years.

Balancing its undeniable urban appeal with its unmistakable crossover-friendly foundations, Control is the whole package, the epitome of a pop album masterpiece. Jam & Lewis’ big, bold, and powerfully percussive soundscapes, coupled with irresistible melodies that completely envelop the senses, were innovative within the context of mid ‘80s R&B, and directly influenced the sonic blueprint of the new jack swing era that emerged a few years later. Of the album’s nine tracks, seven were released as official singles—a sure-fire testament to the album’s broad accessibility and an incredulous ratio by today’s standards, whereby the majority of albums, including the most successful ones, yield three to four singles tops.

The album kicks off with the propulsive wallop of the high-octane title track, which explores Janet’s transition from adolescence to adulthood. It’s an unequivocally empowering message of reclaiming ownership of her life that, as Jimmy Jam once explained to the BBC, “turned out to become an anthem for young women who were striking out on their own.”

Most notably evidenced on a trio of unforgettable tracks, the theme of self-empowerment pervades the entire album. A not-so-thinly-veiled message to her ex-husband, the Grammy-nominated first single “What Have You Done for Me Lately?” calls out a lazy lover who refuses to pull his share of the weight in their romance-depleted relationship. A similar biting, “I’m done taking your shit” tone is heard on the danceable “The Pleasure Principle, as Janet laments “It's true you want to build your life on guarantees / Hey, take a ride in a big yellow taxi / I'm not here to feed your insecurities / I wanted you to love me.” Featuring the notorious refrain “No, my first name ain't baby / It's Janet...Ms. Jackson if you're nasty,” the anti-chauvinism paean “Nasty” finds Janet aggressively asserting her will to repel the more patronizing elements among the male species.

Other standout moments include the ebullient, synth-horn soaked love song “When I Think of You,” which is arguably the most dancefloor-friendly track of the set. The two ballads that close the album are top-notch. The sweet, sincere serenade “Let’s Wait Awhile” extols the virtues of patience and level-headedness when it comes to matters of love and lust, with Janet committing herself to “saving more for later so that our love can be greater,” while confidently explaining in the song’s closing moments that “I promise, I’ll be worth the wait.” Sampled nearly a decade later by hip-hop duo Camp Lo for their chilled-out 1997 single “Coolie High,” the lush torch song “Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)” concludes the album on a smoothly subdued note. The remaining non-singles are passable-enough fare, with the buoyant groove and youthful yearning of “He Doesn’t Know I’m Alive” the slightly more worthwhile listen than “You Can Be Mine.”

Nominated for Album of the Year at the 1987 Grammy Awards (Jam & Lewis won for Best Producer), the many-times multi-platinum Control solidified Janet’s musical identity and set the stage for even greater commercial and critical success, beginning with the release of Rhythm Nation 1814 three and a half years later in 1989. Whereas her brother ruled the pop music world for the first half of the ‘80s, Janet—together with Madonna—asserted her female pop star power in the decade’s latter half, providing inspiration to the next generation of pop prodigies, from Mariah Carey to Mary J. Blige to Beyoncé to Rihanna and beyond.

Four months ago, Janet released Unbreakable, her eleventh studio LP and the eighth featuring production by Jam & Lewis. The stellar album is yet another dazzling effort in an amazing career that was destined to endure, due in large part to its creator seizing Control thirty years ago and never looking back.

Notable Tracks: “Control” | “Let’s Wait Awhile” | “What Have You Done for Me Lately?” | “When I Think of You”

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Reply #26 posted 02/02/16 12:02pm

Musicslave

Here's to one of the finest coming of age records ever made. This album proved her instincts right and set her on a trajectory that few have accomplished. This one set the tone for all the other Jackson/Harris/Lewis collaborations to come. "Brand new my foot, it started with a Conversation In A Cafe."

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Here are two from that short LP that highlighted her voice at the time and her funky inclinations. These rarely get any love as they were the only songs that weren't singles but they're worth revisiting now I think...

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[Edited 2/2/16 12:07pm]

[Edited 2/2/16 12:10pm]

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Reply #27 posted 02/03/16 5:33am

alphastreet

I always thought the cover design was so creative and classic
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Reply #28 posted 02/03/16 6:28am

Guitarhero

My fav Janet album for many reasons. yes

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Reply #29 posted 02/03/16 7:36am

alphastreet

Nasty, pleasure principle and control are her freshest videos and so raw
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