is still a great album! compared to the current music trends it doesn't sound dated at all! just wanted to share that with y'all.

that&Control are My Favorite Albums by Her.I think the reason why it holds up so well is that with the Sampling,Looping,Hip-Hop Influences there&range of Pop&R&B Mixed with New Jack Swing keeps things fresh there IMHO.it has a Healthy Balance of Sound&Style IMHO.

RN 1814 is excellent. These are my favorites in order:

1) Velvet Rope
2) Rhythm Nation
3) Control
4) Janet
5) All 4 U

Strange. I was just listening to the 'Miss You Much' single and rocking out to 'You Need Me'.

Never could get into it.

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

It is still great... "The Knowledge" still kicks ass. "Alright" is still brilliant... only "Black Cat" sounds cheesy and awful but it always did IMHO (except for the version with Vernon Reid hehe).

Velvet Rope is Janet's best moment though...

The Rhythm Nation video still goes down in history 4 me as one of the best videos of all time. The Lavelle Smith choreography is off the chart!

'dre

Sounds kinda dated to me but I'll always love Love Will Never Do W/O You & Living In A World They Didn't Make (or whatever it's called, the one about the kids)...

"Come back to me" is my favorite on that album. Reminds me of an ex-love. (I'm glad she's gone)

csharp57 said:

What about Someday Is Tonight? This is one of her classic sultry slow jams she ALWAYS HAS TO HAVE. U cant have a Janet album without one sultry nasty song! That's what I luv about her.

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

::bell toll::

We are a nation with no geographic boundaries
Bound together through our beliefs
We are likeminded individuals
Sharing a common vision
Pushing toward a world rid of color lines.

Classic.

The album is infinitely quotable!

"We are in a race between education and catastrophe..."

"Get the point...good...let's dance..."

"Ain't no acid in this house..."

"It's nice to laugh, but don't be the joke."

"In complete darkness we are all the same. It is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us. Don't let your eyes deceive you."

::bell toll::


RN1814 is one of my favorite albums of all time. I love the album and I wore out about 2 or 3 CDs from too much play. I've scratched up my RN CDs so many times and had to buy replacement copies. Now they have the Rhythm Nation 2-CD CD/DVD, so that means I'll have to hit up the record store again! Argh, JDJ Entertainment, you just keep getting my dollars

Also, have you noticed that the entire album is like an endless cycle. You can put the album on loop in your CD player and the album opens with the bell toll at the beginning during "Pledge" and closes with the bell toll at the end with "Livin'...In Complete Darkness." The entire album plays like a ride at a theme park: it's full of twists and turns and it doesn't let up until the end. The interludes seamlessly glide you along from track to track. It's just so complete. It is a masterpiece.
[This message was edited Sun Mar 30 14:50:56 PST 2003 by JANFAN4L]

i agree...but what is the reason for 1814? I never did get that.

CamillesKisses said:

The project is entitled "Rhythm Nation." R is the 18th letter of the alphabet, N is the 14th. A&M Records, Janet and the Flyte Tyme camp wanted to maintain a level of mystery around Janet's then-forthcoming follow-up record to "Control" so they went to the media and dubbed it "The 1814 Project." It was very mysterious and it kept people on their toes. The album name was pitched by Janet's then-boyfriend Rene Elizondo. Rene was a dancer in a film called "Beat Street" and in the movie he played a dancer in the "Rhythm Nation" dance gang. Rene presented the name to Janet and it fit with the sociopolitical theme of the work.

This is without doubt my favorite non-Prince album. It is the very first album I owned, and I wore it out several times. I grew up on it and it will never cease to be a very favorite of mine. All 12 tracks are stunningly great and this was an album with a purpose. It is classic in every way and only Prince has been able to top it for me.

Who in here remembers the RHYTHM NATION MOVIE? It was on VHS, shot entirely in black and white and was a long-form video of sorts for the RN Project. It had an engaging storyline and showed Janet dancing to "Miss You Much," "The Knowledge" and the ubiquitous Rhythm Nation. I wish The Rhythm Nation Movie was included with the RN1814 DVDCD that would've made it MEGA!

JANFAN4L said:

I totally agree. I love the "Rhythm Nation" movie. "The Knowledge" and the black and white "Black Cat" are essential. I really wish it was included on the DVDCD as well, but I'm happy with what I've got!

JANFAN4L said:

Man that movie was stinking
So very bad... tackier than even 3 Chains of Gold "Engaging storyline" - you gotta be kidding me!

I have it on PAL VHS if anyone wants to buy it!

Actually though, it's worth having for the vids of The Knowledge and Rhythm Nation...

I have a few versions of Rhythm Nation... I have a picture disc vinyl version, I have a cassette version that comes with an extra tape with stuff like "The Skin Game" and "You Need Me" on it, and I have the normal CD version.

Truly great album. But "Janet" was great too, and so was "The Velvet Rope". I can't listen to "All For You" though, not even once.

One of the best reasons to listen to this album is the last 3 songs: Lonely, Come Back To Me, and Someday Is Tonight! Damn, those three slow tracks back to back to back are TIGHT!!! Escapade is STILL slammin' to this day, too!

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

That's so weird, I just cleaned the dirt off this CD. Gonna play it now. That's scarry.

Does anyone ever listen to Janet Jackson and hear Prince's on influence on Jam & Lewis?

I think the verse of 'Miss you Much' sounds like the verse of 'Jungle Love'
The chant on both 'Control' and 'Rhythm Nation' is on lots of Prince/Time songs such as 'Jungle Love', 'The Bird' and 'It's gonna be a beautiful night' - Altough it's also on the old Stock/Aitken/Waterman song 'Roadblock'. Not to mention in the Wizard of Oz!
The keyboard riffs in 'What have you done for me lately' and 'Nasty' are a Prince trademark as is the drum fill on 'Nasty'.
There are little keyboard hooks on 'Control' and 'Escapade' that are similar to Prince songs like 'Jungle Love' and 'Nasty Girl'

gainsbourg said:

I agree, there's definately a Minneapolis feel there.

"Black Cat" is the blueprint for "Endorphinmachine."

Prince definitely had an impact on the minneapolis sound...i mean, i guess he created it really. I agree with those influences appearing on Janet's first two albums, but that is pretty much not the case today. I think once she really got involved with co-production work the sound started to change. Now when you hear a Janet song you immediately know it's a Janet song.

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

You can hear Jam&Lewis' old Prince influences definitely on Control. But RN1814 has more of a distinctive Flyte Tyme style (that staccato drums/bass, the complex synth arrangements, the classic Flyte Tyme slow jams with the rich musical soundscapes). On the "janet." album and subsequent records there are no Prince influences whatsoever. The Prince-influence was only evident clearly on Control, but kind of tappered off with RN1814 and disappeared after RN1814.

TheMico said:

I always considered Black Cat the blueprint for Blondie and the other rock songs on The Time's Pandemonium. Actually it's The Time playing on Black Cat (Jam & Lewis, Jesse Johnson and Jellybean Johnson)