Reviews (page 6 of 7)
Say what you will about Michael Jackson, but one thing is clear: there were two helpings of talent bestowed upon the Jackson family. Michael got one whole helping plus a half and his siblings shared the other half helping. Listening to Janet feels like listening to a Michael impersonator that bluffed their way into a recording contract only to find themselves in a studio with Jellybean Johnson but without a clue about what to do next. On the whole, it's too disjointed and erratic. Some see things as a plus, but it's just not for me.
Not really my thing - but enjoyed it
не особо впечатлило, ничего почти не запомнилось немного awkward на томных вздохах и стонах в некоторых песнях, в общем не прочувствовала
Not my favorite but a, nice time capsule of the late 80s.
It's just pop, not a big fan.
Please, educate me on the burdens of the poor. I echo reviewer sentiments about the production. To me, for being so overwrought it sounds kinda flat.
Vocals on point. Lyrics not. Production not. Felt abrasive at times; probably shouldn’t have listened to this one on headphones. I liked ‘Escapade’, but not the heavy stuff.
Very slick. Great voice. Great songwriter. She’s a very talented musician. But, the production is just too over-produced for my tastes.
nije mi ovaj arembi+world s generičnim porukama nešto
Meh
Some nice tight pop sound that you could expect with access to Michael Jackson and his sound. It definitely hits a sound of a decade.
2/5
Llegas y te dicen, puedes comer todos los días en este local de completos gratis. Piensas, oye pero que buena onda. El primer día te comes un completo italiano, ves los puestos vacíos y te preguntas por qué no hay más gente ahí. Todos los días es lo mismo, los juguitos de relleno con mensajes pseudo políticos entre medio no son suficiente para pasar la acidez que te da la combinación del pan y la salchicha que hace un tiempo atrás amabas.
I find it very bland.
This almost feels like a 1 but I didn't HATE it. I struggled and it was a chore to get through. Just not catchy enough for a revisit and just not feeling it.
Justin did her dirty, but this is so very 80s and hasn't aged well for my ears. So cheesy and artificial, couldn't wait for it to end, 2*
Couldn't get past the pushy political/sappy save the children lyrics to give this a fair shot, and then I did and was sexually assaulted at the end. What a twist. Giving this a two because someone worked hard on the beats and those were at least fun at times.
I find this album okay for a song or two and then I am completely bored of it. 2 stars or D+.
It may have had its time, but at this point, it just reminds me everything I dislike about late 80s/early 90s top 40 music. Good riddance.
Feeling like Cassie from Skins when she says “wow”.
I appreciate the musicianship and the talent...just not my thang
But I don’t want to listen to Janet Jackson
Sorry but I don’t really care for it, Michael might be a creep but he’s sure a better musical artist than Janet and always was 2/5
Very uneven album. Starts off really strong and socially charged, then almost forgets itself and morphs into a very generic pop album; very tonally inconsistent. Also has some of the most egregious filler tracks usage I've ever seen. Definitely needed stronger editing in the studio. Top tracks: Rhythm Nation, State Of The World
liked songs: Black Cat Vocals were good. Otherwise, rather long and same-y with the drum machine used getting very repetitive. 2.25
This vibe isn't mine
Esquisito, errático. Essas são as palavras que eu escolhi pra descrever e resumir este álbum. Completamente estranho do começo ao fim. E não o tipo bom de estranho. Tematicamente, ele é desordenado demais. Em tese, era pra ser um álbum conceito sobre o sofrimento das pessoas nos tempos modernos e blá blá blá… Já seria um tema tosco se fosse propriamente implementado. É dissonante demais uma diva pop cantando sobre o que açoita as classes baixas, não curto. Ela definitivamente não é um Marvin Gaye. Mas, dito isso, não é como se o conceito do álbum importasse, visto que, ela completamente abandona o tema lá pela metade do disco, e começa a fazer canções mais genéricas sobre amor e separação. A produção do disco também complementa a estranheza que senti o ouvindo nesta manhã de domingo. Algumas faixas aqui parecem que saíram de um Sega Genesis, ou de um Mastersystem, ou talvez até mesmo de um Playstation 1. Pelo que já ouvi, parece ser um tema sônico (hehe) comum para Janet, e também foi uma via sonora explorada pelo Michael em alguns dos seus álbuns posteriores. Na verdade, por este álbum ser de 1989, podemos até dizer que Janet estava levemente à frente do seu irmão mais velho nesse estilo de produção. Em alguns momentos essa estética sonora funciona muito bem, em outros não. É inconsistente. E claro, pra completar o combo de coisas que me agravam plenamente, temos a duração inflada, e também uma quantidade absurda de interludes. Pior que já está ficando chato eu sempre reclamar de interludes, mas fazer o que?! A maioria dos álbuns que os utilizam fazem isso de forma porca. Consigo pensar sim em interludes que gosto, como por exemplo, Fitter Happier no OKC. Aquele é um bom interlude. Os daqui são inconsequentes e desnecessários, como de costume neste meio. Em suma, um disco cansativo de se ouvir, com uma temática besta que é rapidamente abandonada, produção esquizotípica que as vezes é legal mas outras vezes não, e uma duração exagerada. Só sendo muito fã da Janet pra aguentar esse álbum inteiro do começo ao fim mais de uma vez. Dito isso, algumas canções aqui são interessantes e agradáveis, então não é como se o projeto inteiro fosse irreparável. 2/5
2.5
2.17
I did not like this one. First, I think Janet has a good voice, and the beats are good. However, the first problem is with the beats because they all sound alike. Also, the interludes make me dislike the album even more. They are very preachy and make Janet seem out of touch, especially as a celebrity who was pretty much born into the industry. I still think her brother Michael is a better musician.
Quite boring pop
Damp lyrics and modest funk - not my scene.
I never really clocked how many of these songs sound exactly the same as each other.
Forgettable.
Just a fun pop album. Nothing too deep at all, but my toddler liked dancing to it with me.
Wayyyyy too long for the level of craft here.
Not for me
Leaning on interludes to make your album cohesive feels very... artificial, I guess? It's hard to explain why I'm not a fan of interlude tracks, but I'm not. They take up runtime and drag album flow to a halt in most cases, including on this album. Are they trying to tell a story? Continue the riveting plot of the preceding tracks (which don't seem to have any storyline in common to begin with)? And in this case, 8 out of 20 tracks are interludes. Pretty bad. Fortunately, they don't take up much of the 64-minute runtime. And a good few of the full-length numbers are actually pretty good. The backing vocals and thick bass part in Miss You Much make it a highlight, though some effect is placed onto the vocals that mar them significantly. Same problem for Escapade: the backing vocals are great on paper, but they have this metallic filter that makes the sound a heck of a lot less appealing. Rhythm Nation 1864 is a slightly tough listen because it's overproduced. Jackson throws the whole kitchen sink into the percussion and SFX, and it's more distracting than it is particularly exciting. The high-pitched "whoo" in Alright is the best example of this, but distracting SFX show up everywhere on this record. I understand how this might have appealed to audiences from back in the day, but it comes across as extremely dated even relative to other 80s entries. The only track that (for the most part) dodges the terrible 80s sound is Livin' In A World (They Didn't Make), making it easily one of the highlights. Black Cat has a pretty sweet electric guitar part, including an excellent solo, so it ekes out a spot in my key tracks. 2/5 Key tracks: Miss You Much, Livin' In A World (They Didn't Make), Black Cat
Heard the title track before (banger). I think I just find late 80s sound boring because listening to this I can tell it's a well produced album but... nah. I think the fact that there was an interlude between almost every song didn't help 2/5
She wasnt Michael. Kinda sucky
mu jing swack
not for me
2.5
ik vond het vrij vervelend en saai... een beetje het gevoel van eerste keer op een familiefeest te zitten nadat je 10 jaar niet geweest was... het is druk, er is niks dat je interesseert, en je kijkt meer op je horloge dan je lief is
Most songs sound quite similar And it being a long album Doesn't bode well But then black cat comes along Great song
I guess fine, not the album for me tho Will I listen to again: 1%
This album marched so I could run… away.
Has the ‘1814’ always been there??? Please stop messing with me. I have no firm feelings on this. The hits are hits.
not my thing
Not without merit but I don't want to listen to it.
janet cooked mutta ei ansaitse aplodeja..
Forgettable at best, cringy and fake deep at worst
All similar vibes. Girl pop. Interlude between almost every song for some reason?
Not it
This is like going to a school dance in 1987. 60% of the music you would have heard sounds like this album. I was not eager to go back there. I'm not eager to revisit it again anytime soon either.
C'est comme Michael Jackson, mais en pas ouf et répétitif.
Her voice is great but this album does nothing for me.
Не
I want to love it, but it's all just too samey. The first one is the best but I'm also biased because of its featuring in Moulin Rouge. Livin' In A World (They Didn't Make), Alright and Interlude: No Acid are stand outs.
Just couldn't get into it...
I didn't really care for this one much, and it felt overly long. I wouldn't say that it's bad; it's just not for me. Favorite track: "Black Cat"
Not for me
2.2 Incredibly 80s and not in a great way. It hasn't aged well in my opinion, a lot of good music from decades gone by sounds timeless, this on the other hand would go down like a lead balloon if it came out today. Other than for reason of nostalgia for some people I can't really see why it's included on this list.
Meh. Not my thing.
I think I would have enjoyed this album if it was shorter with less ballads. I can enjoy the nostalgia of the 80s pop, especially with a social commentary but but not enough to make me like the whole album.
A fairly pointless and effort that's at least 20 mins too long and a representation of some of the shite getting trotted out at the time. At least Abdul had a cartoon cat.
The same song 10 times with 10 skits in between. Stand-out: Alright
I really can’t stand this style of 80s/90s pop. Far too much fake drum noise. The social commentary is all well and good, but this is a bad album that only exists because of nepotism. Actually no, the social commentary is pretty bad too e.g. “Prejudice (no) Ignorance (no) Bigotry (no) Illiteracy (no)” Inspiring stuff… This avoids a 1 by the skin of its teeth mainly because the ballads at the end aren’t as annoying as the rest of the album. The interludes can fuck right off though.
You can instantly tell that this album is from the late '80s. Did I enjoy it? No. Was it terrible? I've definitely heard worse. However, I wouldn't consider myself a part of the Rhythm Nation. Additionally, the interludes really pissed me off. If it had been shorter, I might have given it a higher score.
Gear: Hifiman Arya Artwork: 🔳📸🕳️ Production: 🧼😐🤷♂️ Music: 🧼💃+🌎🕊️=🙄 Rating: 🫧(🫧)/5
Pretty boring pop R&B.
I wanted so badly to clarify my rating on this album that I'm leaving a note, which is not something I have usually done. Janet sounds great, and I thought the concept of addressing social issues through "We Are the World" style songs was pretty decent until she completely loses the plot halfway through the album and devolves into generic tenderhearted romantic mush. Fine on a different record, but playing the wide-eyed virgin really does a poor job of selling the idea that you are concerned with empowerment, liberation, and all the other social crises you mentioned five tracks ago. That being said the production on this album is great - I don't care what any of the other reviewers say. Everything snaps, pops, and grooves just the way you want an 80's album to, and if this was 100% instrumental it would get at least 4 stars from me.
How does an album begin with an Interlude? In fact by track count, this album is 40% interlude. Guess needed to get that track count up? The interludes get sparser on the back-half, at least, but it's overkill. The production is overkill as well. There is way too much going on in each song. How many vocal tracks does a song with a single vocalist need? I feel the Jackson connection is shoved in your face too. A lot of Michael style 'wooh's' and 'ahs' sampled in the mix. The hits hit ok, but the rest of the album is weak sauce. OK ending on an interlude is an even more ridiculous choice than starting on one. This wasn't as bad as albums I've given 1 star though, even if the 2nd last track was utterly dreadful.
A lot of the reviews say it's overproduced. I think it was fine and I believe this was the norm for Pop music back in the day. For me, there wasn't a lot that I liked about this album. Just a personal taste, really.
Hmmm, I’d say if you need a Janet Jackson album before you die, the one with “Nasty” and “What Have You Done For Me Lately” from a couple years before is the one with cultural impact. The video for the title track was better than the song.
I dont understand why this record is on the list instead of Control, the superior JJ album in my opinion. Production has not aged well, and I'm glad the 80s/90s hip hop trope of having skits or collage intros between tracks has died. While some of the singles on this are ones I remember (title track, black cat, escapade), theres also sincere but maudlin tracks like "Livin’ in a World (They Didn’t Make)" that I found embarrassing. "School shootings are bad" is not exactly a bold hot take. I looked at the singles fron Control (nasty, when I think of you, what have you done for me lately) and it just made me want to listen to that record instead.
This is not my thing - at all. Everything sounds fake, except her voice.
This album is the epitome of the sound from the 80s/90s that I hate. The synths. The distorted drums. Weird bass. Clearly JJ is an artist and I can appreciate the strong song writing. I think I would have enjoyed the acoustic version. Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 4/5
2 sterne
Too 80s for today 2 with regret
Not for me.
Hoo boy is this album earnest. It sometimes feels more like an after school special than music. I appreciate the effort, ultimately. Not really for me, but I sort of love how dorky it is at a lot of moments.
The lyrics really aren't that deep... like REALLY cmon... makes me think chat gpt existed back then The only thing I sorta liked was the electric guitar in Black Cat... but ehh the guitar felt muted
Some albums age like a fine wine. This one definitely doesn't. Just overproduced boring disco/pop. Kudos for "Black cat".
Unsurprisingly, from a shit Michael Jackson, it sounds like a shit Michael Jackson album
This is the most 1989 sounding record.
big meh
Some good songs but got boring pretty quick
80s pop with a heavy social change theme. The beats are pretty catchy, but the lyrics just feel extremely cheesy to me because they're so simple and generally vague. I think the issues aren’t as noticeable listening to a single song, but listening to the full album makes it obvious how generic each song is.
jokaseen väliin interluudia heh jaahas janetti. olet niin sievä ja fiksu janetti.. oi janetti kiitos tästä.. akolaadeja akolaadeja.. lisää ja lisää.. syntetisoitua perkussioneja. unbeliveable influential.. pump tsika pum pump... huonompi prinssi..prinsessa.. prinsessa janetti hyvin menee.. Luin ja kuvittelin jääväni eläkkeelle, kun tämä soi taustalla. Musiikin eloisuus piti ajatukseni virralla. Kiitos! hyvät kansalaiset....... olemme........ elämme käännekohdassa.... elämme käännekkohtaa.. kansalaiset......hyvät....... hetket ovat nyt käsillämme..... käsillämme on hetket, jotka tulevat raikumaan tulevaisuuden railoissa...... hyvät kansalaiset...... nyt on aika........ nyt on hyvät kansalaiset aika toimia...... miss you much
Not bad. Very like MJ, oddly enough!
Might give this another spin, cause I was listening while at the gym, but it didn’t really hit for me. Production is good but really painfully 80s in both the more uptempo dance songs and slower ballads. Janet can sing but many of the lyrics are way too on the nose about all the problems in the world, “save the children” etc. Also Black Cat specifically sounded like a much weaker version of Beat It. Couldn’t help comparing her to Michael and this albums mostly pales in comparison to his best work
I'm sorry, this kind of pop music just didn't age well. Even if we forget about who her brother was, this is just pablum.
I don’t care much for the politically fueled tracks, and the interludes seem unnecessary to me. But, there are some strong vocal performances and groovy beats.
I do not want to be a part of rhythm nation. I actually made it through 5 songs but this is a tough album and it does not hold up well. Songs sound very similar and there's not much enjoyable with them. 3/10 (1.5/5)
It was ok, not really my thing
Fine, but not my style
All the slick production of her brother's music, without any of the emotional hook and general interesting song choices
Bara för man har berömda syskon så blir det inte bra per automatik.
Disappointed I didn’t like this more. Was only really interested in 2-3 songs
No soporto las baladas de esta época (finales de los 80 y 90). Además, tiene un sonido sobreproducido en general, tambien tipico de este género. No le pongo un uno porque algunas canciones son pegadizas. 2 bajo
2 Stars (5/15)
Long. Samey.
Kind of a snooze fest and a long one at that. Very typical pop beats that I would expect out of the early 90s where it is moving away from the 80's "cheese", but not completely leaving it in the rearview as it still has bits of that.
Holy 80s cheese. The electronic drums and noises that were going on were quite terrible. Did not enjoy how much Janet wanted to change the world with some of her messages too. Was still some catchy music at points, but please get this album far away from me.
Not a fan of the “pop diva” genre, although “Black Cat” was a banger.
This was fine but I wasn't super into it. As much as I listened to Michael Jackson as a kid, I didn't get into much other similar sounding pop and R&B.
2.5/5
I made sure to listen very closely and was definitely able to realize why it was on list this, but that’s kind of wear my praise ends. It wasn’t super musical, which is what my ears were yearning for. I could get behind what she was saying… but I didn’t get a lot of singing and I was uninterested by the end.
New jack swing isn't my thing. Probably great if it's yours, but ... why? Very 80s and sounds like one dead-ass boring 65 minute song ... that incessant drum machine is giving me meegraine, is it over yet... 3/10 2 generous stars.
I can usually get behind albums calling out for societal change, but I'm not really a big fan of this style of pop. The heavy industrialized and (imo) overproduced sound, poppy bass, steel-like snare drum sounds. It just doesn't really sit well with me. And it doesn't help that almost all of the songs sound the same. Escapade is a turning point for me, since it's really the first song to actually vary in sound. The next few songs are also interesting or different in their own ways. But the back half of the album probably keeps me from calling this a bad album, musically. I still don't love the album as a whole, but it ends up being not bad. Favorite Song(s): Escapade
Sounds like people are dancing in wet city alleys. It’s late at night, dancers and musicians strategically placed on fire escapes and loading docks. Everyone is dressed in tattered denim, leather, bandanas, and untied boots. That’s what it sounds like.
Nah. It's not so terrible that it deserves the lowly 1* but sorry JJ 2* is my final offer on this.
Þetta fannst mér alveg glatað. Átti erfitt með að klára plötuna. Overproduced. Ríkt fólk að blaðra um fátækt. Condescending.
Ekki fyrir mig.
Pas horrible mais pas fan de comment ca sonne
overproduced
Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 is the fourth studio album by Janet Jackson, originally released in 1989. This is a pretty interesting release by Janet Jackson. She pretty much abandoned the sound of her previous album and decided to shift to more serious themes, much to the dismay of her record label. Lyrics on here commonly deal with politics and world problems such as violence and poverty. This is all laid over that iconic Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis production which is a weird mix. She's singing about violence and it's backed by an 80s dance beat. This album is also pretty bloated. She kinda discards the concept towards the end of the album and tacks on some slow and meandering ballads. The more upbeat songs were definitely the highlight of this album, and I admire the initiative to go against the label's wishes and bring social issues to light. It's just a bit inconsistent on this record. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
This is the most 80's thing I have ever heard. But not in a good way. My god, was the snare synth a requirement to be at a 9.5 every song?
It’s okay. I’m not really into this genre. I do remember, though, that I really loved her later album The Velvet Rope, so hopefully that album is included in this 1001 book. But this style is just not for me
Z so 2
I really do not like 90s smooth RnB. This is edging way too close to it. I also am not a fan of Janet Jackson for maybe the same reason. The more upbeat 80 s pop songs were ok but the ballads was not my thing. Also way too long runtime.
Are all these songs the same? Probably. 2 stars, purely as I liked the "interludes" theme.
1989 fue un año
Not really my thing unfortunately
Not my pop
Pop stylings usually leave me cold, but the propulsiveness here gets me going--this is Sly caught up to 1989, or prefiguring Suzanne Vega; Rhythm Nation indeed. The Knowledge (and others) is great if I don't listen too carefully to the unimaginative lyrics. You go, girl.
Sorry, Janet - were these actually different songs? I thought I might be won over by some boppy tunes but instead overwhelmed by cloying samey-ness. My teeth hurt from the saccharine.
Meh
It feels like it's holding back on how funky it really wants to be, like someone told them to dial back the funk by 30%. It's not bad, but it never really caught my attention, and it was a bit too long and samey for me to give it any leeway.
The songs are fine, but they all sound basically the same (other than Black Cat which is a bit of an anomaly on this album). And they all seem really earnest in their subject matter.
Going to be honest, I did let my views of Janet Jackson as a person affect this rating.
*Baffling* how grunge, shoegaze, indie etc became so popular when late 80s pop was this over-produced nonsense. Talented, but empty of......... anything
I feel like poorly reviewing 80s music for being cheesy is kind of unfair, but that's not my problem.
Far too overproduced. MJ’s contribution is also annoying.
This isn't the sort of music I like. It's a bit over-produced, and while the sentiment behind the songs, I think it's a bit average.
Just not really something I enjoyed. Nothing wrong just not great
Some very big 80s pop production, some heavy handed social commentary, a couple pop tracks that hang together pretty well. But very much feels like less than the sum of its parts.
Eh Janet is fine but doesn't do a ton for me, feels like posturing
We live in a society ahhh album
Ok! This album is sooo typical Jackson. It was nice in the 80s and beginning of the 90s. And it was a great album back then. But listening to it now isn't really exciting. Of course it is nice dance music as was typical for the Jacksons. But I don't see this as music, which is timeless although quite a lot listen to it even today.
Meh album. There's so much late-80s sound here and it's overwhelming. I'm not a fan. **
nah 48/100
Not really my type of music - after a while all the tracks sounded the same.
Don't really like the new jack swing sound. There are couple of decent songs here but it's too long and the interludes are annoying.
I’ve never heard this entire alb but remember hearing the singles all the time from my youth. Definitely had a late 80s vibe- I don’t mind the new jack sound, it just become background for me after a while. It’s like eating candy-good at the start but leaves you wanting something more substantial. Definitely important in the evolution and scale of pop - for good or bad.
Vrolijke eighties drek opgebouwd uit een combinatie van Madonna en broer Michael, af en toe met super geëngageerde teksten maar steevast met oerlelijke drums. En dat dan een uur lang. Het is niet totaal kut, maar ik ga dit normaal gesproken natuurlijk niet vrijwillig zitten luisteren. Overbodig.
Nej. Jobbigt. Ville bara att det skulle ta slut. Blev minimalt bättre mot slutet (iaf de lugnare låtarna).
definitely a very percussive and groovy album - somewhat of a more sensual and laid back version of the 80s pop sound.
80s pop. Kind of a snore. I didn't outright hate it though.
Disappointing
Respect it for what it is but not really something I vibed with
I have more of fond memories for the album than fondness for the album. Music really sounded the same throughout and was really one note
So not interested.
Boring, nothing special. Prefer Michael.
Sounds way too much like Michael
Well produced. Some catchy tunes. Every song feels too long and I couldnt get through it.
Didn't care for this. I was surprised I didn't recognize any songs. I did laugh that this album thought it needed interludes between the songs. INTERLUDE: NO ACID
Rhythm Nation 1814 is big on social commentary but bad on music. So. Much. Snare. Just a load of generic sounds from an artist capable of so much better, just feels like she wanted a vehicle to be able to speak on things and didn't care as much about the music. 2.
This is not a good album, really. There's not one song on it that's really good, plenty that are quite bad, and the less said about the interludes the better. Very focused on the social commentary piece, which doesn't really land (which is fair 35 years later...), but the music is not good. 2/5.
Thoughts before listening: Janet Jackson and especially this album have taken on a new level of respect that I feel was never really the case when it was released...or maybe he just lived in her brother's shadow. I remember this album being popular, but I don't feel like it was ever mentioned with the levels of critical acclaim it has garnered in recent years. All I know of the album is that "Black Cat" is a banger. Review: Okay, I recognize a few more songs than "Black Cat", but thats by far the best song on the album. Maybe it was just the sound of r&b at the time, but I don't like the production on these songs. They sound so fake and cheesy. This is what a lot of Michael Jackson's songs sound like, but I feel he had better songs. Or at least more songs that I have a nostalgic connection to. I found myself pretty bored with this album....until "Black Cat" came on and I cranked it up. 2-stars.
There’s a few good songs on here but most of it is rather bland and the album is further marred by all the interludes
Rhythm Nation Miss You Much. Too political with her messaging. Sounds just like MJ.
Not my favorite. I don’t think I’m a big fan of the slow R&B. I did really like the song black cat though.
Interlude: Pledge n/a Rhythm Nation 2.3 Interlude: T.V. n/a State of the World 2.4 Interlude: Race n/a The Knowledge 2 Interlude: Let's Dance n/a Miss You Much 1.8 Interlude: Come Back n/a Love Will Never Do (Without You) 1.6 Livin' in a World (They Didn't Make) 2 Alright 1.8 Interlude: Hey Baby n/a Escapade 2 Interlude: No Acid n/a Black Cat 2.4 Lonely 2.2 Come Back to Me 1.7 Someday Is Tonight 1.6 Interlude: Livin'…In Complete Darkness n/a Score: 1.983333333
The vocals just seem so strange sometimes
Mom, I really want that Prince album! We have a Prince album at home. The Prince album at home:
I get it, but was never a fan. Tried again, feel the same way now as I did back then
Sure it was big for its time, lyrical content obviously good and still rings true today, but musically pretty generic 80s pop noises
If you like discos, it's great. Otherwise it's hopelessly overproduced music by marketing men. I can't really tell one track from another. The beats are brilliant, but that's all they really are: beats. No discernable tunes. Very much of the 1980s, but if you want real talent in this genre, try Prince's 1999 or Robert Palmer's Addicted to love.
I'll be honest this album on the front half frequently hit the same emotional response for me as the portion of Happy Xmas (War Is Over) where the children are singing "war is over if you want it". Which is to say I both couldn't take it seriously and also it makes me lowkey want to bash my head against something because I hate it so much. I don't mind social commentary in my music at all but there's just something about the delivery here that makes it somehow insincere to me. It probably doesn't help in me taking it seriously that the back half of the album seems to kind of abandon that theme after being so aggressive about it up front. The portions of the album where she wasn't singing about starving people/poor people/etc where fine enough but only a couple songs really grabbed me (Escapade and Black Cat). That all said, the sound of this album really "feels" like a specific time in pop to me so from that perspective maybe still worth a listen. Just not my personal cup of tea.
this album is far too long and overproduced. some gems for sure, but i wish she would’ve picked going full social commentary or full pop. the back and forth is unfulfilling.
Tiene un pasaje muy bueno, pero en su generalidad es un pop ochentoso medio de minita.
I genuinely tried, but it was too overproduced to enjoy
Bring back Micheal
Like a fourth-graders current events report set to a drum machine. I expected more bops out of this.
Inoffensive but otherwise meh. Owes a lot to Prince and Michael Jackson (no relation). Black Cat is a cool song, others are mostly unoriginal and weakly executed.
I wanted and expected to like this a bit more than I eventually did. It's fine, but didn't get me wanting to dance in the way I had hoped. Definitely dated in sound and style too.
Ok album, not anything I’d say someone NEEDS to hear.
Alright 80s pop album,but certainly nothing special. and the 47 interludes detract.
I learned a new genre today: new jack swing. I also learned that this genre sounds incredibly dated to me. Honestly, I'm a little stunned at how good of critical reviews this has (and incredibly strong commercial performance). This thing has a bunch of top hits from the time and I honestly thought it was incredibly mediocre. Here's my issues. First, she went with the "social commentary" route on quite a few songs here, and seems to have gotten a lot of acclaim for this. These songs all sound so insincere to me at best though, and incredibly cringy and cheesy at worst ("We've gotta teach our kids to read and write / That's the only way to win this fight for life"). I'm fine with a social commentary album, but this felt half-baked to me. And the "love" songs were more fine to me, but nothing crazy inspiring lyrically. And then the beats. While there are some reasonably catchy moments here and there, on this whole this is dated-sounding at best and grating at worst. I also thought the interludes were a bit distracting and unnecessary. I just really don't get this one. Some music just doesn't age well and I think this is in that category for me. I'm willing to concede that I'm not the target audience for this at all (R&B-pop social issue concept album) and it probably hit different 35 years ago than it does today, but I really didn't like it very much. One positive I'll say is that I actually think Janet Jackson seems really talented. She's an interesting one generally, since it seems like she was massively popular for awhile but has almost completely fallen off the map in modern times. The Super Bowl incident played a role I'm sure, but she has had basically no staying power compared to other major artists from the time. I'm tempted to give this a 3 based on the critical reviews, but I'm sticking with my guns here. This one wasn't for me, but I'm glad I heard it and I'm glad it resonated more with other people. Favorite song: Escapade Other: Miss You Much, Love Will Never Do (Without You), Come Back To Me 4/9/24
I really didn’t care for any of these songs and I found the interludes very annoying and totally unnecessary.
Not for me. Most of the first half of the album all sounded the same. There are a couple of ballads on the second half that helped mix it up a little. Surprised how much she sounded like Michael at times.
Not an album for me.. Forgot I how hate those late 80's synthesizers, this album goes heavy on them. The interludes seemed fake and contrived. Oh and way too long.
Rhythms out of time, thin voice. The album was certainly quite nice when it was released, but nothing for eternity.
There's nothing particularly objectionable here, but it is pretty bland. It's mostly highly produced R&B with some dance elements. Her voice is good, but this genre doesn't appeal to me much so there's not much here for me. I was ready for it to be over halfway in.
I was hoping years of nostalgia would help with this album but no. I don’t like New Jack Swing. At all. I don’t had Janet Jackson at all and I respect the themes of the album but this genre is not for me. It sounds artificial and soulless.
This sound like every other dance/pop album from the late 80s, early 90s. All its nostalgic value has outstayed its welcome around the 40 minute mark and then it’s just annoying.
It feels very indicative of an era. In otherwords, cool but outdated
Prejudice: knock it off Ignorance: knock it off Bigotry: knock it off Illiteracy: knock it off She can sing, I'll give her that, but most of the songs aged so badly. The ones that are not dance songs still sound good
pointless but at least listenable
4/10
Most tracks are ruined by the obnoxious, overbearing drums. Black Cat (easily the best song on the album) is the only up-tempo track that doesn’t suffer from this. The songs are too long without really going anywhere. I like long songs, but not when they are just repeating themselves. The album is too long, as a consequence.
Not for me. Dislike most aspects of this
Rhythm Nation the song is really very good to be honest, and not a song I knew. Seems to have aged really well despite/because of(?) the very period production. Several songs in and it's all polished but the similarity in production is leaving me tired and feeling I'm listening to the same thing over and over. That changed with the syrupy Living in a World... which I hated. Commendable message of course but nope musically. Then that production is back in force! All the same noises. Alright is... alright, as it happens. Escapade always reminded me of Jump for My Love by The Pointer Sisters. Another thought, Janet Jackson ballads and Michael Jackson ballads sound way too similar to eachother. Somewhere between a 2 and 3 for me, see how moody I am in the morning when it's ratin' time. Well I woke up and my cold is worse than yesterday, sorry Janet, those are the breaks.
I had forgotten this album existed…listened, and will forget.
Nothing much to it. Poor beats.
A lot of the 80s sound has come back in fashion but this Casio keyboard basic drum beats hadn’t yet. Probably for good reason as it all sounds way too basic.
Did not enjoy. Low 2.
kinda boring, not my type of music NNN
During State of the world I had a feeling this was gonna be a tough one to get through. Love will never do is a fun song, from there on it gets better. Not really my thing but not bad 2.1*
Vapid and boring
Many of these sound like "Equal Rights" from Popstar. Lyrically, this is rough.
Liked it more than I thought, but also wasn't going to listen to an hour of it
2+
It's a good album but I didn't like ot as much as a lot of my other 3's so it gets a 2. Good voice tho
I did not care at all for this. Too long and all sounded the same.
This was quite dull, just the same sort of thing all the way through, wasn't bad, but it just wasn't anything interesting.
Sounds very dated in a genre I don’t really like anyways so will not be returning to this one. Love the cover art tho Rating: 2.3
This is just not my thing. At over an hour long this was a slog. WAY overproduced. I found myself trying to figure out if there were any actual instruments played on this album. Everything sounded like it was done on a synthesizer or so overprocessed that it didn't sound like the instrument that was supposedly being played. Electronic drums are one of my pet peeves and they made too many of the songs sound the same. There's nothing here that I'd want to revisit.
Very mixed feelings about this one. Sometimes it hits, but most of the time it's very bland. Even annoyingly bland.
I couldn't really get into this, Janet. I'm sorry 2
"I thought it would be great if we could create our own nation" hmmm. That sounds like marketing BS to me but it didn't seem to hurt sales. Rhythm Nation was the best selling album of 1989. It was also released the same year Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing hit theaters, and also the same year that Public Enemy released It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. PE and Spike Lee, not the most mainstream at that time. But Janet, had released Control three years earlier and was a 'Jackson' was definitely mainstream. A year later, Marlon Wayans launched In Living Colour, an edgy sketch comedy show with a majority black cast on the new FOX network. I think anything with a 'Jackson' name on it during that time would've been a hit regardless of the marketing speak. But I also think her sloppy attempt to tie this album to 'social issues' may have increased its timespan of relevancy, and possibly even staved off some critics growing weary of more Jacksons hogging the limelight. This is a straight 80's album with weird synth-y percussions and dancing. There's no shame in it unless you try and label it something its not.
I used to work with a woman who loved this album and spent literally hours telling me how Janet Jackson was the "greatest living talent", a "visionary", and how this album was the most perfect music ever made. I resisted all attempts from her to lend me a copy of this album and there was not much in the way of internet in the late 80s, so I never listened to Rhythm Nation. It turns out that my attempts to avoid this album were more successful than even I realised. I read that there were seven top 5 singles from this album and I had never heard any of them, even the title track was new to me. Turns out I wasn't missing much.
It's a fun dance album for sure, but 64 minutes of a fun dance album is entirely too much time. A lot of the social commentary, which itself is fairly enlightened, has its impact cut short in this format for me too. Favorite track: Rhythm Nation
Didn't do much for me.
Very industrial sounding beats Overproduced "concept" album about social issues I guess its a Funk/Pop/RnB/HipHop mashup? Every Song feels like it's one minute too long Good intentions, but ultimatly not for me
Not my cup of tea
Pop. Sintético
Lots of powerful lyrics and messages, sound doesn't feel as timeless but I'm sure I would have liked this more if I was a teen when it came out.
Nice vibe, can see a lot of Michael in this, not my sound but I didn't mind it.
Their first or second beat album
Not very good as an album, but some good songs in it. Nice slow eighties pop.
A couple of the songs, like "State of the World" are okay. The production sounds dated, especially when comparing it to Soul II Soul, which came out the following year, though this has the same sound as Madonna's "Like a Prayer" from around that time. Also, some of the "interludes" are annoying. That said I'll bump it up point for her tackling of social issues.
Not for me
Dated and every song sounds kinda just sounds like “nasty boys” but about poverty.
This is gonna be a big no for me dawg. On the nose lyrics about the worlds problems over outdated 80s pop production is a recipe for disaster. I don’t care. Janet’s voice is…fine, but buried so far back in the mix that it just gets lost in the random percussion slams.
This took me back to the days of riding along with my mom without control over what played on the radio; which is to say, I didn’t like it.
meh, not the worst but def crappy
Uninterested and wasn't looking forward to listening after scanning over the song list and painful running length of the album. Over produced, generically 80's, but not as commercially mainstream as I expected, so it was listenable. Jackson is no doubt a gifted performer and I prefer her music over her brother, well, all her brothers (which isn't saying much) and she has a fine voice. The concept and the songs are lost on me, but it's not surprising because this a genre and styling I usually avoid, not my taste in music. There are plenty of people that probably love this record and love Janet, but I'm not one of them.
Don't hate it, just feel it has no personality of it's own at all. 2
Meh dated 80’s pop music trying to be edgy, not for me.
Musically, I did not think was very good. Everything here sounds pretty dated. However, the album clearly is not just about the music.
She has a good voice, and you can tell effort was put in this album. But the sound of the samples and that 80s kind of style (?) sounds atrocious
Beetje futuristisch haast, je raakt afgeleid van alle gekke geluiden erdoorheen. Was voor die tijd vast vrij baanbrekend. Ik vind het moeilijk dat álle nummers politieke issues aankaarten terwijl de muziek er eigenlijk juist van afleid. Beetje funky voor zulke donkere themas. Muzikaal wel goed en ze heeft natuurlijk wel een goeie stem dus muzikaal wel goed.
Brother's a nonce
Pues no me ha gustado mucho...
There is so much talent in the Jackson family. However having talent doesn’t mean you’ll make a great album. Janet seems to have followed the pop structure of Michael but without any of the excitement that makes his music so enjoyable. This wasn’t really a chore to get through as it’s upbeat and poppy but none of the songs had me feeling intrigued. It felt like a spin-off of a Michael Jackson album that flopped. Nothing to revisit here. 5.0/10
Interminable
Meh. Pretty much the same song stretched on a whole hour.
I always had difficulty to enjoy overproduced pop of the late 80s, especially when it's so samey for a complete hour. Rhythm Nation and Black Cat are great songs, tho.
When people around my age talk about how much they love 80s music, I’m convinced they are only thinking of like the nine 80s hits everybody’s heard, including the stuff by Janet’s brother. They have not listened to this in full. Was it bad? No, not by my definition. Were the drums cool sometimes? Sure. But it all just keeps going and going and going for an hour, and every song has even cornier synths and even bigger echoier drums than the last song, and over it all Janet squeaks like a ten year old doing her best Whitney Houston impression. Goodbye 1980s. Please don’t come back. Best song: State of the World
Long, repetitive, and bland - Jackson’s vocals are impressive, but the contortions she puts them through render the point moot. The usual 80s obstacle course arrangement style means the LP feels like a spastic mess that can’t pick a lane as each track bounces off the walls rhythmically. Just another listen that faded into the background rather than grabbing my attention.
Solid and made statements
day 18. I don't really understand why I see some people calling this album a concept album. I feel like this album tried to do a lot of different things, but didn't do any of them particularly well, so the flow just feels weird, despite the use of the interludes to attempt to make it feel cohesive. The top half has several songs built around social injustices/political themes, and while I wanted to applaud those songs for taking on big topics I instead felt like they often came across overdone and cheap. Then, intermixed with those songs but moving toward the middle of the album were several upbeat, more typically themed 80's pop songs which became a bit too much for me to listen to all together (and often sounded dated), though there were some catchy ones I enjoyed in this section (faves on the album - Escapade, Black Cat). closing with 3 romantic ballads in a row is a choice.... by that point the album was stretching my patience already and I found these really generic. I don't know how I finished tbh. I clearly just wasn't feeling this one, idk, sorry Janet. 1.5/5 rounded to 2.
I'm sure this is a well-constructed album, but the harsh synth percussions, etc. are so grating to me that I cannot hear anything beyond them. It was a real struggle to get through this.
Just not my flavor. To me, sounds like a cheaper version of her brother’s music.
It's not terrible but it quickly becomes very boring. I just can't give this 3 stars as it's too boring and unoriginal to take seriously.
There's a vibe, an attractive rhythm a overall vision. However thus is the 80s so is has that GODDAMN AWFUL PRODUCTION. AGGGHHHH...Take those drums away now.
Tämän kuuntelu on kivaa. Mitä muuta voi toivoa? No, että musiikki olisi sen tyyppistä, että tekisi aidosti mieli kuunnella uudelleen (lue: vähemmän kasarin lopun kaaosbiittejä ja täyteen ahdettua soundia tukemassa ohutta lauluääntä). Mutta joo, ihan kivaa oli.
Ik werd hier steeds akeliger van. Het was ook zoveel van hetzelfde!
I was expecting so much more from a Janet Jackson album. This was just boring and generic.
Did we generalize all of the late 80s/early 90s female pop music into a single album but remove all the exciting parts? Yes, yes we did with this snoozefest. Nothing worth listening to on this.
I don’t get the hype and love of Janet Jackson. She’s not nearly as talented as her brother. All the interludes in the music are distracting from music in general, and when I listen to a music record I want to listen to music, not random sound bytes.
Meh
The interludes are ridiculous and bad, stopping any flow. There is no rhythm. Rough late 80s pop mess! 2 stars is a gift.
Okay, I guess. An album that's been part of my consciousness since it came out and was all over the radio. This came out in the summer between 6th and 7th grade and through no fault of its own, corresponded with the age kids stopped being kids and started being mean. Some lingering PTSD for sure going on there, but these songs (and many others) associate with that time. Now that I've got that out. This is the kind of music I listened to and "liked" because it's what was accessible. Needless to say, grunge could not have come too soon. 1 - bad 2 - average 3 - good 4 - great 5 - outstanding
I was looking forward to revisiting it, but it wasn't my cup of tea in 89 & it still isn’t.
An album that really feels like it ushers in the sound of 90's pop and R&B music. The issue is that isn't really a good thing. The cheesy synths and the "we need to make the world a better place" lyrics really don't do much for me.
Por lo visto en su momento lo petó, pero yo no le veo la gracia a este disco.
Beat generator machine got stuck on repeat
The 80's always feels like it's dated the worst out of any decade by far. A lot of this just doesn't work for me at all because it feels like it's from a different world. The music itself just feels so soulless. Maybe if I were wearing some mad, garish shellsuit or something then it would help me tap into this energy. I got about halfway through - I'm very certain it wasn't going to change direction. 2/5 because it was inoffensive enough and didn't actively irritate me. What a recommendation!!
She's a good singer and the album is well produced, but it's not really my taste. 2,5/5
I struggle with 80s songs that say “Bad thing bad” in upbeat pop songs (Looking at you, “Do they know it’s Christmas?”). The first half of this album falls under a similar umbrella for me. “Illiteracy, No!” Is quite possibly the worst lyric I’ve ever heard. Maybe that rhetoric is poignant for a certain demographic, but it reads as trite for me. I acknowledge that Janet did not make this album to appeal to my then-unborn white boy sensibilities. The album takes a decent upturn with “miss you much” but disappoints in the later songs. The one piece of praise I’ll give is for the flow of album which is very well sequenced.
It’s like someone took all of Michael’s B-Sides and crammed them onto an album with too many interludes. Feels like the song Rhythm Nation was just played in the background on repeat while they wrote the rest of the album.
Eh.
Over produced, to slick. Not for me
Coincidentally a couple days ago I watched Adam Neely talking about how this song literally broke laptops back in the day, and why. Completely interesting worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y3RGeaxksY Overall I found the contrast between the lyrical content and the cold but bouncy vibe to be, well, weird. I think the songs generally succeed as dance music but are less successful as social commentary. I don't fault the attempt, it just didn't really work for me. Honestly this is what I expect AI generated music to sound like in the future when we have AI generated music. 2.5 stars.
Michael's little sister basically portrayed the world in the '80s, particularly the crimes, wars, drugs, poverty, and the weird pop obsession to synthetic drums. Only the last one is portrayed well.
80s Pop wie er im Buche steht. Klingt für mich teilweise von track zu track sehr ähnlich. Produktionsweise war in den 80ern glaube genau auf diesen Standard ausgerichtet. Siehe Michael.
High production value pop which doesn't sound quite bad but it's supposed to be a concept album and it fails on that level. The style doesn't fit the message and all and the lyrics are just so meh. Basically a rich celebrity just saying "The world is bad, bad things are happening, it's so sad, why is world like this".
Janet dropping those sick beats. Then other not so super stuff. It’s all about the dancing.
All I could think about during the album is the running man and parachute pants. She was saying some stuff of substance for sure. Would like to go 2.5.
Bloated, dated and self important.
This was entirely disappointing. Glimpses of talent towards the end of the very loooong album, but they’re not worth waiting for, and cliché statements made about love, racism and such. She should leave those to her brother.
Buen Pop 80ero, pero el mismo sonido en todo el album
Nothing in this was particularly interesting, but nothing was overly offensive either.
Janet I’m sure you’re lovely, but just leave it to Micheal, i didn’t really enjoy that! 2 stars because she was singing about pressing issues in the states at that time! Bumped her up from a 1
This album actually ended pretty well, but the first half was overly layered and busy with lyrics that were way too on the nose. Trying to be altruistic through cheesy 80's pop doesn't really work in my opinion. This album just felt like it was trying too hard.
Not good, not terrible, but surely more terrible than good.
Very dated, classic 'Orchestral Hit' midi sample littered throughout. Interludes are just plain annoying.
False and artificial-sounding from the first note. Yes, there are some likable (even infectious) grooves (e.g., “Rhythm Nation,” “Alright”) and some sweetness here and there (“Love Will Never Do,” “Livin in a World,” “Someday is Tonight”). But the heavy-handed (to put it mildly) production and canned beats mostly overwhelm the musicality such that there’s a distinct lack of soul that makes this feel utterly disposable and mostly forgettable.
C'est vraiment le genre d'album qui me donne mal à la tête d'écouter avec ce drum machine qui n'arrête pas de tout le long. Plus de 60 minutes de ''tube'', l'album a un concept mais c'est tellement diluer dans la grosse rythmique pop et électronique que c'est trop. Elle s'est chanter, ca c'est certain, mais son concept de nous parler de la misère du monde avec un album qui ressemble sonne comme un arc-en-ciel.... je trouve pas que ca fit et en plus, considérant qu'elle vient d'une famille royale de la pop... on repassera... Apres 10 chansons, j'ai l'impression d'en être encore à la première. Je comprend qu'il y a des hits, si on écoute séparément une chanson de tout l'album c'est bon. Mais un album concept aussi saturé, c'est over produit... Quand même ce n'est pas mauvais... 2.75.
Started fairly strong but really dropped off toward the end. Early tracks were decent dance jams, but the last three or so were slow ballads. I found it hard to get through the whole thing.
Like the message, can't stand the music
Okay. Not amazing.
I wish the lyrics were just as dated as the production, but unfortunately that's not the case. There's still something charming about the sound, I just don't care to hear a whole album of it.
Pop datado
Good for its time
I just wasn't into this at the time and really haven't time for it now. It's just not me although I guess she's trying to make a social commentary which is commendable but the music is so cliched and dated now. It's not that it's THAT bad, it's just a bit naff 30-odd years later.
nah
bra ljud men inte så speciellt intressant???
Some toe tappers, maybe a song or two I might dance to if I was drunk at a wedding or something. Otherwise... not my thing
bad
Fine!
Concept sucks but her heart was in the right place. Janet can sing
Pop comercial.
Por lo visto en su momento lo petó, pero yo no le veo la gracia a este disco.
sister jackson
Very well produced, but still not me.