Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope (2LP)
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Vocals: Janet Jackson (all tracks), Joni Mitchell (A4), Q-Tip (A4), Kelly Konno (B2), Shawnette Heard (B2), Tina Landon (B2), Alex Richbourg (B3), Alyssa Hanson (B3), Debbie Morrison (B3), James "Big Jim" Wright (B3), Miko Salone (B3), Prof T. (B3)
Background Vocals: Terry Lewis
Violin – Vanessa Mae (A2)
Guitar – Dave Barry (C3), O' Nicholas Raths (C4), Mike Scott (D1), Dave Barry (D2), O' Nicholas Raths (D5)
Bass – Gary Raynor (C4)
Cello – Camilla Heller (C4), Dale Newton (C4), Daryl Skobba (C4), Josh Koestenbaum (C4)
Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone – Ken Holmen (C4)
Trumpet – Lynn Erickson (C4)
Viola – Alice Preves (C4), Charles Gray (C4), Glenn Donnellan (C4), Myma Rain (C4)
Violin – Brenda Mickens (C4), Carolyn Daws (C4), Daria Tedeschi (C4), Elizabeth Sobieski (C4), Hanley Daws (C4), Jan Chong (C4), Leslie Shank (C4), Michael Sobieski (C4)
Keyboards – James "Big Jim" Wright (D1)
Organ – James "Big Jim" Wright (D2)
Drum Programming – Alex Richbourg (A2-4, B2, B5, D1-2), Xavier Smith (C1)
Choir – The United Children's Choir (A2, D5)
Choir directed by Rayvaline Harrell (A2, D5), Willie R. Norwood, Sr. (A2, D5)
Arranged by Janet Jackson (all tracks), Jimmy Jam (all tracks), Terry Lewis (all tracks), Lee Blaske (C4)
Written by Janet Jackson (A2-4, A6, B2-3, B5, C1, C3-4, D1-3, D5-6), James Harris III (A2-4, A6, B2-3, B5, C1, C3-4, D1-3, D5-6), Terry Lewis A2-4, A6, B2-3, B5, C1, C3-4, D1-3, D5-6), René Elizondo Jr. (A2-4, A6, B2-3, B5, C1, C3-4, D1-3, D5-6), Malcolm McLaren (A2), Mike Oldfield (A2), Trevor Horn (A2), Morris Dickerson (A3), Charles Miller (A3), Harold Brown (A3), Howard Scott (A3), Lee Oskar (A3), Leroy Jordan (A3), Sylvester Allen (A3), Joni Mitchell (A4), Kamaal Ibn Fareed (A4), Marilyn McLeod (A6), Nickolas Ashford (A6), Pamela Sawyer (A6), Valerie Simpson (A6), Archie Bell (B3), Billy Buttier (B3), James Brown (B3), Michael Hepburn (B3)
2 LPs, Gatefold jacket
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : unspecified
Label : Virgin
Original Label : Virgin
Recorded January–July 1997 at Flyte Tyme (Edina, Minnesota), The Hit Factory (New York City), Record Plant (Los Angeles)
Vocals recorded by Steve Hodge (A2, A4, B2, C3-4, C5, D1, D3, D5)
Engineered by Steve Hodge (A2-6, B2-3, B5, C1, C3-5. D1-3, D5)
Mixed by Steve Hodge (A2-4, A6, B2-3, B5, C1, C3-5. D1-3, D5)
Produced by Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis
Executive-Producer – Janet Jackson, René Elizondo, Jr.
Art Direction – Len Peltier
Design – Flavia Cureteu, Jean Krikorian, Steve Gerdes
Sleeve Notes – Janet Jackson
Photography by Ellen Von Unwerth, Mario Testino
Originally released in October 1997
Reissued in 2025
Tracks :
Side A:
1. Interlude - Twisted Elegance
2. Velvet Rope feat. Vanessa Mae
3. You
4. Got 'Til It's Gone feat. Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell
5. Interlude - Speaker Phone
6. My Need
Side B:
1. Interlude- Fasten Your Seatbelts
2. Go Deep
3. Free Xone
4. Interlude - Memory
5. Together Again
6. Interlude - Online
Side C:
1. Empty
2. Interlude - Full
3. What About
4. Every Time
5. Tonight's The Night
Side D:
1. I Get Lonely
2. Rope Burn
3. Anything
4. Interlude - Sad
5. Special
6. Can't Be Stopped
Awards:
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Ranked 318/500
MTV Online Awards : Best Album of the Year
Pitchfork The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s – Ranked #7
World Music Awards : Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to Pop Music
Reviews:
"Rather unloved and forgotten in the 21st century, Janet Jackson’s The Velvet Rope is a mature, experimental album. Written after dealing with her depression, it explores her psyche and sexuality. Producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis here continue to emphasize their importance to dance music, taking Jackson down a darker path than previous releases. Vanessa Mae’s prog-rock violin solos on the title-track sets the tone for this deeply spiritual and slightly strange work. It was Jackson’s first new material since 1993’s janet., after the triumphant interlude of her first greatest hits collection, Design of a Decade, in 1995.
Sexuality and codes of conduct are blurred in Jackson’s lyrics, and the inter-song skits find her breathy and needy. It’s no surprise that it resembles Erotica by Madonna at times, in subject manner and style. Free Xone has taken several leaves from Madonna’s book – dispassionate monologues in between an indiscriminate set of beats.
Five singles were lifted from the album. Together Again is a thumping great hit, an old-fashioned piece of professional dance music, played perfectly. There’s the sleek, slippery Go Deep and the fabulous single Got Til It’s Gone with Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell, which sounded as modern as you could be in 1997. Every Time is a touching piano ballad.
It’s far too long. It does feel like you’ve given over a considerable chunk of your life to it by its end, an unfortunate by-product of the CD era with its overriding desire to fill up every last second of each disc. However, now everything is listened to in bite-sized chunks, one can revel in its invention, especially the almost Pink Floyd’s The Wall-like chanting on Empty, weaved into the skittering Art of Noise-esque rhythm track. If more stoners were into commercial soul, they would be listening to this instead of Dark Side of the Moon.
So, is this trip-hop? When people reflect on the down-tempo albums of the 90s, few people would mention The Velvet Rope among the numbers. Yet, in part, it holds a US mirror up to the UK dance scene that infiltrated the American market, replaying the dense groove of Massive Attack. “There’s nothing more depressing than having everything and still feeling sad. You must learn to water your spiritual garden,” Jackson says at the end of this wistful album. It is certainly one worth reinvestigating.” BBC review by Daryl Easlea
“Where janet., Ms. Jackson's third blockbuster album, implied sexuality with its teasing cover and seductive grooves, its sequel, The Velvet Rope, is sexually explicit, offering tales of bondage, body piercing, and bisexuality. Not that you'd necessarily know that from listening to The Velvet Rope, since the album sags with endless interludes, murmured vocals, and subdued urban grooves. Working with her mainstays Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jackson essentially reworks the hushed atmosphere of janet., neglecting to put a new sonic spin on the material -- for an album that wants to push the limits, it sounds surprisingly tame. Similarly, Jackson's attempts to broaden her sexual horizons frequently sound forced, whether it's the references to piercing or her recasting of Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night" as a lesbian anthem. Furthermore, the album is simply too long, which means the best moments sink into the murk. And that's unfortunate, because there are good moments on The Velvet Rope, but at its running time of 70-plus minutes and 22 tracks, it's hard to work up the patience to find them.” AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Rating:
AllMusic 2.5 / 5 ; Discogs 4.41 / 5