After shocking the R&B world with 1986's Control -- a gutsy, risk-taking triumph that was a radical departure from her first two albums -- Michael and Jermaine Jackson's younger sister reached an even higher artistic plateau with the conceptual Rhythm Nation 1814.
Once again, she enlists the help of Time graduates Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (one of the more soulful production/songwriting teams of 1980s and '90s R&B) with wildly successful results.
In 1989, protest songs were common in rap but rare in R&B -- Janet Jackson, following rap's lead, dares to address social and political topics on "The Knowledge," the disturbing "State of the World," and the poignant ballad "Living in a World" (which decries the reality of children being exposed to violence).
Jackson's voice is wafer-thin, and she doesn't have much of a range -- but she definitely has lots of soul and spirit and uses it to maximum advantage on those gems as well as nonpolitical pieces ranging from the Prince-influenced funk/pop of "Miss You Much" and "Alright" to the caressing, silky ballads "Someday Is Tonight," "Alone," and "Come Back to Me" to the pop/rock smoker "Black Cat." For those purchasing their first Janet Jackson release, Rhythm Nation would be an even wiser investment than Control -- and that's saying a lot.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Interlude: Pledge | Janet Jackson | Play | 00:48 | 1 MB | 3 MB |
| 2 | Rhythm NationJames Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis | Janet Jackson | Play | 05:30 | 12 MB | 42 MB |
| 3 | Interlude: T.V. | Janet Jackson | Play | 00:21 | 0 MB | 2 MB |
| 4 | State of the WorldJames Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis | Janet Jackson | Play | 04:47 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 5 | The KnowledgeJames Harris III, Terry Lewis | Janet Jackson | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | Miss You MuchJames Harris III, Terry Lewis | Janet Jackson | Play | 04:12 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | Love Will Never Do (Without You)James Harris III, Terry Lewis | Janet Jackson | Play | 05:50 | 13 MB | 42 MB |
| 8 | Livin' in a World (They Didn't Make)James Harris III, Terry Lewis | Janet Jackson | Play | 04:41 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 9 | AlrightJames Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis | Janet Jackson | Play | 06:26 | 14 MB | 47 MB |
| 10 | Interlude: Hey Baby | Janet Jackson | Play | 00:09 | 0 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | EscapadeJames Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis | Janet Jackson | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 37 MB |
| 12 | Interlude: No Acid | Janet Jackson | Play | 00:05 | 0 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Black CatJanet Jackson | Janet Jackson | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 14 | LonelyJames Harris III, Terry Lewis | Janet Jackson | Play | 04:59 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 15 | Come Back to MeJames Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis | Janet Jackson | Play | 05:32 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 16 | Someday Is TonightJames Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis | Janet Jackson | Play | 06:01 | 13 MB | 40 MB |
| 17 | Interlude: Livin'...In Complete Darkness | Janet Jackson | Play | 01:07 | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| 18 | Interlude: Come Back | Janet Jackson | Play | 00:20 | 0 MB | 1 MB |
| 64 mins | 147 MB | |||||
| 64 mins | 457 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Herb Alpert | Brass, Horn, Trumpet |
| 2 | Julie Ayer | Violin |
| 3 | Steve Barnett | Conductor |
| 4 | David Barry | Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Guitar (Electric) |
| 5 | Lee Blaske | Arranger |
| 6 | Chris Brown | Bass |
| 7 | Carolyn Daws | Violin |
| 8 | Hanley Daws | Violin |
| 9 | David Eiland | Programming |
| 10 | Rene Elizondo | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 11 | Richard Frankel | Art Direction, Cover Design |
| 12 | Johnny Gill | Finger Snaps, Percussion, Special Effects |
| 13 | James Greer | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Guzman/Rotterdam Conservatory Orquesta Tipica | Photography |
| 15 | James Harris III | Composer |
| 16 | Steve Hodge | Engineer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Peter Howard | Cello |
| 18 | Janet Jackson | Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Jimmy Jam | Drums, Keyboards, Percussion, Piano, Producer, Programming |
| 20 | Jellybean Johnson | Drums, Guitar, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 21 | Jesse Johnson | Guitar |
| 22 | Lisa Keith | Vocals (Background) |
| 23 | Kathy Kienzle | Harp |
| 24 | Joshua Koestenbaum | Cello |
| 25 | Jamial Lafleur | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 26 | Terry Lewis | Arranger, Bass, Composer, Percussion, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 27 | Tshaye Marks | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 28 | John McClain | Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 29 | Tamika McDaniel | Vocals |
| 30 | Tarnika McDaniel | Vocals (Background) |
| 31 | John McLain | Guitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 32 | Shante Owens | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 33 | Amy Powell | Voices |
| 34 | Randy Ran | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 35 | Nicholas Raths | Guitar, Guitar (Classical) |
| 36 | Sonya Robinson | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 37 | Clarice Rupert | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 38 | Warlesha Ryan | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 39 | Tamas Strasser | Viola |
| 40 | John Tartaglia | Viola |
| 41 | Reshard Taylor | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 42 | Romuald Tecco | Concert Master |
| 43 | Anthony Thomas | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 44 | Hyacinthe Tlucek | Concert Master |
| 45 | Steve Wilson | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |