Track Listing

1. Interlude
2. Velvet Rope
3. You
4. Got Til It's Gone
5. Go Deep
6. Free Xone
7. Memory
8. Together Again
9. Online
10. Empty
11. Full
12. What About
13. Every Time
14. Tonight's The Night
15. I Get Lonely
16. Rope Burn
17. Anyhting
18. Sad
19. Special
20. Can't Be Stopped

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8500 in Music
• Released on: 1997-10-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Teaming with her most accomplished collaborators, producer-songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson delivers what is easily her finest record since Rhythm Nation--and arguably her best ever. Highlights include jams like "You" and "Got 'Til It's Gone", which recontextualises samples from War and Joni Mitchell, respectively; the funky memorial to a dear departed, "Together Again"; and a slinky cover of Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night". Best of all, though, is "What About." An accusatory throw-down for a lover who beats and cheats even as he professes his love, it swings angrily between tender quiet and raging bitter funk. --David Cantwell

CD Description
In her most personal and emotionally revealing album to date, Janet Jackson tackles subjects close to her heart, including homophobia, abusive relationships, AIDS, and sexuality. THE VELVET ROPE is deftly produced by longtime Jackson collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who have a knack for injecting heavy, emotionally charged themes into musically flawless, stylistically innovative settings. The understated "Got 'Til It's Gone" features A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip and a sample of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi". "What About",an edgy narrative from the perspective of an abused woman, contrasts a romantic, moonlit beach scene with memories of abuse. "Free Xone", highlights Jackson's open-minded perspective on sexuality: "Free to be/Who you really are/One rule/Norules". It is this expansiveness that marks THE VELVET ROPEas more than just another mainstream pop record.

Customer Reviews

Turned me into a Janet fan
It's been several years since I bought this album. Every few months, it still gets stints in my CD player. There aren't many CDs that I can say that of; so many get confined to the rack solely to make my collection look bigger...
It starts off beautifully, a nice little prelude to set the scene and then straight into Velvet Rope, the title track. It's brimming with emotion. Vanessa May's violin solo is strong, elegant and very evocative.
There are many different styles touched upon. From sensual pop ballad to some real funk flavours but everything still feels very "Janet". She has such a distinctive style, not dis-similar to but far enough away from brother Michael.
The album as a whole is very erotic, giving what I think is a very touching insight to feminine sexuality. The production is just gorgeous, everything flowing very well from track to track. The short interludes throughout the piece break up the CD so it doesn't just feel like a selection of songs; it becomes a true musical work.

Indulge yourself. Put this on, turn up the volume, turn down the lights and pour yourself a generous measure of brandy. It'll be a treat.

Honest, emotional and powerful.
What a reversal. When I first found this album and listened to it, I heard it but I didn't listen to it. I hated it. And because of that, I had a wasted experience. A week later I picked it up again and decided to listen to it properly - a month later and it's my favourite album.

It is a grower. For those who don't like those type of albums, then don't buy it. Those prepared to give their time to it will be rewarded substantially.

The album opens with the title track 'Velvet Rope', a thick, heavy ballad with many layers of different sounds intertwined to make a unique track. Here a theme is placed down, the theme of everyone to be special. 'You' follows this up - gritty and powerful, one of those songs you just want to throw at the people who hate you. 'My Need' follows, which is like a slower version of her brother's 'Thriller'.

'Go Deep' and 'Free Xone' follow, the former a 'Nasty'-style 80's groove, the latter an experimental dance-style track. The album's stand out 'Together Again' follows, a soulful, bouncy r'n'b hit single.

The rest of the album is a much-more slowed down, ranging from the soulful (I Get Lonely, Special) to the sexual (Rope Burn). A highlight is the acoustic uptemp romp 'What About', another song where you just want to jump around, throw it at the haters and get all the agression out.

But that's the beauty of the album. So many emotions are stirred not only by the powerful lyrics, but the way the music reflects this. There is uplifting happiness (Special, Go Deep), sadness (Empty, Everytime) and even revenge (You, What About.)

If she was to improve the album, one thing would help - take out the interludes! One is about 4 seconds long and adds nothing to the album.

Overall, the album is a sensational, powerful journey that will last you a long time. Like I said, it is a grower - but what a grower.

One of the best album of the 90s
This is my 2nd favorite Janet album (second only to Rhythm Nation 1814). Since I have it, I admire Janet Jackson even more I used to. She has an opinion about everything, and she expresses openly what she thinks and feels. This is a confession from Janet to you, she shows her bare soul, you'll get to know her as if you were her intimate friend.
The title track is the best in my opinion, the music is fantastic and the words find their way into the bottom of your heart. It is followed by "You", often called Janet's version of MJ's "Man In The Mirror", then the first single "Got 'Til It's Gone" - this one is the kind of song you maybe won't like at first hearing, but later it grows on you and stays in your ear for days. Going on with what she began on the previous albums, there are sensual songs like the ones on the Janet album: My Need, Tonight's The Night (a cover of a Rod Stewart song which he sang to a girl, and Janet haven't changed the chorus :) , Rope Burn, Anything; then there are some socially conscious ones which deal with homophobia (Free Xone) and abuse (What About, a very Control-style song).
The love songs on the album are bittersweet (Empty, Every Time, Got 'Til It's Gone, I Get Lonely), and, interestingly, the only song that has a positive, sunny feeling, Together Again, is in fact written about friends she has lost to AIDS, still it is a happy song about knowing that once they will be together again.
Returning to the opening theme of the album, the last two songs are uplifting songs about everyone's being special: one of them is called Special, the other is a hidden song Can't Be Stopped (sometimes called Strong Enough).