Track Listing

1. Rhythm Nation
2. State Of The World
3. Knowledge
4. Miss You Much
5. Love Will Never Do (Without You)
6. Livin' In A World (They Didn't Make)
7. Alright Alright
8. Escapade
9. Black Cat
10. Lonely
11. Come Back To Me
12. Someday Is Tonight

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8498 in Music
• Released on: 2000-09-07
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

From Amazon.com
Picking up where the breakthrough funk-pop of Control left off, Janet Jackson and her production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis laced Rhythm Nation with high-minded references to societal ills--seldom the favored province of dance music, but a daring attempt nonetheless. Songs like "State of the World" and "The Knowledge" follow in the tradition of "free your mind and your ass will follow." Still, aside from the title track, it was the pure pop fare and dance music that stormed the charts: "Escapade," "Love Will Never Do (Without You)," "Alright," and "Come Back to Me" concentrate on the politics of personal relationships, not public policy, while "Black Cat" burns the place down with a fierce burst of hard rock. Rhythm Nation 1814 doesn't necessarily hang together thematically, but it's so chock full of hits, you scarcely notice. --Daniel Durchholz

CD Description
Little did you know that the American national anthem, "GodBless America", was written in 1814. Janet did, and she sets out in RHYTHM NATION to dish out a bit of "let's all work together for a better world and improve our way of life" type thing. This vein continues for a number of tracks, and admirable though it is, she sounds so much more convincing singing a good old-fashioned love song. The Jacksons were meant to dance, not to sermonise. That said, "Miss You Much", "Lonely" and "Come Back To Me:" are fabulous. Slick, sweet soul sung and played perfectly.

Customer Reviews

A MUST have!!!
Okay, so this was my favorite album for a long time and maybe the only cause for it not being my all-time favorite is that the slow songs are not that good. After listening to the tiring, always-repeating-itself love songs of other artists it is really good to listen songs that really have something to say. Social issues might have come up in rap songs, but in R'n'B it is something new and fresh - exactly the freshness that made the first three songs of "Control" so special.
The best songs IMO are Rhythm Nation, State of the World, Miss You Much, Love Will Never Do (an all-time favorite of mine), Escapade, Black Cat and Someday is Tonight.
The ballads are not as good as the upbeat songs, if you want beautiful Janet ballads, look for her next albums Janet, Velvet Rope & All For You.

A great buy!
I was unable to find this CD elsewhere so I was really pleased to buy it off here. This album is most like 'Janet' and not like 'The Velvet Rope' so it depends on what style of Janet you enjoy really. Of course some of these songs are also on 'Design of a Decade' but that should not put you off buying this CD because this CD features extended versions/slightly different versions to the ones on 'Design of a Decade'. With her usual combination of challenging social issues with a funky beat, and her lovesongs, this is an essential album for any Janet fan to have. Buy it!

A thought provoking and an album way ahead of it's time.
This has got to be in my opinion one of the best albums ever made. Even after 15 years, the issues raised by Rhythm Nation are as true to life now as they were then.

So much research was done to bring the facts of real life to people's attention. The main songs you need to look out for are "Rhythm Nation", "State of the world", "The Knowledge" and the emotional "Living in a world they didn't make".
It was written at a time where talking about real life issues was the in thing.

One interesting aspect of Ryhthm Nation 1814 is the different musical styles in it. You have Rap, Hip Hop and oddly enough grunge rock, which you will find in the song "Black Cat".
There are also quotes in the album which also talk about the state of the world as it was then and still is.
My favourate quote comes at the very end of the album.
"In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowedge and wisdom that separates us... Don't let your eyes deceive you"