What Was Your 1st Response To Each Janet Album?

[jarrylf]

What was your thought after your 1st listen for every Janet album?

Im going to rank mine by the order I got them in

1. Rhythm Nation. I was 11, It was given to me by my grandmother who had it and loved it....and I remember thinking after playing it all the way through, it's possibly the best album I've ever heard. I wasn't crazy about the Alright album version tho, felt like it was too long and too "remix-y". And I didn't give that much thought to Livin In A World or Lonely but it didn't take long for me to catch on & appreciate them.

2. Control, I was still 11, this was the very 1st album I ever paid for with my money, I initially loved every track but He Doesn't Even Know & Funny How Time Flies. Funny soon became  1 of my favorite songs of hers. AND I was disappointed because Pleasure Principle wasn't the video version.

3. All For You 11, got it like the 2nd week it was out.....BUT...my mom didn't let me hear the whole thing until she did....and she made me a special edited copy without When We Oooh, Would You Mind, & Son Of A Gun...I'd sneak in her room & listen to the real 1 as much as I could tho. I was very mixed on All For You. On 1 hand I automatically loved You Aint Right, Come On Get Up, All For You, Trust A Try, & Doesn't Really Matter. But I was not a fan of Son Of A Gun, China Love, Love Scene, or Truth. Everything not named didn't catch my attention.

4. Janet Jackson, I was 12 for that 1 , I got that at Best Buy,a nd was SHOCKED, and I was prepared to not like it only because I had no clue of what it would sound like. She never mentioned it, everyone I asked about JJ & DS pretty much either didn't remember or ofcourse didn't like them. But I loved it, from start to finish, I really loved the album, for nothing else than her voice, and my takeaway was "WHAT'S WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!?!" I so didn't think it was worth the stigma it & Dream Street have as being just forgotten & ignored. And It's still my thought. What made it really easy for me to appreciate at that age too was that the songs I guess were more so for that audience. Also because I was clueless the era had any singles at all I really had to pay attention to every song.

5. janet. I was 12, the irony is that it's no secret it's my favorite album of hers, but when I 1st heard it, it very much wasn't. like I liked it, but only for specific tracks like TTWLG, If, Throb, This Time, Because Of Love, & Again. Everything else I didn't care that much about. In time it just grew on me, I like to think the more I grew to care about sensuality & sexuality, the more I grew to appreciate that album.

6. The Velvet Rope, it was honestly my least favorite Janet album when I heard it  and I was 12, I got it, but I couldn't relate, so I only used it for the title track, You, Together Again, Go Deep,& I get Lonely. everything else had to grow on me

7.Dream Street. OK so what I said about JJ basically....Dream Street was SPECIAL, because NOBODY had Dream Street, I SEARCHED EVERYWHERE, and I just couldn't find it for a reasonable price (I STILL remember the cheapest I saw it for was $30), and I was just so curious about that album, cause ofcourse both albums weren't mentioned, but Dream Street seemed to be like...almost erased, it was so hard to track that album down. My mom got it for me for christmas, it is probably the last REALLY great Christmas gift I ever got, because I wanted it SO bad and i wanted to hear it. And I did, and my takeaway was still I don't think it deserved to do as bad as it did....but it was beyond obvious it wasn't as good as JJ. I remember Don't Stand Another Chance BLEW.MY.MIND. I LOVED that song, I was obsessed with that production and the hook, and that it was MJ singing on it. That song made me think it might be better than JJ...then Two To The Power Of Love had me like..."Ok maybe it's not" lol. But I really loved tracks like Don't Stand, Pretty Boy, Dream Street, All My Love To You, & If It Takes All Night.....that's still actually my faves from that album, but throw in Fast Girls (extended remix)

8.Damita Jo. I was 14 and it was the very 1st Janet album I got the day it came out. I loved it more than All For You almost immediately lol. And I still today rank it higher or tie it to All For You. I remember the only song I couldn't really get into was Island Life, but that was because of the vocals on the verses, and I wasn't feeling the beat at 1st.  

9. 20 Y.O. I loved it at 1st listen. The whole 1st month I thought it was better than Damita Jo & All For You. What I didn't like off the bat was it was obviously the most she whispered on a album, but tracks like SoEx, Call On Me, Get It Out Me, Show Me, Do It To Me, Enjoy & Take Care were instant faves, the rest had to grow on me...exceopt Love2Love, it's a song I have never loved or liked.

10. Discipline.....I loved it, but as a whole I was disappointed, disappointed in alot of the production and vocals, it did give instant songs to love like 2Nite, Can't Be Good, Luv, Feedback, & Rollercoaster, but I really was trying to love it more than I actually did. I wanted it to be better than the last 3 but it so obviously wasn't to me. It was honestly the most disappointed I've been in a Janet album (hell era honestly). I grew to like it more, but , it's very much #10 of her discog

 

I REAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLY want Unbreakable to be among my top 3 in Janet albums, it'd be great to have it sit with janet. & Rhythm Nation for me.

[Rock & Roll Hall of Game]

*In order of purchase*

1. All For You - I remember my brother would let me borrow this album (burned copy). It remember going to the library and printing off the lyrics to learn them. Each and every lyric. It was pretty funny now that I think about it. In January 2002, I bought the Deluxe version of the album (I think at Target). I fell in love with it. Head of heals.. It was my everything for 2 years. This was the album that made me want to go back and purchase her albums. 
    
2. The Velvet Rope - I loved the second half (after TA) more than the first. I recall "What About" scaring the hell out of me. I fell in love with that song on first listen. That and "Empty" and at that time, "Empty" , "You", & the title track was very relatable. I purchased along with DOAD to kickstart my collection. *side note* - DOAD - I loved every song and I tried to place the songs that I thought were on her previous albums without thinking about reading the booklet. For example, I thought "LWND" was from janet. :asham: but i go all of CTRL's single's correct. I didn't like TPP at first. It took me forever to really appreciate that song. Probably when I got CTRL.
    
3. janet. - I actually disliked most of this album aside from the singles. It took me a second to fall in love with this album. I still skip "Body That Loves You" & "Funky Big Band". I hated Throb too until I watched her perform it on Tour on TVR Tour DVD. This is the first time I've heard "If" and that's when I knew Janet was my Goddess. I purchased this album alongside RN1814.
    
4. Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 - I loved the fact that the album tracks were longer/different than their DOAD counterparts. I fell in love with the message behind the album. Def the best flowing album in her history. This was very easy to run through without skipping. 
5. Control - I purchased this before JJ & DS. About 2003. I already heard most of the songs from this album (I purchased DOAD before Control, RN1814, janet.). The songs I didn't hear were good. I remember loving FHTF at first listen. The other two songs "You Can Be Mine" & "He Doesn't Know I'm Alive" were cute but filler at best. "You Can Be Mine" was (and is) the best of the two. I loved how the album tracks were longer and/or different than the DOAD version. It's like listening to a new song
    
6. Damita Jo - This was my first Janet Jackson era. My first time living through it and paying attention to it. I remember collecting my lunch money for a week in order to afford this album. Listening to it, I fell in love with My Baby, Island Life, Moist, Thinkin Bout My Ex, & Like You Don't Love Me right away. I skipped SloLove and Truly bc they are both horrible songs. Truly being one of Janet's worst ballads. I remember thinking while playing "Warmth", "Ohh Janet you nasty". I hated how it didn't come with lyrics.
7. 20 Y.O. - This is probably my least favorite of her albums. I was in college at the time. Freshman year. I would listen to it walking to class and it was amazing. "Enjoy" was the most listened to from that album. Listening to that in the morning was amazing. 
    
8. Janet Jackson - I thought there were cute songs. I bought this album in 2003 or 2004. I was 17, 18? It was the last album in my collection to date (2004). I bought this on Amazon.com (i think). Say You Do & Young Love was very relatable at the time but I didn't like how she didn't write on it. 
    
9. Dream Street - I hated this album. From MJ featuring on it to the horrible songs. "Don't Stand A Chance" and the title track are the best songs on this album. I bought this at the same time I purchased her freshman album. 
    
10. Discipline - I hated the fact that she didn't write a damn thing on this album. So disappointed but I enjoyed 2nite and CBG right away. WUN was amazing and I laughed at The 1. It was horrible at first but eventually I fell in love with it. Curtains was amazing and the Title track was EPIC!!!! I was upset it was sexual and not how she described it in interview but whatevs 

[Bailey]

Gosh so many too many, post would be too long to read. But I can remember just about all of them, except the first two albums

[JoeJoe]

Yeah i'm not gonna go through each album but it's surprising to see Game and I both felt the same way about the "janet." album on first listen. I didn't care for it. I wasn't used to this new Janet music. I will say at first listen I loved "If"...it stood out and it sounded like she was rapping when she sang the lyrics. Also just like Game I don't like "The Body" and I also skip it and haven't heard it in years. I think the only other song I liked was "New Agenda". I was used to more uptempo songs like Janet did with most of the Rhythm Nation album. Throb was ok but it put me off cause Janet hardly didn't any singing and the lyrics were so short it didn't seem like a song it seemed more like an instrumental with Janet ad libs lol. I was 12/13 at the time. I didn't start to actually like the album until maybe a little after The Velvet Rope came out

[Laveaux]

Control - Was one of the first tapes that I was introduced to. It was really my first introduction to music tbh and the first time I actually wanted learn all the words to all of her songs. I loved everything about it. Pleasure Principle was my favorite song followed by Nasty.

Rhythm Nation - I got this cassette tape for Christmas of 1990. I was 10 years old and my mother knew how much I loved Janets Control album so it was a given to get me her new album and I LOVED IT. I would always run to watch 'Miss You Much' and 'Rhythm Nation' everytime they came on the television. I lived in Germany at the time, so it was a big deal to be able to see music videos because on the military base we only had so many channels to choose from. I just remember being inspired by the album and wanting to be a teacher because of it. Janet was the SHIT to me. It also inspired me to be a dancer.

Janet. - this was one of the first CD's that I brought. I got it along with Prince's 'Symbol' album. I remember anticipating hearing her new song on the radio and being in heaven when I finally heard it. It was so groovy and different and she looked so damn good in the video. That whole bohemian look that she sported also inspired my style. Her 'If' video made me realize that I was really gay as hell since I wanted to BE her. I would go to the laundry mat everyday with a quarter from my mom just to play that video from the little video jukebox that we had on the army base. I also remember listening to 'This Time' everytime I got ready for a basketball game...I felt like it gave me powers  and it definitely got me in a zone to kick ass . That album inspired me to get into poetry and made me realize that she was my favorite 'Super Hero'.

Velvet Rope - I cant even begin to tell you how this album shaped my character and changed my life. This album was written for me. Janet was weird, thought provoking, sexual, and an artist in every sense of the word. I loved everything about this album...favorite song of all time is 'You'. I remember sitting and listening to this album over and over and over again as soon as I got it.

All For You - I wasn't feeling this album right off the bat. I was kinda disappointed tbh. I loved 'You Aint Right' and 'Trust A Try' but it took me awhile to get into the rest of the song. I think the Velvet Rope had me delving into other kinds of music and I became alternative gal and I expected Janet to experiment more with her music and be alternative gal with me but this album felt more pop to me and I didnt necessarily like that. I can honestly say I love the album now...I still think that it could have flowed better if the songs were rearranged a bit.

Damita Jo - I did not like this album when I first got it. It was to generic for me and my taste. I could tell something had changed in Janet and she wasn't as inspired as she once was on previous albums. Ive grown to tolerate this album, ALL NITE is still the cut though...she did that. I also adore Spending Time With You and Moist.

20 YO - This is a Jermaine Dupri album. When I first heard it, I wasn't really impressed. I enjoyed With U, This Body, Enjoy, Do It To Me and that's about it. I felt this album was rushed and I feel like this album was not needed. And I HATE the title. I feel like she only named the album that to kinda flex to the naysayers, but that wasn't necessary. I blame Jermaine.

Discipline - I actually liked this album when I first heard it. I thought she had some strong songs on it, but her theme and ideas were not executed properly. Again it felt rushed and I think that it would have been better if she spent some more time on it. I blame her record label for making her speed up the process to make their deadline. Art should not require a deadline. Ideas and creativity does not work like that. This album suffered because of lack of vision and execution. Feedback is still that song and RWU is a bop. I also really enjoy Cant Be Good, Rollercoaster, Discipline, and So Much Betta.

[Utopia]

Loved every single one of them due to hype of getting a new Janet album. A few spins later reality kicked in

[bu.]

I genuinely cannot remember for Control - TVR because I first listened to them in the 90s so I was too young tbh. I know I didn't like TVR bar the singles when it first came out. I was only 9 at the time though so it was obviously not an album I was supposed to get until later on in my life I guess. I didn't listen to the full albums for a long time until I was like 14/15/16. Rhythm Nation was always my favorite out of them all and the religious nut in me was dying to get married so I could have sex to the AFY album :lmao:. Woo lord I wish I had todays mindset then...

Janet Jackson/Dream Street - I listened to these for the first time around 2006. I didn't like either except for Young Love. SInce then certain songs have grown on me but I just call them her mixtapes.

Damita Jo - I used to listen to it on the field in school. It was spring when it came out so the sun was out which just helped make me embrace the album more. I do remember thinking it was too long at the time but then her older albums are longer . I Want You, My Baby and R&B Junkie were always my favourites. I preferred the Elephant Man remix to All Nite so replaced the album version with that on the burnt CD of it I had (I wasn't allowed to buy CD's then so I used to burn them).

I didn't like 20YO. I really wanted to but I just thought it was too...eh. It's grown on me since then. With U was on ALL my mixtape CD's I used to make around then. I promoted the remix to So Excited like crazy. 

Discipline was weird for me because I was going through a crisis at the time and didn't pay it much attention until 2 weeks after it's release date. I dug the way each song went into each other. My opinion of it hasn't changed much although certain songs I disliked have grown on me (Never Letchu go) and songs i loved have gone down (Greatest X). The first half is perfection but then it gets boring before picking up dramatically with Curtains/Let Me Know. 

Edited September 29, 2015 by Side-A Bu

[vibeology]

I don't remember anything prior to TVR

TVR was initially  (I was focusing on other music at the time and had not heard the album in its entirety) to 

A4U was  to

Damita Jo was

20 YO...

Discipline  (I tried)  - at least 20YO had a semi concept. With a title/concept like Discipline it needs to be strong...it wasn't.

Edited September 29, 2015 by vibeology

[jarrylf]

*In order of purchase*

1. All For You - I remember my brother would let me borrow this album (burned copy). It remember going to the library and printing off the lyrics to learn them. Each and every lyric. It was pretty funny now that I think about it. In January 2002, I bought the Deluxe version of the album (I think at Target). I fell in love with it. Head of heals.. It was my everything for 2 years. This was the album that made me want to go back and purchase her albums. 
    
2. The Velvet Rope - I loved the second half (after TA) more than the first. I recall "What About" scaring the hell out of me. I fell in love with that song on first listen. That and "Empty" and at that time, "Empty" , "You", & the title track was very relatable. I purchased along with DOAD to kickstart my collection. *side note* - DOAD - I loved every song and I tried to place the songs that I thought were on her previous albums without thinking about reading the booklet. For example, I thought "LWND" was from janet. but i go all of CTRL's single's correct. I didn't like TPP at first. It took me forever to really appreciate that song. Probably when I got CTRL.
    
3. janet. - I actually disliked most of this album aside from the singles. It took me a second to fall in love with this album. I still skip "Body That Loves You" & "Funky Big Band". I hated Throb too until I watched her perform it on Tour on TVR Tour DVD. This is the first time I've heard "If" and that's when I knew Janet was my Goddess. I purchased this album alongside RN1814.
    
4. Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 - I loved the fact that the album tracks were longer/different than their DOAD counterparts. I fell in love with the message behind the album. Def the best flowing album in her history. This was very easy to run through without skipping. 
5. Control - I purchased this before JJ & DS. About 2003. I already heard most of the songs from this album (I purchased DOAD before Control, RN1814, janet.). The songs I didn't hear were good. I remember loving FHTF at first listen. The other two songs "You Can Be Mine" & "He Doesn't Know I'm Alive" were cute but filler at best. "You Can Be Mine" was (and is) the best of the two. I loved how the album tracks were longer and/or different than the DOAD version. It's like listening to a new song
    
6. Damita Jo - This was my first Janet Jackson era. My first time living through it and paying attention to it. I remember collecting my lunch money for a week in order to afford this album. Listening to it, I fell in love with My Baby, Island Life, Moist, Thinkin Bout My Ex, & Like You Don't Love Me right away. I skipped SloLove and Truly bc they are both horrible songs. Truly being one of Janet's worst ballads. I remember thinking while playing "Warmth", "Ohh Janet you nasty". I hated how it didn't come with lyrics.
7. 20 Y.O. - This is probably my least favorite of her albums. I was in college at the time. Freshman year. I would listen to it walking to class and it was amazing. "Enjoy" was the most listened to from that album. Listening to that in the morning was amazing. 
    
8. Janet Jackson - I thought there were cute songs. I bought this album in 2003 or 2004. I was 17, 18? It was the last album in my collection to date (2004). I bought this on Amazon.com (i think). Say You Do & Young Love was very relatable at the time but I didn't like how she didn't write on it. 
    
9. Dream Street - I hated this album. From MJ featuring on it to the horrible songs. "Don't Stand A Chance" and the title track are the best songs on this album. I bought this at the same time I purchased her freshman album. 
    
10. Discipline - I hated the fact that she didn't write a damn thing on this album. So disappointed but I enjoyed 2nite and CBG right away. WUN was amazing and I laughed at The 1. It was horrible at first but eventually I fell in love with it. Curtains was amazing and the Title track was EPIC!!!! I was upset it was sexual and not how she described it in interview but whatevs 

So I'm assuming you forgot Greatest Ex exists because it's soooo much worse than Truly (but then I love Truly & always have, but I can understand the dislike....but not the title of her worst ballad).

 

[Rock & Roll Hall of Game]

So I'm assuming you forgot Greatest Ex exists because it's soooo much worse than Truly (but then I love Truly & always have, but I can understand the dislike....but not the title of her worst ballad).

 

GX is relatable  

[ALADDIN]

It hasn't felt this exciting since AFY. 

[God]

This is gonna be a lot but I'm in a mood.

I'd spent the turn of the millennium getting into Michael so naturally by 2002 I'd gotten my full and decided to get into Janet. At the time I was nine years old and just starting the fourth grade; the All for You era had already ended but its singles were still ubiquitous. One day I accompanied my mom to the home of one of her friends who, seeing I was bored, offered to let me make a mix CD from her library (off Windows Media Player ) and when I found "That's the Way Love Goes" and "Rhythm Nation" I added them immediately. I'd heard the former on the radio many times by that point but I was totally unfamiliar with "Rhythm Nation". The first time I listened to it, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. It was more impressive than anything I'd heard from Michael, or anyone else at the time. I begged my mom to take me to the nearest music store so I could buy the album. And my life hasn't been the same since!

Rhythm Nation - The first time I put it into my CD player, I skipped around to get a taste of every song because I was too excited to sit through the whole thing. "Black Cat" was the clear standout for me. I don't think I gave any of the other songs a real chance for at least a week or two. But that doesn't compare to how badly I wore out "Escapade". I was obsessed with this album and its videos, and it wasn't long before I begged my mom once again to take me to Best Buy for another Janet album.

Control - I remember we were on our way to one of my friends' houses before we had stopped to buy the album. As soon as I got there I put it in his CD player and listened to the whole thing while he played video games. I didn't care how annoying he thought I was.  I liked every song from the album but didn't appreciate the statement it made until I was much older.

All for You - Like I said earlier, at the time this was her most recent album. I had already known and loved all the singles so I was really looking forward to hearing the rest of it. I remember my grandpa bought this for me one weekend when we went to Wal-Mart to buy god knows what. I ended up not liking most of it; in fact "Come On Get Up" and "Trust a Try" were the only other songs I liked. Maybe that's the reason it took me so long to listen to the rest of her albums. I got Design of a Decade that Christmas, which had all of the Control and Rhythm Nation singles plus "Runaway" and "That's the Way Love Goes" so at that point I felt that I had every Janet song I needed. Little did I know.

Janet. - That summer I visited my half-brother's house and I found a copy of Janet. in his mom's CD collection. I remember asking her permission before listening to it and she was basically like lol why not? (which is funny considering "If" and "Any Time, Any Place" were on it). She actually offered to burn the CD so I'd have a copy for myself but after being so disappointed by All for You I decided to listen to the album first to see if I even liked it. Turns out I didn't.  I made a list of the songs I actually did like so they could be burned and, if I remember correctly, there were only six songs: "That's the Way Love Goes", "You Want This", "If", "Throb", "What'll I Do", and "Again". Don't ask me what drew me to "What'll I Do" because I don't have the answer.  I didn't listen to the complete album until 2006, when I started getting back into Janet.

In the summer of 2006 I'd heard that "Call on Me" had come out but I never heard it on the radio, so I tried looking it up and ended up finding it on JanetMedia. After finally listening, I figured it was time to get reacquainted and catch up on what I've missed out on, so I ordered her other two albums on Amazon.

The Velvet Rope - I was going into eighth grade that summer and this album couldn't have come at a better time for me. I can't even begin to describe how important it was, and still is, to me. I've loved it since I first heard it.

Damita Jo - I... Hm. I don't think anything could've prepared me for that opening. I honestly didn't know what to think the first time I heard "Damita Jo", "Sexhibition" and "Strawberry Bounce". At once I thought they were straight-up awful and incredibly catchy. To this day I still go back and forth.  I knew a lot of controversy had surrounded its release so by the time I had made it to the end of the album I remember thinking that it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be, although it was definitely a step down. "Warmth" and "Moist" made me laugh (I was only 13) but I guess after hearing "Would You Mind" at nine, very little could surprise me.

20 Y.O. - By the time I first heard the album, streaming it for free on BET's website shortly before its release, I had joined Janet's official forum and met several of you. I can't believe that was almost 10 years ago.  I remember thinking at the time that the album was so much better than Damita Jo and even All for You but today I'd rank it just above Dream Street.

Janet Jackson - I ordered this from Amazon that Christmas, along with a shit-ton of her singles and remix albums. I remember being surprised and thinking it wasn't as bad as its out-of-print status suggested. It's underrated for sure, and I felt that way back then too.

Dream Street - I don't remember when I finally ended up buying this one (used copies were incredibly overpriced online) but I know I first heard it when Andy PM'd me the album back in 2007. I didn't like it as much as her debut but I remember being obsessed with "Don't Stand Another Chance" for a couple of weeks.

Discipline - This came out during my freshman year of high school. I remember being blown away by "Rock with U" and thinking the album was so much better than the last three. That didn't last long.

Unbreakable - I finally got to listen to this for the first time last night. The first half of the album kind of bored me honestly and didn't pick up until I got to "No Sleeep". Once I made it to "Take Me Away" I just started to feel... everything. It finally hit me that I was listening to the newest Janet album in seven and a half years. I felt everything that Janet and her music has ever made me feel throughout the last 13 years, all at once. I really wasn't expecting to be taken places; I honestly didn't know she still had it in her. I look forward to getting to know this one better.

[Utopia]

All these walls of text are making me feel like Fantasia . 

[T.C]

Rhythm Nation - Perfection

 

janet. - As above

 

The Velvet Rope - Didn't like it as much as the other two at first but it grew on me, now it's my fave

 

Control - Solid!

 

All For You - Some fillers but still enjoyable

 

Damita Jo - Liked it a lot back then but not as much now

 

20 Yo. - Thought it was basic as fuck compared to my appreciation for it now

 

Discipline - Thought it was okay

 

Unbreakable - Incredible!