The Velvet Rope

what control gave the world in terms of fresh funk and disco while simultaneously giving voice to female emancipation, and what rhythm nation delivered in dance and social commentary, and what 'janet' delivered in sex [so hot it shoulda come with a rubber], the velvet rope takes you on a further journey into the multi-faceted world of ms jackson. purporting to be a personal, self-lacerating and forgiving album all in one, this forray into the world of a diva becomes a glance in the mirror:

musically it is more diverse than any of jan's previous albums incorporating leaden guitars, mike oldfield samples and classical violinist vanessa mae in the album's opener, further guests including joni mitchell samples married with rap [got til its gone], unashamed dance and joie de vivre [together again and go deep] and finally eroticism and love [everytime and rope burn - as kinky and sensuous as it sounds!] which then becomes self-assertion in how we feel the need to feel special [special].

a veritable pot pourri of sounds to make the feet and the heart come together as one, the album is full of more surprises than a jerry springer show, essentially highlighting that janet is a woman with a clear voice, and lucid musical vision, able to predict musical trends before anyone else has.

unfortunately a track left out of the album [although included in the japanese version] called 'god's stepchild' is perhaps the most personal and beautiful song ever written by a woman deemed infallible. it is a loss to the world that she should not reveal herself so openly in a dramatic song about refusing to accept that she is not loved by god when the world arounfd made her feel meek, this song has the power, the emotion and the inspiration to save bring people down from window ledges.


An Album That Made You Go "Hmm..."   March 19, 2001
Knyte (Chicago, IL)
7 out of 12 found this review helpful

At first I played it incessantly...hoping I would eventually catch on and like it. That never happened.

There is some good material on here. I liked "Got Til It's Gone" actually, didn't like "Together Again" (although that was probably her biggest single from the album). "I Get Lonely" (the third single) sounded to me like too blatant an imitation of Timbaland's beats (before his sound became the sound of millenial R&B); and I always thought of Janet Jackson as a trend setter, not a trend follower. (Timbaland was actually recruited to work with Teddy Riley on the '98 remix - go figure...)

My absolute favorite song on this album is still "Empty" - the techno-inspired ode to love online. "Go Deep" in my opinion was the only song that was even remotely similar to the Janet I've come to grow and love...the rest was different.

There were a lot of issues raised on this album - Janet stands up to homophobia (Free Xone), and she also takes a lyrical stand against abusive relationships on "What About". The biggest message on 'The Velvet Rope' seems to be about loving yourself, about "watering your spiritual garden". The message is a positive one - we all need to feel loved.

Janet really went for artistic expression this time around - fair enough (kudos, actually). But to me, Janet Jackson is the Princess of Pop, and she will go down in history as one of the greatest Pop stars of all time. The 'Velvet Rope' was not a Pop album to me at all; it was cathartic, and it wasn't very pretty. It depicted the personal pain of an entertainer who was sick of hiding behind smiles and a pretty song. Don't go looking for tracks like "Doesn't Really Matter" or "Escapade" on this one...it's actually kind of a depressing, mysterious album steeped in sex, anger and self-discovery - not exactly what you'd call Pop music.