Velvet Rope is like the Last Train To Paris of its time
― some dude, Sunday, 18 August 2013 20:37 (ten years ago) link
oh man
― J0rdan S., Sunday, 18 August 2013 20:38 (ten years ago) link
pretty much
― lex pretend, Sunday, 18 August 2013 20:38 (ten years ago) link
sister record to erotica obv
the velvet rope is a fucking masterpiece
― lex pretend
― balls, Sunday, 18 August 2013 20:40 (ten years ago) link
Yeah pretty perfect album.
― Hooks on Phoenix worked for me (Spottie_Ottie_Dope), Sunday, 18 August 2013 20:41 (ten years ago) link
said it before and i'll say it again: control->velvet rope is a better four album run than anyone else in her family managed
― balls, Sunday, 18 August 2013 20:46 (ten years ago) link
I don't see "All 4 You" as having much to do with Fever, maybe because I'm so protective of the sparkly gussied up disco-r&b miniature trend of which it was the peak (see also Mya's "Free", Chante Moore's "Straight Up").
― Tim F, Sunday, 18 August 2013 21:31 (ten years ago) link
― balls,
Bad has its fans (I'm not one). Off The Wall >>> Control but Thriller vs Rhythm Nation is trouble.
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 18 August 2013 21:44 (ten years ago) link
lol i don't know if i'd rate off the wall above control
i mean i love all of off the wall but portions of that second side are kinda soggy
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Sunday, 18 August 2013 22:02 (ten years ago) link
Have you listened to the last few tracks of Control recently?
― Boven is het stil (Eric H.), Monday, 19 August 2013 01:07 (ten years ago) link
I wasn't saying I don't like Velvet Rope, btw. I still think it's her last great album. "Go Deep," "Got Til It's Gone," "You" and "Anything" all still sound amazing.
But apparently I wrapped so much of my love for that album in '98 along with my love for "Together Again," and when the bloom fell off that rose, well ...
― Boven is het stil (Eric H.), Monday, 19 August 2013 01:09 (ten years ago) link
Poor little flower. Dropped her petals and went deep.
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 19 August 2013 01:11 (ten years ago) link
"Velvet Rope," and I guess "Rhythm Nation," too, leave me weirdly conflicted about all the skits and interlude. They totally break the momentum and often seem kinda silly (though not as silly as, say, the Kirstie Alley bits on that Prince album!), but they're such an important part of those albums, not a la De La Soul (or as entertaining) but certainly in accord with Janet's inscrutable vision, which at the very least always sounds awesome.
Saw her on this tour and thought she was terrible - it was like those skits and interludes come to life - but people I know who saw her on that smaller theater tour she did a couple of years ago said she was great.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 19 August 2013 04:05 (ten years ago) link
Also:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA_91AeL-Ms
yeah they're pretty great imo
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Monday, 19 August 2013 05:35 (ten years ago) link
Well that backfired.
― Boven is het stil (Eric H.), Monday, 19 August 2013 11:33 (ten years ago) link
Honestly surprised this is a new thread. Did we really not talk about this at ALL before?
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 19 August 2013 12:05 (ten years ago) link
some scattered discussion in the damita jo and janet albums threads but nah not really
― J0rdan S., Monday, 19 August 2013 12:42 (ten years ago) link
Listened to this in the car yesterday, and was only mildly surprised to find that the slow middle section sounded the best after the title track. "China Love" has some of the extra tight drum programming that marked this era of J&L interpolating some of Timbaland's style into their work. The atmospherics on both "Love Scene" and "Would You Mind" make it feel like she's getting busy at the Rainforest Cafe.
"Feels So Right" also a highlight. Had forgotten that the album redux of "Doesn't Really Matter" got a really sloppy sounding re-edit.
― Boven is het stil (Eric H.), Monday, 19 August 2013 13:08 (ten years ago) link
I still just don't get "Trust a Try."
The atmospherics on both "Love Scene" and "Would You Mind" make it feel like she's getting busy at the Rainforest Cafe.
stiff house drinks!
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 19 August 2013 13:09 (ten years ago) link
The wash on "Love Scene" also put me in mind of cut scenes from mid-90s sci-fi video games.
― Boven is het stil (Eric H.), Monday, 19 August 2013 13:13 (ten years ago) link
I loved all of it, those four songs I used to scapegoat.
― Boven is het stil (Eric H.), Monday, 19 August 2013 13:14 (ten years ago) link
i think it's really nice that you started this thread Jordan
never heard the full album before, it's nice (the opening track!)
i have spoken with friends before about how this was like a new genre of music
― surm, Monday, 21 October 2013 13:32 (ten years ago) link
... altho this Carly Simon shit is better to pretend it never happened
― surm, Monday, 21 October 2013 14:03 (ten years ago) link
I love "glow of love" so much that I kinda resented this song, but now I'm over that and see it for the jam it always was
love that intro followed by the "EDIT" voice cutting in- so sick
― the tune was space, Monday, 21 October 2013 16:36 (ten years ago) link
I remember some of the longtime Janet campers clutching the pearls at her guessing she was going to have to ride his nice package tonight.
― midnight outdoor nude frolic up north goes south (Eric H.), Monday, 21 October 2013 16:47 (ten years ago) link
"son of a gun" was borderline awesome ok
― dyl, Monday, 21 October 2013 16:55 (ten years ago) link
so was the package-riding line
listening to this again this morning
it's funny how formulaic this is in the context of the two albums that came before it -- you can almost see them working off a checklist. but it's kinda enjoyable for that very reason. if you think of janet->velvet rope->all for you as a triptych, all for you holds more weight than you might initially expect.
i think the ballad section of this holds up really well, definitely just from an atmospheric perspective. the only part that is bad i think is "trust a try" ("remember 'if'?") and the carly simon joint ("remember 'got til it's gone'?")
& really it's hard to imagine a run of three consecutive pop singles for the time better than "doesn't really matter" -> "all for you" -> "someone to call my lover"
― J0rdan S., Saturday, 5 September 2015 16:05 (eight years ago) link
I'd somehow never heard this album until very recently and was really taken aback with how formulaic it was, especially after how much she spent her previous 4 albums pushing in different directions. "Doesn't Really Matter" and (especially) "Someone to Call My Lover" are great singles tho. I'd always take "Glow of Love" over "All For You" tho.
― best beloved george benson (The Reverend), Sunday, 6 September 2015 02:10 (eight years ago) link
It's kind of experimental for her to program a 25-minutes bloc of R&B balladry right smack in the middle of the set.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Sunday, 6 September 2015 02:22 (eight years ago) link
if i'd first heard this album in real time having heard all the others in real time as well i'd've been sorely disappointed but because i only heard the singles at the time and the full album years later i can appreciate what's enjoyable about it much more
― lex pretend, Sunday, 6 September 2015 12:58 (eight years ago) link
DJ at wedding on Sat dropped a cool mix of "Someone To Call My Lover" which was a jam! Good times, sounded insane on a real soundsystem.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 2 June 2016 04:05 (seven years ago) link
How did I get here? Think I’d know what I did. Always worked real hard. Maybe I missed something. I’m not into pointing fingers, showing who’s right or wrong. I just want to keep it real, cause maybe I was doing fine on my own.
― calstars, Wednesday, 20 March 2019 21:16 (five years ago) link
https://open.spotify.com/track/04vjw8agTLqxPPrP9a9yAk
― calstars, Sunday, 12 January 2020 22:18 (four years ago) link