Rhythm Nation 1814

by

Janet Jackson

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Control showed her to be a massive singles act, but Rhythm Nation: 1814 proved that Janet Jackson was not only capable of propelling a song, but fully conceiving a concept album as well. Rhythm Nation: 1814 was her most coherent artistic statement and, sadly, also her last truly great album: Edgy and diverse, dark but never completely forboding, Rhythm Nation combined tough beats, irresistible melodies and anthemic lyrics to build an R&B landmark.

The title track opens the album with a real kick, with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' mighty rhythm track, the massive backing vocals and the stunning chorus. "State of the World" was a deserved radio hit (which but for the lack of a commercial release would've been the album's *eighth* Top 10 single); "Miss You Much" added a maturity and a harder-edged sound to her Control dance formula and triumphed in spades; "Come Back to Me" and "Lonely"'s Spanish guitars and moody keyboards helped Janet achieve her first good ballad performances ("Let's Wait Awhile" from Control came tumbling down into the syrup jug); "Black Cat" was "Beat It" updated with snarling guitar riffs and a growling Janet Jackson lead vocal; and "Escapade" proved that Miss J. hadn't lost her sense of fun.

Sonically this is the only Janet Jackson album that doesn't sound dated at all -- even The Velvet Rope and janet. heralded to an '80s sound, looking back instead of forward. Rhythm Nation: 1814, on the other hand, was a prophetic and important work, and ten years after its release holds up to scrutiny on all fronts -- vocal performance, arrangement, recording, groove.

This album really does not live up to the hype.

After "Control" came out, it wasn't long before I was looking forward to the follow-up. Of course, that follow-up was a long time in the making, and at times it seemed like it would never come. Then at last, in August 1989, we heard the first single from it, "Miss You Much." I thought the song was pretty good, but a lot different from what we were used to. Anyway, the album itself came out the following month. I went into a record store to buy it, and the salesperson told me that she had heard the album and that it had a lot of great songs on it. So, I promptly took it home and gave it a listen. Afterward, I was disappointed.

The album itself is not bad at all. In fact, there really isn't a single bad song on it. However, something seems missing. While "Control" wasn't a particularly profound album, it was definitely fresh, unpretentious, and enjoyable. "Rhythm Nation," on the other hand, seemed to be very calculated--Janet and her collaborators were going for a big hit here. On this album, I think they tried very hard to be original, and therein lies the problem: The harder you *try* to be original, the more likely you *won't* be!

This album has a rather bloated, pretentious, and even impersonal feel to it. It's also too long. Furthermore, many of the songs sound similar--especially the three ballads at the end, which kind of blend together. The social commentary gets a bit distracting at times as well. Nonetheless, there are some fine songs on here, most notably the title track, "Miss You Much," "Love Will Never Do," "Living in a World They Didn't Make," "Escapade," and "Black Cat." At the same time, many of these songs have an overproduced, canned sound too; there isn't a lot of carefree, un-self-conscious simplicity, which was present in abundance on "Control." This album just takes itself way too seriously. And then there's the very average song "Alright," whose title aptly describes its quality. "State of the World" and "The Knowledge" aren't bad, but they aren't particularly memorable either.

The highlights of "Control" were "Nasty" and "The Pleasure Principle" IMO. However, "Rhythm Nation" doesn't have any tracks quite as appealing, although "Escapade" probably comes the closest. "Black Cat" seems to be written in the same vein as "Nasty," but while the latter was delivered with raw gusto, the energy on "Black Cat" seems a bit forced and artificial. Similarly, "Miss You Much" is a good dance song, but it doesn't match the slamming, sweeping groove of "The Pleasure Principle."

All in all, "Rhythm Nation" is a very competent album. There's nothing particularly objectionable about it, but nothing really incredible about it either. Too many of the songs feel like they came straight from the assembly line and lack a sense of spontaneity and adventure. I can't even count the number of times I listened to "Control" all the way through. But "Rhythm Nation"? Probably not more than about a dozen, if only because I was trying to "get" what everybody else was seeing in it, which I never did. Although Ms. Jackson no doubt put a ton of work into this album and turned out some massive sales, "Rhythm Nation" never quite measures up to the standard she set for herself with "Control."