#111 Janet Jackson, 'Control' (1986)
New Entry
Amazingly, this album wasn’t included last time, this time it’s beaten out the other two entries that were. ‘Control,’ Janet Jackson’s third record, was the one that broke her commercially. Her previous record, 1984’s ‘Dream Street,’ was a flop charting at #147. Subsequently, Jackson fired her manager, aka her father, Joseph Jackson, finding him too controlling. The 19-year-old Jackson, wanted to break free of her father, leave the house and take control. In a fit of rebelliousness, she had briefly married James DeBarge in late 1984 but left him 4 months later, to be annulled later that year. She hired A&M Records’ SVP of A&R, John McClain as her manager (yippee ki yay! Kidding, not that one), the man who would introduce her to her future long-time collaborators, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Jam and Lewis would incorporate RnB, Funk, Disco, Rap and Industrial beats into the music, giving it the appeal to crossover to mainstream radio.
The opening and title track tells us all we need to know about this record and where Jackson was at this stage in her life; “When I was 17 I did what people told me/Did what my father said/And let my mother mold me/But that was a long ago/I'm in control, never gonna stop/Control, to get what I want/Control, I like to have a lot/Control, now I'm all grown up.” The next track, and second single, ‘Nasty,’ continues the theme of control and respect, “'m not a prude, I just want some respect/So close the door if you want me to respond/Cause privacy is my middle name/My last name is control/No, my first name ain't baby/It's Janet... Ms. Jackson if you're nasty.” That last line is one of her greatest lyrics ever. Janet Jackson was reborn and she was a force to be reckoned with. ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately,’ ‘You Can Be Mine,’ ‘When I Think Of You,’ ‘Let’s Wait A While,’ this album has some huge songs! The production reminds me a lot of mid-80s Prince, which is no surprise as Jam and Lewis are former members of The Time. The last track, ‘Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)’ is very reminiscent of brother, Michael’s ‘Lady In My Life.’ This album was the first in a 15-year run of #1 albums (5 in total) and became the blueprint for female RnB vocalists in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
#rs500albums