Rhythm Nation 1814 is the 1989 album by American R & B artist Janet Jackson.
Rhythm Nation 1814, Jackson’s quadruple platinum smash hit follow up to her 1986 hit album, Control, was an unprecedented success, with seven hit singles all from the same album. Rhythm Nation 1814 reached number one on both pop and R &B charts. Control set the stage to distinguish Janet as an artist in her own right, not just the youngest of Michael Jackson’s siblings. Though Janet had made earlier recordings, Control was the first time Janet was presented seriously as an artist, particularly a female artist with some attitude. To follow up this hit was clearly a challenge, taking three years to produce.
Jackson followed up with a fairly radical move for a pop star, a concept album, addressing social ills, albeit rather superficially, alternating with more typical love-song dance hit fare. Janet’s image is changed into a more serious look, with stark black and white cover art and a dimly lit photo of Ms. Jackson dressed in a black pseudo-military outfit and sporting a similar nose job to her brother Michael at the time. (Sadly, Janet Jackson is clearly attempting to look less African-American than she is, and than she has in the past.) The back cover of the album displays the following Pledge: "We are a nation of no geographic boundaries, bound together through our beliefs. We are like-minded individuals, sharing a common vision, pushing toward a world rid of color-lines." Though clearly taking a stand against racism, this could be interpreted as ridding the world of racism by ridding the world of color, especially when taken with Janet Jackson’s whiter appearance, but the vagueness of this statement leaves a great deal of room for interpretation. Following the statement is this Creed: "Music, Poetry, Dance, Unity".
Racial politics aside, on Rhythm Nation 1814 Janet proves once again that she is as formidable a hit-maker as her most famous brother. This album was the first in history to generate seven top-five Billboard hits. Janet shines particulary on the dance floor, of course, but clearly puts real effort into her ballads as well, such as the stunning Come Back To Me. The album’s numerous hit singles were often accompanied by more conceptual video versions. The album is produced by notorious hit-makers Jimmy Jam (James Harris III) and Terry Lewis, with co-production credit given to Janet Jackson. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis also penned or co-wrote the songs with Janet Jackson, as well as arranging the music, programming music, and playing much of the instrumental tracks. The song Black Cat is produced by another hit-maker of the late-1980s, Jellybean Johnson.
The album was released by A & M Records on LP, chrome cassette and compact disc, which at the time demonstrates an expectation of broad appeal for the album on behalf of the record company. They were accurate; the album sold over 4 million copies. A companion video compilation has also been issued in both VHS and DVD. Complete lyrics were included in the album. All tracks were recorded and mixed in Minnesota. The album is dedicated to Katherine Jackson, Janet’s mother. Rhythm Nation 1814 brought Janet Jackson eight Billboard awards, including Top R&B Albums and Singles Artist, Best Pop and R&B Album Award, and Top Hot 100 Singles Artist.
Tracks
Personnel (in order of appearance)
