🎵 AotW Janet Jackson - CONTROL (SP-5106)

[LPJim]

Janet Jackson
CONTROL
A&M SP-5106

A1 ControlArranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis*Backing Vocals – Hami Wave, Melanie AndrewsCo-producer, Arranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal], Keyboards, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Janet JacksonDrum Programming, Programmed By [Synthesizer], Sampler [Digital Sampling], Synthesizer, Percussion – Jimmy JamEngineer [Assistant] – Jimmy JamEngineer [Recording Engineer] – Steve Wiese, Terry LewisKeyboards, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Janet JacksonMixed By – Steve HodgePercussion, Backing Vocals – Terry LewisWritten-By – James Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis 5:55

A2 NastyArranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis*Backing Vocals [The "Nasty Boy" Vocalists] – Jellybean Johnson, Jerome Benton, Jimmy Jam, Terry LewisCo-producer, Arranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Janet JacksonEngineer [Assistant] – Jimmy JamEngineer [Assistant], Mixed By – Steve HodgeEngineer [Recording Engineer] – Terry LewisKeyboards, Drum Programming, Percussion – Jimmy JamKeyboards, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Janet JacksonPercussion – Terry LewisWritten-By – James Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis 4:00

A3 What Have You Done For Me LatelyArranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis*Backing Vocals – Melanie AndrewsCo-producer, Arranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Janet JacksonDrum Programming, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Terry LewisEngineer [Assistant] – Jimmy JamEngineer [Recording] – Terry LewisEngineer [Recording], Mixed By – Steve HodgeProgrammed By [Synthesizer], Synthesizer, Sampler [Digital Sampling], Percussion, Piano [Acoustic], Backing Vocals – Jimmy JamSynthesizer, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Janet JacksonWritten-By – James Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis 4:41

A4 You Can Be MineArranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis*Backing Vocals – Gwendolyn TraylorBells [Synthesized & Digital Bells], Lead Vocals – Janet JacksonCo-producer, Arranged By [Rhythm] – Jellybean JohnsonCo-producer, Arranged By [Vocal] – Janet JacksonDrum Programming, Bass, Percussion – Terry LewisEngineer [Assistant] – Jimmy JamEngineer [Recording] – Terry LewisEngineer [Recording], Mixed By – Steve HodgeGuitar, Soloist – Jellybean JohnsonProgrammed By [Synthesizer], Synthesizer, Keyboards, Percussion – Jimmy JamWritten-By – James Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis 5:12

B1 The Pleasure PrincipleCo-producer – Steve WieseCo-producer, Arranged By [Vocal] – Janet JacksonDrum Programming, Guitar, Synthesizer, Programmed By [Synthesizer] – Monte MoirEngineer [Assistant] – Jimmy Jam, Monte Moir, Terry LewisEngineer [Recording], Mixed By – Steve WieseGuitar – Geoff BouchieizLead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Janet JacksonProducer, Arranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Monte MoirWritten-By – Monte Moir 4:58

B2 When I Think Of YouArranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis*Backing Vocals – Melanie AndrewsCo-producer, Arranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Janet JacksonDrum Programming, Keyboards, Percussion – Jimmy JamEngineer [Assistant] – Jimmy JamEngineer [Assistant], Mixed By – Steve HodgeEngineer [Recording] – Terry LewisGuitar, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Terry LewisPiano [Digital], Lead Vocals – Janet JacksonWritten-By – James Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis 3:57

B3 He Doesn't Know I'm AliveArranged By [Vocal] – Lisa KeithBacking Vocals – Lisa KeithBells [Digital], Lead Vocals – Janet JacksonCo-producer, Arranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Spencer BernardCo-producer, Arranged By [Vocal] – Janet JacksonDrum Programming – Roger Dumas (3)Engineer [Assistant Engineers] – Jimmy Jam And Terry Lewis*Engineer [Recording, Creation Audio] – David RivkinEngineer [Recording, Flyte Tyme] – Steve WieseEngineer [Recording, Flyte Tyme], Mixed By – Steve HodgeProgrammed By [Synthesizer] – Jimmy JamSaxophone – Troy AnthonySynthesizer – Mark CardenasSynthesizer, Guitar – Spencer BernardWritten-By – Spencer Bernard 3:30

B4 Let's Wait AwhileAcoustic Guitar [6-string], Twelve-String Guitar [Acoustic] – O' Nicholas RathsArranged By [Vocal] – Melanie AndrewsBacking Vocals – Melanie AndrewsBells [Digital], Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Janet JacksonDrum Programming, Keyboards, Piano [Acoustic], Percussion – Jimmy JamEngineer [Assistant] – Jimmy Jam, Steve WieseEngineer [Assistant], Mixed By – Steve HodgeEngineer [Recording] – Terry LewisPercussion – Terry LewisProducer, Arranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis*Written-By – James Harris III, Janet Jackson, Melanie Andrews, Terry Lewis 4:36

B5 Funny How Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)Acoustic Guitar [6-string], Twelve-String Guitar [Acoustic] – O' Nicholas RathsArranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis*Backing Vocals – Melanie AndrewsCo-producer, Arranged By [Rhythm], Arranged By [Vocal] – Janet JacksonDrum Programming, Synthesizer, Programmed By [Synthesizer], Keyboards, Percussion – Jimmy JamEngineer [Assistant] – Jimmy JamEngineer [Assistant], Mixed By – Steve HodgeEngineer [Recording] – Terry LewisPercussion – Terry LewisSynthesizer, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Janet JacksonWritten-By – James Harris III, Janet Jackson, Terry Lewis 4:27

• Phonographic Copyright (p) – A&M Records, Inc.
• Copyright (c) – A&M Records, Inc.
• Produced For – Flyte Tyme Productions, Inc.
• Recorded At – Flyte Tyme Productions, Inc.
• Recorded At – Creation Audio
• Mixed At – Flyte Tyme Productions, Inc.
• Pressed By – Electrosound Group Midwest, Inc.
• Published By – Flyte Tyme Tunes, Inc.
• Published By – Crush Club Music

• Art Direction – Chuck Beeson
• Art Direction, Design – Melanie Nissen
• Coordinator [Project Coordinator for Joe Jackson Productions, Inc.] – Lyle Baker
• Executive-Producer – John McClain
• Liner Notes – Jan*, Jam & Lewis*
• Mastered By – Brian Gardner
• Photography By – Tony Viramontes
• Producer – Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (tracks: A1 to A4, B2, B3, B5)

Electrosound Group Midwest, Inc. pressing with "B" code printed next to logo at bottom of labels.
Can be distinguished from Electrosound Los Angeles pressing with same plant code by lack of Monarch-style Delta number in runouts.

Issued with lyric/credit inner sleeve.

Recorded and Mixed at Flyte Tyme Productions, Inc. Mpls., MN

Entered the Billboard Top 200 on March 8, 1986
Reached # 1 for two weeks & charted for 106 weeks
Available on CD

"When I Think of You" reached #1 as a single
"Let's Wait A While" peaked at #2
"Nasty" hit # 3
"What Have You Done For Me Lately" got to # 4
"Control" went to #5
"Pleasure Principle" got to #14


JB

 

[Rudy]

The album that put Janet Jackson onto the map, and her third for A&M. Fine production by Jam & Lewis. A classic!

 

[Bobberman]

Miss Jackson's Finest Hour and Her very Best of all time IMO its hard to believe this came out 30 years ago because its still sounds fresh and Lively as it was when it was first released.

 

[Rudy]

The production team was on a roll and in my opinion, their two albums with Jackson brought out the best of their talents as well as hers. That also could be why her first two A&M albums didn't make an impression. Her debut tried to clone her brother Michael on the track "Say You Do" which was a bit of a hit on R&B at the time (along with a couple other tracks) and was practically a ripoff of "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," but back then that album was not much different from whatever else was on R&B radio. Dream Street our local radio pretty much ignored; musically it was even more unremarkable.

I wouldn't have even given Control a listen until I heard that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were involved. That Minneapolis aesthetic worked really well. What really helps is that there are times when the instrumentation is stripped down to just two or three very sparse parts--no clutter, just a clean, concise sound that cut right through. The album is as much theirs as it is hers, and they were able to bring out an attitude in Jackson that served her well through her career.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

The album is as much theirs as it is hers

True dat. Jam and Lewis were one production team that you could always tell their productions just by the sound. Todd Rundgren is the same way (or was, I'm not sure what he's doing these days.)

 

[Mark-T]

Great disc - and the visuals matched the sound terrifically well!

 

[jfiedler17]

All these years later, this is still arguably the best album from start to finish that she ever made. I agree that Jam and Lewis deserve as much of the credit for it as she does. The few albums she's made without any involvement from them have really, really paled in comparison. (She reunited with them on her last disc, 2015's Unbreakable, which was much more appealing, I thought, than anything she'd done in at least fourteen years, if not more.) And I agree that the Minneapolis style was a good fit for her - it's hard to imagine a cut like "Nasty" being produced any other way, actually.

My favorite tracks on this disc have got to be "When I Think of You" and "Let's Wait Awhile." They've both got such incredibly pretty melodies. (Yeah, the latter song admittedly kinda borrows from America's "Daisy Jane," but that's a great single in its own right, so it's not at all a bad song to sound similar to.)

 

[Rudy]

And I agree that the Minneapolis style was a good fit for her - it's hard to imagine a cut like "Nasty" being produced any other way, actually.

One thing that strikes me about Jam & Lewis is that their production style is very clean. There isn't anything extra in "Nasty" or "When I Think of You," for instance--lots of space, very uncluttered. And what's there is razor sharp. The call and response in "Nasty" is also typical Minneapolis, echoing what they were doing while in The Time (the band replying to Morris Day).

 

[KentTeffeteller]

The album that put Janet Jackson onto the map, and her third for A&M. Fine production by Jam & Lewis. A classic!

Got burned out on it when brand new. Liked it and it's aged very well today. Janet at her peak of perfection. Awesome Jam & Lewis production.