Design of a Decade: 1986–1996
Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 is the first greatest hits album by American recording artist Janet Jackson, released on October 10, 1995 by A&M Records. It features 14 of Jackson's top 40 hits from her three previous albums; Control (1986), Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989), janet. (1993), and two new tracks; "Runaway" and "Twenty Foreplay". The International Edition includes new remakes of the Single Versions especially done in 1995 for this release.
Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 | ||||
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Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | October 10, 1995 | |||
Recorded | 1985 - 1995 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 75:28 (standard) 77:29 (international edition) 44:58 (bonus disc) | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Producer |
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Janet Jackson chronology | ||||
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Singles from Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 | ||||
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It was well received by many critics, who cited the number of hit singles on the record, but many noted its misleading title, since a majority of the songs came from the period of 1986–1991. It was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA,[1] within 4 months of release sold more than 4.3 million copies.[2]
Background
Jackson fulfilled her contract with A&M Records, signing a multimillion-dollar contract with Virgin Records estimated between $32 million and $50 million, making her the highest paid recording artist at the time.[3][4] Jackson's fifth studio album Janet, stylized as janet. and read "Janet, period", was released in May 1993. The record opened at number one on the Billboard 200, making Jackson the first female artist in the Nielsen SoundScan era to do so.[5][6] Certified sixfold platinum by the RIAA, it sold over 20 million copies worldwide.[7][8] Janet spawned six singles and four promotional singles, receiving various certifications worldwide. Lead single "That's the Way Love Goes" won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks.[9] "Again" reached number one for three weeks, while "If" and "Any Time, Any Place" peaked in the top four. "Because of Love" and "You Want This" charted within the top ten.
As Jackson's contract with Virgin allotted her the option to leave the label during this time, she returned to A&M in order to release Design of a Decade: 1986–1996, her first compilation album. A&M provided an aggressive marketing plan for the compilation's release, which included "a multimillon-dollar worldwide marketing plan that [involved], syndicated and local TV advertising, as well as print ads in a number of consumer publications, including Seventeen, Us, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Jet, Vibe and Essence."[10] Billboard magazine reported that DreamWorks SKG and A&M were interested in signing with her. A&M president Al Cafaro stated: "We've always thought Janet was an A&M artist... And we would love to sign her if she is available. This project has reminded us how much fun she is to work with."[10] Jackson renewed her contract with Virgin Records for a reported $80 million the following year.[11] The contract established her as the then-highest paid recording artist in history, surpassing the recording industry's then-unparalleled $60 million contracts earned by Michael Jackson and Madonna.[12][13][14]
Reception
Critical
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[16] |
Spin | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Vibe | (favorable)[18] |
The Village Voice | A−[19] |
Most music reviewers had a positive reception to Design of a Decade, mainly because of the amount of chart-topping singles it contained, but many noted the "misleading title" as the content predominantly spanned a five-year period.[15][16]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave it a four and-a-half out of five star rating, saying "Design of a Decade: 1986-1996 is a misleading title. The bulk of Janet Jackson's greatest-hits collection concentrates on Control and Rhythm Nation 1814, simply by contractual necessity. The hits from those two albums were state-of-the-art dance-pop productions at the time of their release, filled with bottomless beats and memorable, catchy hooks. It's a credit to Janet that the two new numbers ["Runaway" and "Twenty Foreplay"] feel like genuine hits, not tacked-on filler, and help make the album a compulsively listenable greatest-hits collection."[15] With a B+ rating, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly stated, "Working with producers and collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jackson reinvented both pop and herself during those 10 years. With its rigid Robo-drummer beats and homogenized blend of computers and vocal harmonies, the music was shocking in its airtight quality [...] Design is fairly seamless, yet its biggest flaw lies in its title. Due to contractual obligations, the album consists almost entirely of songs from Control and Rhythm Nation 1814 and includes only one ("That's the Way Love Goes") of the five top 10 hits from her 1993 smorgasbord janet. The new songs ["Runaway" and "Twenty Foreplay"] show how much more confident a singer Jackson has become, even if the latter number finds her still working overtime to show us she's an honest-to-God grown-up."[16]
Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave it an A- rating, saying "Those who begrudge her the place she's earned in the pop cosmos have some catching up to do."[19] With a rating of 7/10 (flawed yet worthy), Spin magazine's Chris Norris said: "Since Janet is State-of-the-art production right down to her sculpted nose, it makes sense that she should call her retrospective Design. As the studio team that wrought Control, Rhythm Nation and janet. (which for record-label reasons is under-represented here), designers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are unofficial second and third Janet Jacksons. Their triumph is letting their dazzling sound sculptures fade into the background of Janet's cartoon antics."[17] Elysa Gardner with Vibe magazine was in high praise of Design of a Decade, as well as Jackson herself, stating, "It's been almost 10 years since Janet Jackson announced that her first name wasn't Baby, and it's easy to forget what a bold proclamation that was coming from a woman—particularly a black woman—at that time [...] Only two women were there to remind the rest of us that there was power and freedom in feminine sexuality—to reinforce the fact that we could be adorable and flirtatious and strong and assertive. And Madonna wasn't a sista. [...] The 16 songs on her greatest hits package 1986/1996: Design of a Decade—which includes two strong new singles—trace a young woman's progression from questioning others' authority to reveling in her own."[18]
Commercial
The album debuted at number 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200 for the week of October 28, 1995 with 129,000 copies sold,[20][21] and eventually peaked at number 3.[22] Two months after its release, it was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA.[1] In Canada, the album peaked at number 5 and received a Platinum certification,.[23][24] In the UK, the album peaked at number 2 and went on to receive a double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.[25] In Europe, the album peaked within the top 5 in most markets and received a Platinum certification by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.[26] In Australia, the album peaked at number 2 and was certified quadruple Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association, Making it Her best selling album in that country.[27] The album also appeared on the Australian ARIA albums year end charts at number 6.[28]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Janet Jackson, James Harris III, Terry Lewis, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
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1. | "Runaway" | 3:35 | ||
2. | "What Have You Done for Me Lately" | Control (1986) | 4:44 | |
3. | "Nasty" | Control | 4:04 | |
4. | "When I Think of You" | Control | 3:56 | |
5. | "Escapade" | Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) | 4:45 | |
6. | "Miss You Much" |
| Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 4:13 |
7. | "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" (single version) |
| Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 4:35 |
8. | "Alright" (Goh Hotoda Remix) | Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 4:39 | |
9. | "Control" (LP version w/o intro) | Control | 5:16 | |
10. | "The Pleasure Principle" (LP edit) | Monte Moir | Control | 4:14 |
11. | "Black Cat" (video mix/long solo) | Janet Jackson | Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 4:48 |
12. | "Rhythm Nation" (LP version w/ intro) | Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 5:59 | |
13. | "That's the Way Love Goes" | janet. (1993) | 4:27 | |
14. | "Come Back to Me" (I'm Beggin' You Mix) | Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 5:38 | |
15. | "Let's Wait Awhile" |
| Control | 4:37 |
16. | "Twenty Foreplay" | 6:07 | ||
Total length: | 75:28 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Runaway" | 3:35 | ||
2. | "What Have You Done for Me Lately" (LP edit) | Control | 3:32 | |
3. | "Nasty" (LP edit) | Control | 3:45 | |
4. | "When I Think of You" | Control | 3:56 | |
5. | "Escapade" | Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 4:45 | |
6. | "Miss You Much" (edit) |
| Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 3:52 |
7. | "Whoops Now" (LP edit) | Janet Jackson | janet. | 4:08 |
8. | "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" (single version) |
| Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 4:35 |
9. | "Alright" (Goh Hotoda Remix) | Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 4:39 | |
10. | "The Best Things in Life Are Free" (CJ's 7" Mix) (with Luther Vandross) |
| Mo' Money soundtrack (1992) | 4:07 |
11. | "Control" (7" edit) | Control | 3:29 | |
12. | "The Pleasure Principle" (LP edit) | Monte Moir | Control | 4:14 |
13. | "Black Cat" (video mix/short solo) | Janet Jackson | Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 4:30 |
14. | "Rhythm Nation" (7" edit) | Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 4:28 | |
15. | "That's the Way Love Goes" | janet. | 4:27 | |
16. | "Come Back to Me" (I'm Beggin' You Mix) | Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 5:38 | |
17. | "Let's Wait Awhile" |
| Control | 4:37 |
18. | "Twenty Foreplay" (edit) | 5:20 | ||
Total length: | 77:29 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Young Love" (12" dance mix) | Janet Jackson (1982) | 5:09 | |
2. | "Diamonds" (Cool Summer Mix Edit) (with Herb Alpert and Lisa Keith) |
| Keep Your Eye on Me (1987) | 4:02 |
3. | "The Knowledge" (Q Sound Mix) |
| Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | 4:01 |
4. | "Say You Do" |
| Janet Jackson | 6:49 |
5. | "Don't Stand Another Chance" |
| Dream Street (1984) | 4:17 |
6. | "French Blue" | Jesse Johnson | "Fast Girls" single (1984) | 6:23 |
7. | "When I Think of You" (Jazzy Mix) | Control | 10:19 | |
Total length: | 44:58 |
Personnel
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Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications and sales
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[61] | 4× Platinum | 280,000^ |
Belgium (BEA)[62] | Gold | 25,000* |
Canada (Music Canada)[63] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Germany (BVMI)[64] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ)[65] | Platinum | 200,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI)[66] | Gold | 50,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[67] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[68] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[69] | 2× Platinum | 600,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[70] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[71] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Country | Date |
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Europe | October 2, 1995 |
United States | October 10, 1995 |
References
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- Clark-Meads, Jeff (24 February 1996). "Polygram reports slight increases in sales, profits". Billboard (8 ed.). Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 108: 53–. ISSN 0006-2510.
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- They don't call it jackpot for nothing. After much speculation, Janet Jackson, 29, clinched a reported four-album, $80 million deal with Virgin Records, making her the music industry's highest-paid performer (over brother Michael and Madonna, who each got $60 million deals in the early '90s) Davidson, Casey (January 26, 1996), "News & Notes", Entertainment Weekly, p. 15
- Farley, Christopher John; Thigpen, David E.; Ressner, Jeffrey (January 29, 1996), "Business: Are they worth all that cash? Janet Jackson's record-breaking $80 million contract could set off a new wave of pop-music megadeals", TIME, p. 54
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