Recording sessions : January-July 1998
Studios : Flyte Tyme, Edina studio
Label : Virgin Records
Release date : October 7, 1997
ORIGINAL TRACK LISTING
“Interlude: Twisted Elegance”
“Velvet Rope” (featuring Vanessa-Mae)
“You”
“Got ’til It’s Gone” (featuring Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell)
“I-nterlude: Speaker Phone” (featuring Lisa Marie Presley)
-My Need”
“Interlude: Fasten Your Seatbelts”
“Go Deep”
“Free Xone”
“Interlude: Memory” 0:04
“Together Again”
“Interlude: Online”
“Empty”
“Interlude: Full”
“What About”
“Every Time”
“Tonight’s the Night”
“I Get Lonely”
“Rope Burn”
“Anything”
“Interlude: Sad”
“Special”
“Can’t Be Stopped” (hidden track)
ALTERNATIVE VERSIONS*
*Worked by Janet during her lifetime. Covers and remixes by other artists are not included.
Together Again (Deeper) : Slower version with new vocals by Janet released in 1997 as a B side of the “Together Again” and used for an alternate version of the video.
OUTTAKES FROM THE ALBUM RECORDING SESSIONS
God’s Stepchild : Released in 1997 on The Velvet Rope’s Japanese Edition (bonus track)
Accept Me : Released in 1998 as a B side of “Every Time” single.
OTHER SONGS FROM THIS ERA
Luv Me, Luv Me : A song by Jamaican-American reggae singer Shaggy featuring Janet is released as a single from the soundtrack to the film How Stella Got Her Groove Back. The song is re-recorded in 2000 with Samantha Cole’s vocals after Janet’s label withheld the song from being included on Shaggy’s next album.
What’s It Gonna Be : Background vocals recorded in 1998 and released in 1998 on Busta Rhymes”s “E.L.E (Extinction Level Event) “album.
Girlfriend/Boyfriend : Background vocals recorded in 1998 released in 1999 on Blackstreet’s “Finally” album.
I Know The Truth : Duet with Elton John recorded in 1998 and released in 1999 on Elton John’s “AIDA” album.
Ask For More : Recorded in 1998 and released in 1999 as part of a Pepsi contest.
Ask For More (duet with Ricky Martin) : Sung in spanish for the latin market. Remains unreleased.
Singles and videos
1st single : Got ‘Til It’s Gone : released on September 22, 1997
Peak on Hot 100 Billboard :”Got ’til It’s Gone” was not released as a commercial single in the United States, making it ineligible to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 and several other charts under the chart rules that existed at that time
Music video directed by Mark Romanek
Date of shooting : August 27, 1997
Date of premiere : September 4, 1997
Official release : On DVD in 2004 (From Janet to Damita Jo) and on Janet’s You Tube official page.
2nd single : Together Again : released on December 2, 1997
Peak on Hot 100 Billboard : 1
1st music video directed by : Seb Janiak
Date of shooting : September, 1997
Date of premiere : December, 1997
Official release : On DVD in 2004 (From Janet to Damita Jo) but not on Janet’s You Tube official page.
2nd video Together Again (Deeper Remix) directed by : René Elizondo Jr
Date of shooting : September, 1997
Date of premiere : December, 1997
Official release : On DVD in 2004 (From Janet to Damita Jo) but not on Janet’s You Tube official page.
3rd single : I Get Lonely : released on February 26, 1998
Peak on Hot 100 Billboard : 3
Music video directed by : Paul Hunter
Date of shooting : February, 1998
Date of premiere : April, 1998
Official release : On DVD in 2004 (From Janet to Damita Jo) but not on Janet’s You Tube official page.
4th single : Go Deep : released on June 15, 1998
Peak on Hot 100 Billboard : not eligible
Music video directed by : Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Date of shooting : March, 1998
Date of premiere : July, 1998
Official release : On DVD in 2004 (From Janet to Damita Jo) but not on Janet’s You Tube official page.
5th single : You : released on September 3, 1998
Peak on Hot 100 Billboard : not eligible
Music video directed by : ?
Date of shooting : June 2, 1998 (the video for the song was shot at the SECC Arena in Glasgow, Scotland on June 2, 1998 in front of a select group of fans. Made to look like a live performance, it is spliced with actual concert footage of Jackson’s The Velvet Rope Tour, filmed at the same location the next day)
Date of premiere : September 1998
Official release : On DVD in 2004 (From Janet to Damita Jo) but not on Janet’s You Tube official page.
6th single : Every Time : released on November 17, 1998
Peak on Hot 100 Billboard : not eligible
Music video directed by : Matthew Rolston in association with Howard Schatz, an expert in underwater photography.
Date of shooting : July 1998
Location : the video was filmed in the then-new Therme Vals spa in Vals, Graubünden, in the Swiss Alps.
Date of premiere : October 5, 1998 on HBO, and was subsequently exhibited twice a day leading up to the broadcast of the concert special for The Velvet Rope Tour one week later.[
Official release : On DVD in 2004 (From Janet to Damita Jo) but not on Janet’s You Tube official page.
Concerts
The Velvet Rope Tour (1998-1999)
Previous album : « Design Of A Decade » (1995)
Next album : « All For You” (2001)