Disco de Janet Jackson: “All For You [Limited]”

As a longtime (and somewhat obsessive) janet fan, it's easy to quibble and complain about the alterations and omissions found on the ALL FOR YOU limited edition cd/dvd.

First off, the ALL FOR YOU cd included in this set is not the original album that was shipped to stores earlier this year, but is a cleaned up and "sex-free" version. Any curse words or talk of explicit sexuality is censored. Additionally, the track WOULD YOU MIND is painfully removed from the tracklist. In its place are two mediocre remixes of SON OF A GUN, featuring Missy Elliot and P. Diddy.

Personally speaking, SON OF A GUN is perhaps the worst song on this otherwise enjoyable album, so it baffled me as to why the producers wanted to include three mixes of this song. If they wanted to replace the explicit WOULD YOU MIND, they could've taken the upbeat WHO (found on the ALL FOR YOU Japanese import cd) and put it on this cd. If you're looking for good remixes of SON OF A GUN (and there are some good remixes), you won't find them on this cd. Wait for the Dec. 4th release of the European import. It will contain two much more edgier sounding mixes from ROCKWILDER and ROUTE 80, as well as a smooth, afterhours-club-feel from COTTONBELLY. The pre-existing FLYTE TYME mix and the P.DIDDY mix will also be on the import single.

Surprisingly, I don't have much to complain about with the dvd. Being that this was the reason I purchased the special edition in the first place, I must say that this is worth the price of the set alone.

The dvd is aptly (and somewhat ironically) titled THE VIRGIN YEARS. It contains most of the sex charged videos Janet has made under the Virgin Records label, spanning from JANET to ALL FOR YOU.

Also included are three behind-the-scenes clips of Janet's photo shoots and interviews, in which she takes some time out to reveal her thoughts and ideas behind each album. The dvd has a cool function that allows you to mix up the videos and play them in a continuous order of your choice.

Now here's where my little complaints come in, but they're minimal:

Another note: Some of the videos here are alternate versions of the originals that aired on tv. The THAT'S THE WAY LOVE GOES video doesn't start and end with Janet and the gang goofing around in the apartment, but instead dives right into the song. The IF video keeps the original beginning and ending (outside an Asian style night club), but edits out the voyeuristic "webcam" style setting that made it so interesting in the first place. The AGAIN video included on this disc is interspersed with clips from Janet's 1993 film POETIC JUSTICE.

Still, these observations are little to rant about unless you're a die hard Janet fan. It is finally nice to have a collection of her videos on dvd, and by next month, the videos from CONTROL and RHYTHM NATION will also be released onto discs as well.

Bottom Line: BUY THIS TWO DISC SET FOR THE DVD, BUT KEEP THE ORIGINAL ALL FOR YOU ALBUM THAT YOU BOUGHT BACK IN APRIL NEARBY.

This is a Special Limited Edition of Janet's ALL FOR YOU CD. It contains the original CD, with a few changes, and a DVD featuring all of her videos during the Virgin years so far. The CD has 21 tracks, which features two bonus tracks, Son of a Gun (Original Flyte Tyme Remix) and Son of a Gun (P. Diddy Remix), which both feature Missy Elliott. However in order to fit these bonus tracks in, they omitted Would You Mind from the CD, so if you own the original version of ALL FOR YOU it would be smart to keep it, as Would You Mind isn't on here, or you could buy the re-released CD that comes without the DVD.

The DVD features all of her major videos between 1993-2001. A few were omitted, because they were on other labels (for example Doesnt Really Matter was on Def Jam, so its not on here). That's The Way Love Goes, If, Again, Because of Love, Any Time, Any PKlace, You Want THis, Got Til Its Gone, Together Again (original and deeper remix), I Get Lonely, Go Deep, Every Time, All For You, Someone To Call My Lover, behind the scenes footage for each album, and All For You Love at MTV Icon. A pretty good deal and well worth the money, fans will want to have these videos!

Overall a good buy, and worth the investment if this is what you're looking for!

First off I wanted Son Of a Gun remixes. But I didn't want to spend (the mondy) for a cd single. And I noticed on her newer version of just All For You had the bonus track BUT I didn't want to spend (the money) for an album that I already owned just for one song. So instead this DVD package came out (...). Well hey, I get the SoaG remixes along with a collection of videos on DVD...you can't go wrong if you're a Janet fan.

I am very pleased that I spent the money on what I did. Granted it is the clean version but that's cool. She cannot please everyone. Her and Virgin are blasted first because she used profanity and now by fans because she and Virgin took them out for this collection!!

For anyone who is a music lover, a DVD buyer and a definite Janet Jackson fan (or even Jacksons)...I recommend it.

::please note that the videos doesn't include the A&M videos...for that try Design of a Decade on DVD-which was released not to long ago)

this is adressed to you people who had negative reviews of this song. Janet is not a jazz singer. She doesn't sing classical music. Janet is a POP star. most of her music has been and always will be what people call bubblegum music. Buble gum music at it's best. Bubblegum gum music is not a bad art form. And what most of you fail to realize is that Janet for the most part created bubblegum music...you see her influence on everyone from Aaliyah, Britney, to christina and every one else. Janet makes POP music. I like this song. I can listen to it and hum to it and i can dance to it. It's an enjoyable experience. It is not a bad song. And her voice sounds better. No, her album will not be the second coming of Jesus Christ, no album ever is. But I have never been disapointed with any album janet has put out and I'm sure I won't be disapointed in this one. Geese. Save the serious critique for music that was meant to be taken seriously. This was crafted for one thing...to be lighthearted and FUN and at this, she succeeds.

How this release escaped me, is a surprise. Being an avid DVD collector, none of my favorite web sites listed this limited edition as a DVD release, which is the primary reason to buy this limited edition CD/DVD combo.

Video quality is excellent, sporting a dual layer, very high bit rate video transfer. Audio is linear PCM, no Dolby Digital compression here, and you CAN tell the difference! The sound matches the picture quality. Incredible! Songs include: That's The Way Love Goes, If, Again, Because of Love, Any Time, Any Place, You Want This (Colorized Version), Janet Behind the Scenes, Got Til It's Gone, Together Again, Together Again (Deeper Remix), I Get Lonely, Go Deep, You, Every Time, Velvet Rope Behind The Scenes, All For You, Someone To Call My Lover, All For You Behind The Scenes, MTV Icon Performance of All For You.

Notebly missing is Doesn't Really Matter. You'll have to pick that up on the Nutty Professor II DVD.

A very cool feature mentioned in another review here is the Playlist. You pick the songs from the menu, and the DVD plays them in that order!!! Into upbeat Janet? Just pick your tunes. Into that "quiet storm" thing, then pick 'em slow and smooth. Why other music DVDs haven't used this menu technology is anyone's quess. Into avoiding those annoying commentaries between songs..gone...just use the playlist and it's wall to wall music, with none of the "filler".

If this truly is a "limited edition", then do that "one click" thing and buy it before it's not available. Really, really nice combo set. Highly recommended. And for that person who has every DVD in the world (like me), I'll bet that they don't even know this release exists. Shame on Virgin Records for not promoting it more. But what a surprise for the DVD fan who thinks they have it all.