Dream Street is the second studio album by American musician Janet Jackson, released in September 1984, by A&M Records.[5] More pop than her debut album's "bubblegumsoul" feel, the album was not the runaway success that Janet's father Joseph thought it would be, peaking at No. 147 on the Billboard 200 in 1984. The album did have one modest hit for Jackson, the Top 10 R&B single, "Don't Stand Another Chance", produced by brother Marlon. Also, the video for the song "Dream Street", her first music video, was shot during the shooting of the TV show Fame.
Ed Hogan with AllMusic commented retrospectively: "A listen to Janet Jackson's Dream Street brings to mind remembrances of the then-teenaged singer's appearances on American Bandstand [...] The first single, "Don't Stand Another Chance," was a family affair, produced by brother Marlon Jackson with vocal ad-libs by Michael Jackson. It was a Top Ten R&B hit during the summer of 1984. The extended 12" mix rocks, showcasing outstanding synth work by John Barnes. Other standouts are the smeary Minneapolis funk cut "Pretty Boy" produced by Jesse Johnson, and both "Hold Back the Tears" and "If It Takes All Night" are prime examples of pleasing '80s pop."[6]
Ken Tucker with The Philadelphia Inquirer gave it a "fair" rating, calling it "A small but pleasant surprise: The Jacksons' youngest sister has come up with a more consistently entertaining album than her brothers' Victory record. Most Dream Street songs have a glossy pop sheen, and Janet's duet with English pop star Cliff Richard, "Two to the Power of Love," is catchy, if totally forgettable. Most of the time Janet favors slick disco rhythms that are easy to listen to."[7]
Commercial performance
Dream Street sold 21,000 copies between 1991 and November 2006 according to Nielsen Soundscan,[9] while its sales through the BMG Music Club stand at 44,000 as of 2003.[10] The album peaked at 147 in the United States and failed to chart internationally.[citation needed]
Dream Street is both the lowest charting studio album of Janet Jackson's career in the US, and her only studio album to not spawn any hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[11]
"Rock 'n' Roll" (B-side to "Don't Stand Another Chance")
M. Jackson
M. Jackson
4:10
2.
"French Blue" (B-side to "Fast Girls")
Johnson
Johnson
6:22
A song called "Start Anew" was written for the album by Ralph McCarthy, Yuji Toriyama, but was not included on the track list. It was released as an off-album single in Japan on October 11, 1985, with the B-sides "Hold Back the Tears" (7") and an extended version (12"). The song was later included on the Japanese edition of Control.[12]
^Pitchfork Staff (September 10, 2018). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 25, 2023. By 19, Janet Jackson had already appeared in several television shows, been married and divorced, and released two bubblegum pop albums.
