Janet Jackson's 'The Velvet Rope' Getting Deluxe Reissue for 25th Anniversary

"The Velvet Rope: Deluxe Edition" drops on Friday. 

Halloween is on the horizon but for Janet Jackson fans this week may feel a little more like Christmas.

That is because the diva is giving her devotees an early gift Friday (Oct. 7) to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her classic album “The Velvet Rope.”

The five-time Grammy Award-winner will release a new deluxe edition of her sixth studio release. In 1997 the triple-platinum EP was Jackson’s fourth consecutive album to top the Billboard 200 chart.

A concept piece that was born out of her own bouts with depression, Jackson said the album was one of her toughest to make.

“You feel like the walls are closing in on you, and you can’t escape,” she recollected to Entertainment Weekly about recording the album in a 2001 interview. “That was happening to me during “Velvet Rope,” and I just felt like there was no way out.”

Fortunately for music lovers, the process of Jackson dealing with her own internal demons through her music, translated into a melodic and therapeutic treatise on female sexuality and mental health.

While she was not sure how her fan base would react when she was writing and recording the raw songs, which also touch on domestic violence and kinks, she persisted.

“I’m sure it did alienate a lot of people, but that’s what I was feeling, and I wanted to write about it, so I did,” she said.

It is a good thing she did too.

Produced by longtime collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the effort was named one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone. Pitchfork counts it as one of “The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s”

In addition to No. 1 hits like “Together Again and “I Get Lonely,” the new edition features 13 remixes as well as B-sides and rarities like “Accept Me” and “God’s Stepchild.” It will be the first time several of the songs have been made available to stream.

Remastered versions of some of the most memorable Jackson visuals for the project will be made available to watch on YouTube in tandem with the release.

See the complete track listing for "The Velvet Rope: Deluxe Edition" below:

THE VELVET ROPE: DELUXE EDITION
Component 1:

1. Interlude -Twisted Elegance
2. Velvet Rope [feat. Vanessa-Mae]
3. You
4. Got 'Til It's Gone [feat. Q-Tip & Joni Mitchell]
5. Interlude - Speaker Phone
6. My Need
7. Interlude - Fasten Your Seatbelts
8. Go Deep
9. Free Xone
10. Interlude - Memory
11. Together Again
12. Interlude - Online
13. Empty
14. Interlude - Full
15. What About
16. Every Time
17. Tonight's The Night
18. I Get Lonely
19. Rope Burn
20. Anything
21. Interlude - Sad
22. Special
23. Can't Be Stopped
24. Accept Me [Bonus Track] *
25. God's Stepchild [Bonus Track] *

Component 2:
1. I Get Lonely (TNT Remix Edit) with BLACKstreet *
2. Got 'Til It's Gone (Ummah Jay Dee's Revenge Mix) *
3. Go Deep (Timbaland/Missy Remix) featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott *
4. Together Again (Jimmy Jam Deeper Mix) *
5. Every Time (Jam & Lewis Disco Mix)
6. I Get Lonely (Jam & Lewis Feel My Bass Mix) *
7. Got 'Til It's Gone (David Morales & Frankie Knuckles Def Club Mix) *
8. Together Again (Tony Moran 12" Club Mix) *
9. Go Deep (Masters at Work Thunder Mix) *
10. Together Again (Tony Humphries Club Mix Edit)
11. I Get Lonely (Jason vs. Janet The Club Remix)
12. Go Deep (Masters At Work Vocal Deep Disco Dub)
13. Got 'Til It's Gone (Armand Van Helden Bonus Beats)
* = new to streaming