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. That is far from a fatal flaw. 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. None of the songs has lost any of its impact, from the funk of "
Miss You Much" and "
What Have You Done for Me Lately", to the ballads "
Let's Wait Awhile" and "
Come Back to Me". In addition to all 13 Top 40 hits from
Control and
Rhythm Nation - all but one went into the Top Five - Design of a Decade includes the biggest and best hit from janet., the sultry "
That's the Way Love Goes", and two new songs, "
Runaway" and "
Twenty Foreplay". It's a credit to Janet that the two new numbers feel like genuine hits, not tacked-on filler, and help make the album a compulsively listenable greatest-hits collection.
Design of a Decade: 1986-1996 review by allmusic.com