Janet Jackson - Alright

I had already asked this before and never replied Ron,
again sorry. The YouTube link is no longer active. I
suspect the Design of a Decade version is exclusive to
the compilation.

I have finally, at long last, figured out the mystery of the "new mix" of "Alright" present on 'Design of a Decade'. The version included is not a new mix, but a new edit of 3 distinct versions of the song (all previously released):

The 'Design of a Decade' version uses bits of the 7" Remix without Rap, the 7" R&B Mix without rap, and the 12" R&B Mix. I'm specifying "Without Rap" on those first two, because their "With Rap" counterparts are not identical edits.

The first minute or so of the song is identical to the 7" Remix. There is a changeover that happens before the second verse starts at 1:26 of the 'DOAD' version, because from that point going forward, for the majority of the song, the audio is a match to the 7" R&B Mix. I believe the edit point is at :52 seconds of the 7" Remix -- there's a horn blast just before the chorus present in both mixes, and to my ears, the bass sound is just slightly different/more muted after that point in the 'DOAD' version, which would indicate that to be the edit point. The original 7" Remix (which makes up the first bit of the 'DOAD' version) has that typical Shep Pettibone additional synth-bass sound, whereas the 7" R&B Mix either doesn't have this feature or it's mixed a bit more natural and lower. If someone with more precise ears than me can spot a different edit point, let me know, but it sounds right to me.

So, from that first chorus changeover throughout the majority of the song, it's just a straight play-through of the 7" R&B Mix Without Rap. Seems like a simple exercise, doesn't it? Well, not so fast. For some ungodly reason, they saw fit to make an edit at 3:09 of the "new" (DOAD) edit to cut a few measures out and jump to later in the mix where the descending bassline is already going and the trumpet solo is about to drop in. The problem going forward is that the 7" R&B Mix Without Rap fades out before the end of the "new" (DOAD) mix, so in actuality, it appears they took the end from the 12" R&B Mix (beginning from somewhere around the 6:34 mark in that long mix) and pasted on the end. Uncontent to just let it play it naturally, there's some erratic looping of certain measures, etc., toward the fadeout of the "new" (DOAD) mix, but all of the audio is present in these three previously released mixes if one wanted to recreate the edit on their own.

To be honest, after cracking the code, the DOAD edit is kind of a dud IMO. There's a lot of dodgy pasting toward the end, and for what purpose? The compilers/producers/remaster-ers would have done better to just opt for one of the 7" R&B Mixes or the 7" Remixes, with or without rap, instead of creating this monstrosity, but here we are. I would definitely seek out one of the original CD singles instead of relying on the DOAD edit.

Thanks... I wish they would just make all remixes available across all
formats— always so frustrating!