Taylor Swift stunned fans with the release of her newest re-recording, “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” Oct. 27, proving she and her music will never go out of style.
Swift announced the re-recording of all her previous music in 2020 and has since released four of the six albums she’s planning to record. “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is the latest release, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Over a year prior to the release of the album, Swift released two of the re-recorded songs as singles. One of the songs released was the Billboard Hot 100 charting song “Wildest Dreams.” Swift’s surprise release of the song in September 2021 left fans speechless and combing for clues that “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” was near. Swift released the song following a TikTok trend using the original version of the song.
She then posted her own take on the trend, giving fans her new re-recorded version that they could use instead for their videos. While “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)” doesn’t differ much from the original, her matured vocals bring the song to another level.
Along with the original 16 tracks, Swift also released five “from the vault” tracks, one of which was highly anticipated due to its vulgar title, “Slut! (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vaut].” Fans expected the song to be a satirical anthem about the media’s criticism of Swift’s romantic relationships. But the singer surprised fans yet again, with the song being a slower ballad about a new relationship that has Swift saying that being called a “sl*t” would be worth it for this person. Her delicate vocals shine on the track with the softer instrumentals complimenting the vocals well, then picking up at the bridge of the song, hooking listeners in.
A stand-out vault track that has quickly become a fan favorite is “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault].” Swift’s powerful lyrical ability mixed with Grammy-winning producer Jack Antonoff’s distinct production builds a beautifully painful and raw song about the ending of a relationship while keeping the danceability of the song at a high.
Swift, known for the bridges in her songs, further proves her talent in that category with this song. In the bridge, she sings, “Only rumors ’bout my hips and thighs / And my whispered sighs / Oh, Lord,” showing her ability to keep her lyrics raw and honest. She continues, “I think about jumpin’ / Off of very tall somethings / Just to see you come runnin’,” which has listeners in shock once they hear it, as the intensity of the lyric and its subject is something Swift rarely touches upon.
She also calls back to her popular song from the original track list, “Out Of The Woods,” with the lyric, “When you lost control / Red blood, white snow,” tying the storylines together of this relationship where she and her then-boyfriend got into a snowmobile crash together.
The shortest song on the album is the one that really packs a punch. “Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault],” is an upbeat pop song that ties all of the vault songs into the rest of the album’s traditional pop-princess vibe.
Aside from the vault tracks, Swift ensures the new re-recorded album has a stronger production than the original, giving fans an incentive to listen to this version as opposed to the original. The song, “Blank Space (Taylor’s Version),” which originally charted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 for seven weeks, displays her spoken lyrics being paired perfectly with her mature voice, giving them a sassier and stronger delivery.
“New Romantics (Taylor’s Version),” which was a deluxe track on the original album, has louder instrumentals than the original, making the newer version of the already fantastic track, somehow, even better. Similar to “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “New Romantics” is the perfect pop song for the album.
Another song on the album which had monstrous popularity among fans from its initial release, “Wonderland (Taylor’s Version),” did not disappoint. While fans worried the production of the song may be disrupted and ruined, Swift and her producer, Christopher Rowe, were able to make the upbeat song maintain its fun and lively sound, while adding backing instrumentals that enhanced the dreaminess of the song.
Other standouts were “Clean (Taylor’s Version)” and “You Are In Love (Taylor’s Version)” which were able to keep their original sound but Swift and her producers were able to make the vocals crisper.
The original release of “1989” in 2014 made a monumental mark on pop music. The album spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, and a total of 462 weeks on the chart altogether. The album also won Swift her second Grammy award for Album of the Year.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is following the same fate, debuting with over 176 million streams on Spotify alone in its first day: the second biggest Spotify debut in history, following Swift’s other album, “Midnights.”
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is a flawless album across the board, bridging the gap between pop sound and devastatingly powerful lyrics. Swift continues to uphold her Grammy-winning status by creating albums that redefine genres and put her at the top of the music industry.
