From a young aspiring country star bloomed a world-shattering, record-breaking pop star, selling out almost every stadium she has performed in. Taylor Swift has without a doubt left her fans speechless with her new release, 1989 (Taylor’s Version). The long-awaited album is finally here! Within the first week of her release, Swift collected over 337 million streams, and according to Billboard, 1989 (TV) has the most streams out of any of Swift’s previous rerecorded albums. With 21 songs and over an hour of listening time, Swift blows it out of the water time and time again.
Without a doubt, Swift has taken control of her narrative and legacy by rerecording her albums, creating pivotal movements in her career once again. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is no exception to that, and we Swifties around the globe are here to rejoice.
The album starts beautifully with “Welcome To New York.” Almost automatically there is a difference in synth, which sounds notably better than her previous version. Her vocals sound significantly more delicate than her first recording. It truly sets the tone for the rest of the album, with vocal maturity that gives us a sense of letting go of her previous foundations. Good for her on this one!
“Blank Space (og)” is arguably one of Swift’s most iconic songs, with over 700,000,000 streams of the original recording. Even more, the music video has accumulated over 3.2 billion views on YouTube, from eight years ago. As iconic as the original might be, I can’t seem to say the same about “Blank Space (T.V.).” In the original recording, Swift expresses her undying jealousy in the second verse, both with the power of her voice and with the lyrics themselves. The pauses between the words “Screaming, crying, perfect storms” add just an extra bit of anger that makes the song much more in tune with the themes of the song. This is continued in the lines that follow: “Rose garden filled with thorns.”
However, in Taylo’s Version of “Blank Space,” I don’t hear the jealousy, rage, and intensity in her voice as in the original. It doesn’t pack the same punch as it used to. Screaming Taylor’s Version in the car on full blast doesn’t feel as raw and stress-relieving as the original. Some could say the reason for her voice sounding so tame is because of her maturity and growth over the years. I agree with this. Nonetheless, Swift did fairly well on this one, but it left us die-hard “Blank Space” fans disappointed.
Another highly anticipated song was “Style.” Rumor has it that this song is about Harry Styles; however, that’s a story for another time. After all, she is notorious for writing most of her songs about her exes. Moving forward, “Style” was surely a new experience. As I discussed before in “Blank Space,” “Style” also lacks its previous “dreamy” feeling from the original. Swift’s “I said ‘I’ve been there too a few times’” doesn’t sound as flirtatious in the rerecording as the original, again, straying away from the emotion due in the song.
In fact, a lot of the songs in 1989 (Taylor’s Version) lacked “spice.” Although the tone was set from the beginning, fans, including me, were seeking more energy. Songs like “Bad Blood” and “Shake It Off” also felt like they were missing something! I can’t put my finger on it. Although I will say these rerecordings still feel spectacular to listen to.
Initially, I had extreme opinions on “How You Get The Girl” however, after another full relisten to the album, my opinions changed. At first, I believed the song lost its initial “innocence” and “naivety,” but after taking a new approach to the song, which is my favorite on the album, I was led to a different conclusion. This new beachy, airy, and open feel for “How You Get The Girl” is refreshing! It sounds clearer, sharper, and overall fantastic. I truly feel in this song she is leaving the city era behind. “HYGTG” was done phenomenally.
“New Romantics” was also beautifully composed. While I don’t necessarily believe it outdoes the original, it is still a noteworthy song that was done amazingly. I could argue the same for “Out Of The Woods.”
Taylor Swift released some songs from “The Vault.” The Vault are some songs that were recorded at the time that ultimately didn’t make the final cut for the album’s release. I don’t believe that any of the songs from The Vault fit the overall beachy aesthetic of 1989 (T.V). The only song I can think of being an exception to this is “Say Don’t Go.” Regardless, these songs are spectacular despite the contrast from the overall coastal theme of the album. These songs somewhat fit the city girl aesthetic that Swift adopted in her original 1989 album, but I believe these songs sound like something you’d find on Midnights. I do know that she had no say in which songs were in the original 1989 album, and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was her chance to give us these astounding songs, and for that, I respect it.
My final thoughts stand clear: I prefer the original 1989. All love to Taylor Swift, but this rerecording sounds too synthesized, almost robotic-like. Her vocals sound more processed than ever, not to mention at times, they can sound emotionless. I love the aesthetic of the album, the cover art was fantastic. The only two songs I would take from this album over the original are “Welcome To New York” and “Wonderland.” Overall, the original 1989 will always remain iconic, a title that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) simply cannot replicate.
