Taylor Swift attends the “All Too Well” New York premiere Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, in New York City. Credit: Courtesy of Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images/TNS
Catering to fans who first heard “Red” in a bedroom painted a color they sorely regret, Taylor Swift released a re-recording of her album that proves she grew alongside them.
Swift’s 2012 album “Red” hit 3.1 million sales in just three months and is regarded by some as her best work to date. With the addition of nine songs that were written for but did not make it into the original album — what Swift refers to as “from the vault” on her album —“Red (Taylor’s Version)” was highly anticipated by Swift’s loyal fan base.
Serving as a catalyst for her decision to re-record her albums, Swift’s ex-manager, Scooter Braun, sold the master rights to her first six albums without telling her, which Swift detailed in a tweet last fall. Prior to the sale, Swift, Braun and Big Records Music publicly feuded over the albums, and Swift said in a tweet that she was denied the rights to perform her music at the 2019 American Music Awards, where she was honored as Artist of the Decade.
To reclaim her rights to profits and stories and feelings shared on her albums, Swift took action, announcing plans to re-record her six oldest albums in a tweet. “Red (Taylor’s Version)” is the second installment of Swift’s re-records after she released “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” in April.
The star of the show comes in an extended version of “All Too Well,” a breakup ballad that, even in its original form, perfectly encapsulates the feelings of heartache. Widely considered her best song, fans were emotionally prepared to hear the re-recorded, five-minute version — until five minutes turned into 10. Composed in the “stream of consciousness” style of the initial version, the song is jam-packed with gut-wrenching lyrics only the broken-hearted can relate to and only Swift could pen.
Alongside Swift’s extended fan-favorite came a stunning short film starring Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink released Nov. 12, followed by a piano-accompanied “Sad Girl Autumn” version of the song Wednesday.
Although Swift directed the lengthy music video for “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” another famous blonde also had her turn in the director’s chair. Actress Blake Lively was the brains behind a music video released Nov. 15 for “I Bet You Think About Me,” a song from the vault featuring Chris Stapleton.
The song itself is a blast from the past, reminiscent of Swift’s debut album, “Taylor Swift,” which earned the young songstress a place on the country music scene. Swift includes clever jabs at the subject of the song evident in the nickname she gives him — Mr. Superior Thinkin’ — and a line that would indicate a lack of self-awareness from any other millionaire, but works when it’s from Swift: “I bet you think about me in your house, with your organic shoes and your million-dollar couch.”
Whether sarcastic or gut-wrenching, impeccable lyricism proves to be a theme of the album, especially in the other tracks from the vault. “Nothing New (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)” takes a deep dive into feelings of inadequacy, providing a grown-up audience with a more grown-up theme than the original album. The duo tells a story Swift, Bridgers and women collectively know all too well when they ask, “Will you still want me when I’m nothin’ new?”
Rounding out tracks from the vault, “Babe” and “Better Man” are Swift’s version of songs she wrote for Sugarland and Little Big Town, respectively. “Babe” trudges through the moment one realizes a partner is cheating, while the heartbreaking “Better Man” relives the aftermath of a broken relationship.
Despite the appeal of dusted-off vault treasures that deserve all of the attention they’ve received, tried and true Swift classics are not to be overlooked and pack new punches in their revisited forms.
Swift’s strong vocals paired with subtle changes breathe new life into the hormone-addled tunes she wrote a decade ago. By softening the tone in which she sings “make fun of our exes” in “22 (Taylor’s Version)” and taking away some of the venom when she sings “with some indie record that’s much cooler than mine” in “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor’s Version),” Swift effectively leaves petty responses to heartbreak in the past while magnifying truly heartbreaking elements of other songs.
Swift conquers her ghosts in “Sad, Beautiful, Tragic (Taylor’s Version)” by singing “good girls, hopeful they’ll be, and long they will wait” in a voice that has matured drastically since 2012, seemingly assuring her younger self that the wait will not last forever. The switch from Taylor’s younger, more brittle voice to her voice now makes it feel as though she has infused hope into songs that, back then, sounded desperately sad.
In the same strain, “Begin Again (Taylor’s Version)” and “Stay, Stay, Stay (Taylor’s Version)” are joy-filled with no strings attached and offer rare instances of Swift’s voice taking on a more youthful dynamic, while still maintaining the depth it has acquired over the years.
Swift’s vocals have shifted with each attempted genre switch. From a light country twang evident in her first album to sassy vocal inflections on her dark pop album “Reputation,” Swift has always demonstrated an uncanny ability to add a given style to her repertoire, like a new notch in a belt.
However, on “Red (Taylor’s Version),” mirroring her sound on recent sister albums “folklore” and “evermore,” Swift prioritizes simple, strong vocals — accompanied by minimal instrumentals — over showy ones, resulting in stunningly vulnerable takes on beloved songs from the original album. Swift has since taken “Red” and transformed it from a heartbroken girl’s passion project into something lovingly remade by a woman who seems to have made peace with herself.
Rating: 5/5
