Red Taylor’s Version is sure to be on everyone’s playlists
Album review
December 7, 2021
In 2019, Taylor Swift announced that she would be re-recording her past albums. Before switching labels to Universal Republic Records, Swift was signed to Big Machine. This means that when she went to a different label she did not have any rights to her own music. In an Instagram post Swift said, “Artists should own their own work for so many reasons.” On Nov. 12, she released Red (Taylor’s Version).
The revamped version of the album has all of the original songs but it is easy to tell that Swift’s voice has matured immensely since the first recording of Red, released in 2012. Her version of the album features nine “from the vault” songs, songs that were recorded for the first version but did not end up making the final cut. The vault tracks include features from artists like Chris Stapleton, Ed Sheeran and Phoebe Bridgers. A crowd favorite song of Swift’s, All Too Well, was re-released as a 10 minute version. Which she performed in its entirety on SNL.
The album is able to keep the uniqueness of the original version while bringing a new meaning and special quality. The lyrics are as genius as ever. In Nothing New (Taylor’s Version) (From the vault) [feat. Phoebe Bridgers] the lyrics discuss how the music industry will replace you once they don’t find you good enough anymore. In a review, Spin said, “The song, which hinges on the question ‘will you still want me when I’m nothing new’ is brilliant in it’s double meaning.” The listener could take the song to be about a personal relationship or the relationship that the music business has with young women.
Swift’s only competition is herself, after not even being out for a week, Red (Taylor’s Version) scored the largest sales week of 2021 in the U.S. Before, the record for largest sales week was held by her album Evermore. The world is not short of fans of this phenomenal artist. Sophomore Kiley Knudson said, “Red TV is a masterpiece. Literally all of the lyrics are so thought out and they mean so much.” Another big fan of Swift at OHS is junior Tori Barber. She said, “It is really amazing that Taylor is re-recording all of her albums, she deserves rights to her own music.”
Swift owning her own music impacts many people. Young women aspiring to make music, listeners and other artists. Her standing up for herself is setting an example for those that have ever felt like all of their hard work was for nothing. She knows her worth and is teaching other people that look up to her to do the same.
Just when fans thought Swift could not upstage herself again, she does. In Red (Taylor’s Version) she is ingenious and shows new sides of herself. It is safe to say that there are few other musicians out there with her same passion and commitment for making music.
