On Oct. 27, 2014, singer and songwriter Taylor Swift released her album, “1989.” Named after the year she was born and inspired by pop sounds from the ‘80s, Swift’s album was a smash hit. It won numerous awards: American Music Award for Favorite Pop Album in 2015, Billboard Music Award for Top Billboard 200 Album in 2015, Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2016, and Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2016. Despite the album’s success, Swift’s work was stolen from her.
Once Swift signed a record deal with Big Machine Records in 2005, they had full ownership to all her songs. Only after Swift left the record label because of a heated argument with the owner, Scooter Braun, she had the opportunity to rerecord her albums to be under her own name, as her own version; hence the term, “Taylor’s Version.”
Swift rerecorded her most successful album and titled it “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” released on Oct. 27, 2023.
The album includes rerecordings of all the songs in the original album with the addition of five new tracks “From The Vault,” a collection of songs that didn’t make it on the original 2014 cut. The songs have some lyric tweaks and musical changes improving upon the originals: “Out Of The Woods (Taylor’s Version)” and “All You Had To Do Was Stay (Taylor’s Version)” both had a livelier tune and vocals than their counterparts. They are exciting to listen to and are sure to pump up any “Swiftie.” However, tracks like “Shake It Off (Taylor’s Version)” and “Welcome To New York (Taylor’s version)” are good, but don’t live up to the classic originals.
The five vault tracks are a fantastic addition to the list of hits. For example, “Suburban Legends (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” tells the story of successful star-crossed lovers with an upbeat tune. The song is a great addition and it matches the musical style of the album well. “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” is by far the best vault track. Telling the story of unclear boundaries in a relationship, it takes on a more mature theme than some of her other songs while remaining cohesive with the album.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is a fantastic album that is definitely worth a listen. Swift has outdone herself once again by making her album her own.
