Taylor Swift announced on September 9th that she would be rerecording and rereleasing her fifth album, titled ‘1989’ on October 27, 2023, nine years after its original release. ‘1989 Taylor’s Version’ was written by Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff and features Swift as the only singer on the album.
‘1989 Taylor’s Version’ included all original 16 songs from the album, plus five new songs considered “From the Vault.” These are songs that she wrote back when the album was originally released, when she was 24 years old, but she did not release them with the rest of the album.
This album is a shift for Swift and is her first true pop album, following her country pop albums such as ‘Fearless’ and ‘Red.’ This album tells the story of her move to New York City and the relationships and friendships she has throughout her time there. It represented her emotions as she proved herself as an artist who can make it as herself.
‘Welcome to New York’ is the perfect opening to this album considering the focus of the album being on Swift’s move to NYC. This first track perfectly encapsulates Swift’s rebirth as an artist using lyrics like, “Everybody here was someone else before” to demonstrate her growth. This song has a fun beat that listeners can’t help but dance along to.
Another song to represent Swift’s strength as a solo artist is track six, ‘Shake it off’ which uses almost childish lyrics to represent how she’s ignoring her haters and doing what she wants. The lyrics are fun to sing along to, but what I love about this song is that there is a strong meaning to this song hidden in the upbeat rhythms.
I believe this album has Swift’s best collection of bridges that listeners can scream along to. This includes songs like ‘Out of the Woods,’ ‘Wonderland,’ ‘You are in Love,’ and more. Swift effectively uses changes of tempo and volume within her songs to build up to an exciting bridge in every song.
The 16th track on the album, ‘New Romantics,’ is my favorite on the album due to the elite lyricism and message of the song. This song represents a more carefree outlook on love and relationships, and she uses lyrics like, “We are too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet” to show that she is done caring what other people think. The loud lyrics and fast tempo make this a great song to sing along to.
One of the songs added to the rerecorded version, ‘Is it Over Now?’ contains a deep meaning of betrayal and the anger involved in break-ups. Her frustration is displayed through lyrics like “Oh, Lord, I think about jumping off a very tall something just to see you come running,” and the song looks to answer the confusing questions of a blurry relationship. This song has an exciting bridge and makes listeners want to sing along.
Earning a solid 4.7/5 stars, I recommend this album to listeners who have had their fair share of relationships, both good and bad. It is a coming-of-age album and accurately represents emotions felt through a period of change in your life. So, if you’re in need of a new album to listen to, I recommend moving ‘1989 Taylor’s Version’ to the top of your list!
