On Friday, Taylor Swift released a re-recording of her album“ 1989,” continuing her trend of re-releasing previous albums.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” contains the original 16 songs that were released in the first album, published on Oct. 27, 2014. Swift includes an additional six songs that she released “from the vault.”
According to an article from Time Magazine, Swift is re-releasing her albums to have more autonomy over her music. Swift released her first six albums with Big Machine Records, and per the contract, Swift does not own any of the master recordings of her albums.
Swift’s current record deal is with Universal Republic’s Records, and she learned from previous mistakes with her past record label to make her new deal include ownership of her original recordings.
By rereleasing her music, Swift will now own her music.
Swift’s first re-release was of her second album “Fearless,” and the Taylor’s Version came out on April 9, 2021. She followed this with “Red (Taylor’s Version)” on November 12, 2021.
July 7, Swift came out with “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” This makes “1989” her second re-release of the year.
Similar to the original version of “1989,” Swift opens this album with “Welcome to New York (Taylor’s Version).”. This upbeat track sets the mood of the album, and is reminiscent of Swift’s sound in her older albums.
“Blank Space” is next on the queue. This piece is characterized by its staccato notes, and Swift’s lyrics in response to the public’s view of her as boy-crazy and unable to stay in a long-term relationship.
A few tracks later, “Shake it Off,” one of Swift’s most well-known songs appears on the album. While the lyrics and melody of all her original songs are the same, Swift brings a new depth and more mature voice to the re-recording.
“Shake it Off” also displays Swift’s attitude towards criticisms from the public that were very prevalent during this time in her life. This track is Swift’s ode to “shaking off” the haters, and being herself fully.
Track nine features “Bad Blood,” Swift’s famous song about losing friendships which allegedly hints to her falling out with Katy Perry in September 2014.
After this track, the album takes a turn to slower, more romantic songs like “How you get the Girl”, and Swift’s ballad “This Love” In these songs, Swift uses the more traditional lovesong framework, and these pieces are more closely related to the true love, break-up and heartbreak songs that Swift is famously known for.
This album shows Swift’s reclaiming of herself amidst the media’s condemnation. In 2014, when this album was originally released, Swift underwent harsh criticisms about her love life, feud with other celebrities, and predictable music.
“1989” starts with Swift releasing the pressures from the outside world, claiming that she is going to be herself unapologetically. She pokes fun at the media in “Blank Space” and gives them the portrayal of her being insane and obsessed with her past boyfriends. She then transitions to more typical love songs, showing that she will unabashedly continue to write about her experiences, drawing on inspiration from her love life.
As the original “1989” was a reclaiming of Taylor Swift as she was at 25, “1989 (TV)” adds new depth to the album at the age of 33.
The first track from the vault is called “Sl*t!” This short track is another love song, but takes the conversation about calling Swift out on her love life to a level she could not at 25.
Swift had mostly a younger audience at the time of the original recording, and I think “Sl*t!” would have made her less likely to retain those younger fans. This song shows Swift’s increasing maturity, and the maturity of her audience.
Fans speculate “Is it Over Now?,” the penultimate track on the album, is about Swift’s relationship with Harry Styles, which had ended in early 2013. This break-up song also displays more mature themes than the break-up songs typically of that time in Swift’s career.
Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this album and revisiting this time in Swift’s career. Every new song she releases showcases her talents as an amazing songwriter, and I especially appreciate that she adds tracks from the vault on her re-records. I think it’s interesting to see the songs that didn’t make it onto the first recording of the album, and compare them to the songs Swift was releasing at the time of the original release.
Fans are speculating that the next release will be Swift’s album “Reputation.” I can’t wait to see if this happens, and if it does I’m excited for the songs that will be included in the re-release.