Written Before Listen
So I feel like everyone knows who Taylor Swift is at this point. If you don’t know though, she is an American singer and songwriter from Pennsylvania with numerous hits in America. One of the albums she released in her earlier years was 2008’s “Fearless” with hits played all over the radio such as “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me”. She just released a new and redone version of that same album which I’m actually excited to hear. One big gripe I had about that album is how processed it sound and knowing the sound she has pursued in the past two albums of hers, I’m happy to hear what she has coming in store for this album. It’s also important to note that there are a lot of bonus and unreleased tracks too so this kind of acts like a double LP in some sort.
The Renditions
So what do I say? Literally every track is twice as good as what it initially was. So much more authenticity, twang and purity within every cut. The guitars were not as artificial sounding, the drums weren’t as overly miced and a lot of panning jobs were so much more vivid than what it usually was. Honestly, the new album is nearly twice as good as it was back then. The only thing that brings it down is that the songwriting, lyrics and chord progressions are all the same.
Development
So we talked about the production side of things, lets talk about Taylor Herself. Her delivery is wayyy more believable. Her processing is way less processed and way more natural. Songs like “Hey Stephen” and “The Way I Loved You” were two songs that I initially didn’t like. Now I love them. They are really anthemic country songs instead of being overly-processed songs that could go on a Disney soundtrack. I should also mention that “Best Day” is actually sadder than when I initially heard it. It has a sense of nostalgia that was missing in the original. I believe Antonoff produced this and he knew how to capture the songwriting really well on this album. Excellent work from both teams.
The Bonus Tracks
So prior to this review, the bonus tracks were not tracks I initially listened to. Taylor obviously let these out for a reason because they were easily not up to par with the other tracks. Sure there are some unique switch-ups from Taylors usual style like the piano version of “Forever & Always”. There is also some pure country tracks like “Come In With The Rain” and “Superstar” and due to Taylors immaturity at the time, the pure country style wasn’t one she truly expected at that time. Unfortunately I’m not super big on the bonus tracks that she put on here and I wasn’t as impressed by the production on here compared to the OG tracks.
The Vault Tracks
So the vault tracks were where Taylor redeemed herself quite a lot. It does start off on a somewhat mediocre note though with the track “You All Over Me” but then quickly redeems itself with one of the best on the entire project “Mr. Perfectly Fine” which is nearly a teen pop pinnacle. Another track that I really liked was the synth based “Don’t You” which was a unique switch from the rest of the country tinged tracks on here. Overall, I think the Vault tracks made this album not only listenable but helped the rest of the albums context.
Cons
My main cons are very simple. Its from the fist two sides. They are the same songs from the 2008 album that I initially didn’t like. Same songwriting, same chords and same instrumentals. Despite being matured as much as possible, its still the same 19 year old Taylor thinking of these ideas and the same choice of instrumentation. With me not liking the original Fearless, that was the only thought coming into play.
Verdict
This was exactly the Fearless we needed. Lets not forget the deluxe tracks and the unreleased tracks too that also just worked so well with the rest of the album. This is honestly revisable as it can get and is easily my favorite Taylor album I’ve heard yet.
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