Written Before Listen
We are here to talk about the album that made me listen to Taylor Swift’s “Red”. The new edition! Taylor did this with Fearless and now she has done it with an album that introduced the second stage of her career. A 30 track version of Red with unreleased tracks and new versions. Without further ado, let’s get into the review.
Renditions
Let me start by saying that the renditions of these tracks are all better. The songs I liked already got better and the songs I disliked I started to like. “Stay Stay Stay” turned into a song I couldn’t stand to a song I truly appreciated in the context of the album. What I will say is that some of the redundant songs couldn’t change themselves. The original blueprint of the album is still there and that’s intentional. Although, if this version of the album came out in 2012, I think it would’ve gotten a similar score. I think the subtle differences all come in Taylor’s maturity as a singer and the lack of Max Martin. Overall, this version is just a better version of the original.
Bonus Tracks
Alongside the release of Red, we got 5 bonus tracks back in the day. These 5 tracks include an acoustic version of “State Of Grace” which if you remember was my favorite track on the album. (If you’re still wondering, it still is). All of these tracks are above average and probably the best part of the album. “Girl At Home” is a great electro-pop track and “Ronan” would’ve been the most country-tinged song on the original album. I will say that this part of the album only improved my enjoyment.
From The Vault
The first thing I thought about is how modern these tracks are. There are features from Phoebe Bridgers and Chris Stapleton and those two artists weren’t famous until after this album came out. Phoebe Bridgers wasn’t famous until 2017-2018. Although these could just be unfinished songs from 2012 and Taylor just got newer artists to complete it. Alongside these tracks, there are some great tracks but there are also some lackluster ones. The last two tracks before the big closer (which I will get to) are two of my least favorite on this entire album. “Run” is another Taylor and Ed Sheeran we did not need and “The Very First Night” is just a toy in the attic. Overall, I think these tracks do fit in this whole “Taylor’s Version” concept well. It just has 1 or two below-average tracks.
The 10 Minute Version
Let’s talk about the strongest part of this album, the 10-minute version of an already strong song “All Too Well”. All I can say is that….Jake Gyllenhaal might’ve created the Taylor Swift stereotype. This song not only fits the stereotype but completes it. Everything Taylor could’ve said about him, she says on this song. A decade later, she seems to still be affected by this relationship. Look, I’m not an expert on this relationship, but this song is genius.
Cons
A lot like the previous “Taylor’s Version” album, a lot of the cons apply from the previous album. Half of this album consists of the same album we already knew, and that album was very inconsistent, but with that said, The new version of Red is much better.
Verdict
Yes. Taylor should keep on releasing these versions because Taylor just creates an upgraded version of every album. I heard 1989 is next and I'm honestly looking forward to it.
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