Because I have no life, here are my track by track comments on 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Keep in mind that, until we get to the vault tracks, I’m not really commenting on the songs themselves — they’re all obviously amazing — but more on the strength (or lack thereof) of the rerecordings. Here we goooo:
Welcome To New York: Who cares? It sounds great imo — I will say that you can tell that she changed certain things (the layering, the harmonies) to make it sound “better” or more elevated. That’s fine here because no one gives a crap about this song, but don’t touch anything else Taylor!!
Blank Space: She sounds a little different during the verses, but I have to remind myself that she’s not a cyborg (allegedly). I already know that if I go on Twitter/Reddit, it’s going to be filled with people saying it sounds nothing like the original and there’s no way our ears will ever get used to it etc. etc., but just take several deep breaths. As Swifties, we’re bound to to pick up every tiny difference between TV and the original, but I think this is one that will sound natural in time. I will definitely miss “starbucks lovers” though.
Style: Oh. She’s been butchered…left for dead…drive by shooting…no survivors. That intro alone damn near knocked me out of my seat. Then the first verse was okay, but then the chorus…something’s off bestie. This feels like someone singing Style at a karaoke bar or something. This type of treatment is what she should be saving for the Welcome to New Yorks of the world, not one of her most iconic songs that both casual and and devoted fans adore. I need a moment…
Out Of The Woods: Okay thank God, this one is pretty much perfect. I’m deducting some points for overemphasizing that harmony during the bridge tho (that extra emphasis on “too soon”, “hospital room”etc…keep those background voices in the background pls). The bridges are sacred, Taylor, leave those things alone.
All You Had To Do Was Stay: It’s different. Still good, but different. Feels like there’s more of a beat in the chorus or something? This works for me though.
Shake It Off: The fact that this is still Taylor’s most successful song is so jarring lmao. It’s a little funny to hear her more mature voice on such a bubblegum type of song, but I’m not going to stand here and fault her for having worked on her singing voice.
I Wish You Would: Sounds good to me! I wish she would have left the pronunciation ambiguous on “stand back where you stood” (I’m still going to pretend it’s ‘stand back wasted’) but fine.
Bad Blood: I love vengeful Taylor and have always had a soft spot for this song. This is one that really benefits from her more flexible, mature voice — it’s the rare rerecording that is actually better than the original.
Wildest Dreams: This might actually be my favorite from 1989. It’s just so yearning and anguished, ugh kill me. I don’t think this sounds exactly like the original. Something’s going on with her voice, it sounds a little bit more…processed? Autotuned? Idk. However, I think she got the general vibe of the track down, and I’ve had no problem switching replacing the original with Taylor’s Version. Props to Taylor for nailing that same sense of desperation in the bridge (“burning. it. down…DOWN!!!!!” ugh so good).
How You Get The Girl: I always forget how this album legitimately has zero skips. This one sounds great, which is to be expected since you can tell it’s a bit of a lower lift than other tracks in terms of production.
This Love: This is one of those songs that I don’t listen to religiously, but I do love every time it comes up. Because the original is not forever imprinted in my brain, my reaction to this track is pretty positive.
I Know Places: Sing, Taylor!!! She sounds amaaaazing. That “and we run” at the end the second verse had me clutching my pearls. Does it sound a little different than the original? Yes, but this is a worthy rerecording, and our perception of those differences will fade with time.
Clean: As good as or perhaps even better than the original. Any slight changes in production or vocal performance (the delivery of “perfect storm” in the first verse, Imogen Heap coming in a little earlier than in the original) actually enhance the song. To me, one of the most important ways I judge each rerecording is if the big climactic moment hits as hard as in the original, which is def the case here (the moment is obviously Imogen Heap at the beginning of the final chorus…AAAAAAAAA THE RAIN!!!!!). Thank you Taylor!
Wonderland: I love Wonderland but I had my doubts about the rerecording, just because there’s so much going on in this song, especially with those eh-eh-ehs flying around all over the place. I will say, this is better than I expected, though not perfect. I don’t know if it’s her over-enunciating or what, but the whole flow of the song feels a tiny bit stilted. That being said, by the end of the song, when all fifteen different parts are firing away, she achieves the same euphoria of the original. Side question: why does she suddenly become British every time she says “wonderlaaaAAAAND”?
You Are In Love: Stunning. That little “he keeps a picture of you in his office downtown” lyric gets me every time. We won with this track except for Taylor’s inexplicable decision to add an extra “you are in love” right at the beginning of the bridge. Don’t touch the bridges, for the love of God!
New Romantics: I COULD BUILD A CASTLEE OUT OF ALL THE BRICKS THEY THREW AT MEEE. God, that might be the best lyric off the whole album. As for the new version…hmm. I think I can get used to this, but why did they decide to mix/layer her voice so differently? The new version sounds like there are three Taylors yelling at me at perfect unison. I need to hear one Taylor, and then keep the other little harmonies whispering in the background or what have you. It sucks the soul out of the song a little bit. (Update: I’m at the gym listening to this again and I’m already in love with the new version. Her power…)
In short, we need to take a Xanax and relax our expectations for the rerecordings to sound exactly the same as the originals. It’s impossible for her to replicate the sound to a tee, but let’s be real: they’re still the same songs, sung the same way, with the same arrangement, by the same singer. I went into this album with dread and trepidation because of what people were saying on social media, but tbh I think we pretty much made it out of the woods (don’t shoot me) with the severe exception of Style. Idk what she was thinking there…
Moving on!
Vault Tracks
Slut: Okay, this one was surprisingly good, I’ll give it to her. I really thought this was going to be some heinous “The Man” style 2012 Buzzfeed Feminist commentary, which I haaate when she goes down that road. That slapping-us-upside-the-head level of social commentary is so beneath her. This song, however, is actually very sweet and endearing — kind of like an adult “Ours” from Speak Now. I’m not going to lie, every time she actually says the word “slut” it kind of throws me off a little bit, but fine.
Say Don’t Go: Catchyyyy. It’s very All You Had To Do Was Stay. Kind of sounds like a Wilson Phillips song in the bit between the chorus and the bridge, which obviously fits the album’s vibe as a loose tribute to 80s music.
Now That We Don’t Talk: Absolutely SCATHING outro, but the rest of the song is a little forgettable for me. However, knowing how this relationship with Taylor works, I’ll be obsessed in a couple weeks.
Suburban Legends: When Mastermind meets Questions…this is clearly a song from Midnights lmao. Not just the production, but also the lyrics: Taylor just wasn’t doing all this lyrically (“flush with the currency of cool”) in the 1989 era. It was a simpler time…she had to lure the general public over with Style and Shake It Off before she could hit them upside the head with Cardigan and Willow. The way Taylor lies to us about these vault tracks is so toxic, I can’t with her (still worship her though).
Is It Over Now: Ohhh she’s good. This is Taylor’s sweet spot that no one else can touch: while there are a lot of sad people writing songs out there (*ahem* Phoebe Bridgers), and there are a lot of pop musicians who can craft a catchy melody, there are very few people who have Taylor’s gift to create a song that is catchy/upbeat, yet at the same times makes you want to throw yourself off a cliff. God, there is NOTHING like an upbeat melancholy song. Lyrically, it’s fabulous. I love poetic Taylor, but sometimes those perfectly simple lyrics — “you search in every model’s bed for something greater” — hit SO good. Also, I will never stop clutching my pearls whenever Taylor alludes to the possibility that she may have ever touched a man (“when he unbuttons my blouse”?? THE SCANDAL).
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