1989 (Taylor’s version)
Verdict: Swifties won’t be disappointed
Her astonishing work ethic has put most other musicians on the planet to shame for years, and Taylor Swift continues to reign as pop’s most prolific singer-songwriter.
Her Eras tour is set to be the most lucrative in history, the film spin-off is shattering box office records and this year she has already re-recorded one of her early LPs in Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
Now she’s back with her second innovation of 2023 – an expanded version of her best-selling 1989 album, pictured.
Named after the year she was born, it sealed her transition from country to pop in 2014, replacing Nashville banjos and songs about high school crushes with ’80s-style electronica and adult lyrics. It sent her career stratospheric.
Swift, 33, is re-recording her first six LPs over a ownership issue, expertly replicating the original arrangements.
Taylor Swift returns with an expanded and updated version of her best-selling album, 1989
Swift, 33, re-records her first six LPs due to a copyright issue, expertly replicating the original arrangements
Her ‘Swifties’ have been eagerly awaiting this and they won’t be disappointed.
Her voice is now more mature, but these restorations generally stick to the original contours of the LP.
Most interesting, though, are the five “from the vault” songs that didn’t make the original cut, and they’re all equally gorgeous, taking the 1989 pop template and improving it with swooning melodies, backing singers, whip-smart lyrics and powerful hooks.
One song, Say Don’t Go, combines her diary-like lyrics with another songwriting giant in Diane Warren, queen of the power ballad. It builds up into an epic.
In contrast, despite that title, Slut! is a softer ballad in which Swift laments that it is she (and not any former lover) who is being publicly shamed for her romantic excesses: “If she calls me a ‘slut!’ call it, you I know it might be worth it for once,” she shrugs.
Slut! is, despite that title, a softer ballad in which Swift laments that it is she (rather than any former lover) who is being publicly shamed for her romantic excesses. Pictured: Taylor with former boyfriend Harry Styles
Another highlight is Now That We Don’t Talk, a love story that got out of hand in which Swift dryly discovers the positive side of a breakup (“I don’t have to pretend I like acid rock”).
When it was first released, 1989 won album of the year at the Grammys and turned Taylor into a superstar.
Nine years later it sounds better than ever.