Taylor's Versions

For those who aren’t aware, Taylor Swift is in the process of re-recording her first six albums.

My hope for the re-recordings was that they would be as similar to the originals as possible. I’ve never been a fan of remixes, and Taylor’s old songs in particular hold such a sacred place for so many people. I was very afraid that we’d end up with pop versions of country songs that would just sound like garbage, and that’s probably the worst case scenario. I wanted to be able to listened to the re-recorded songs instead of the originals, not have them as supplemental versions.

While the originals will always hold a special place in my heart, from what we’ve heard so far, I think I’ll be able to make a clean break from them, and leave them in the past to prevent Taylor’s bullies from profiting off of their underhanded deal to buy her music out from under her.

The first re-recorded song to be released was “Love Story,” and it sounds incredible. It’s so similar to the original that you may not notice it isn’t the original, but once you’re clued in, you can hear subtle differences, like the more present violin in the chorus, and a few words that Swift pronounces ever so slightly differently. On the whole, her voice is smoother and more mature, but the song is just as authentic as ever. It’s nostalgic, it really feels like you’re revisiting a moment in time.

The album artwork is great, it’s a similar pose to the original album, and it makes use of the yellow/gold color, but it too is more mature. Like the other albums Taylor owns, the cover does not feature her name.

The rest of the re-recorded “Fearless” album comes out April ninth, and you can go ahead and pre-order/pre-add it to your library here.