In the past 10 months, singer and songwriter Taylor Swift has blessed the ears of her fans across the nation by releasing two albums, and her most recent release proves she doesn’t plan on stopping. Swift continues to establish her formidable position in the music industry with her recent release of her 2008 hit album rerecording “Fearless: Taylor’s Version,” with the addition of unreleased songs from the vault. Despite Swift taking on the challenging task of not only recreating her original album but topping it, the singer excels in all areas of this rerecording and has fans continuing to dance and scream the lyrics to songs released 13 years ago.
While the album sticks to the country pop genre and sounds that Swift has since moved away from, Swift incorporated subtle changes throughout her tracks, these being anything from note changes to different-sounding laughs. Additionally, long-time fans may notice the growth in her voice as she has matured, with her vocals becoming smoother and the instrumentals becoming more compelling. Despite being so minute, these altercations add to the overall improvement of the album, which emphasizes Swift’s musical evolution.
Swift may never be able to bring back the overpowering emotions felt towards the original album upon its first release. However, “Taylor’s Version” still makes its mark through drawing in the marvel of “Fearless” while also adding sprinkles of nostalgia for the early 2000s and slight contemporary twists that reignites the excitement of listeners.
Despite being the only true new songs in the album, the six unreleased tracks from the vault were not momentous or worth any overdramatic praise. They blend in with the tone of the rest of the album, yet still continuing that nostalgic feeling that makes fans miss 2000s country Taylor. Nonetheless, it was intriguing to listen to the songs that have sat unheard for so long, and the tracks still achieve the same vibe as the released songs in the album and follow the same beautiful story telling style that Swift is known for.
Because the rerecordings only subtly changed from the originals, I can still say that “Hey Stephen” and “Forever and Always” are by far my favorite two songs in the album. However, the altercations to the two songs, although small, made the songs so much better. Her deeper vocals and smoother transition between beats and lyrics made the tracks not only more enjoyable to listen to, but also produced a stronger delivery of the tone and lines.
Of the songs from the vault, “Mr. Perfectly Fine” earns the most gold stars in terms of production, music and message. It matches the “Fearless” era seamlessly with its upbeat sounds and topics of painful love. Additionally, the track takes an empowering stand against toxic, player men, encouraging women to never settle for less and to respect themselves enough to drop this negative part of their lives.
“Fearless: Taylor’s Version” continues to display Swift’s extraordinary capabilities as a singer, songwriter and artist as she reworks an old album and still brings back part of the emotional response from when it was first released. Despite this album being a rerecording, Swift brought fans new excitement, old nostalgia and one hour and 46 minutes of musical and vocal talent. Now, fans and I, across the nation, are sitting on the edge of our seats, hungry for more of whatever Swift has to offer.