(Taylor’s Version): Is It Worth It?
By Laurel Sanders
No artist has ever pulled off a re-release on the scale or with the success of Taylor Swift. A name nearly impossible to ignore, Swift has managed the unthinkable by retracing her discography and reclaiming it, album by album, on her journey to full ownership, which officially began with Lover in 2019.
The saga between Swift and music executive Scooter Braun is a long, textbook example of the music industry’s flaws and the ways artists are exploited. While the details are murky and perspectives vary, one key fact remains: Swift had the option to buy back her masters, but under a deal that required her to record a new album for each one she reclaimed, all under Big Machine Records. The cost? Six more albums tethered to a label she no longer trusted. The price was too steep. So, she found another way.
Taking a page from Kelly Clarkson’s suggestion, Swift embarked on a bold endeavor—re-recording her first six albums as Taylor’s Version, complete with refreshed album covers and never-before-heard From the Vault tracks as an extra incentive for fans. The outcome? A win-win: Swifties get new content from their favorite eras, and Swift cashes in on her own terms.
But was it all worth it?
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Let’s start with the first album to be re-released. Fearless initially released in 2008 was originally 53 minutes long, Taylor’s version is 1hr and 46 minutes long. Adding almost an additional hour of content to an album that was released 13 years prior. But is what’s being added any good? 6 songs were released (From the Vault) and I can confidently say… one is good. Well not good, fantastic. “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is the fan favorite from the album and rightfully so. The production and premise is just so incredibly fun. And not only is it catchy but it perfectly blends with the innocence and soul of the original Fearless album. The rest of the vault songs are bad or at least uninteresting. Even with attempts to make them more gripping through collabs with Keith Urban and Maren Morris, they still ultimately fall flat. My favorite aspect of the rerelease is the new album cover. Playing off of the album’s biggest hit song “Love Story”, Taylor visually reimagines this narrative. Instead of being dressed as the princess waiting for marriage, she now stands in a billowing white shirt, serving as the romantic lead to whisk her away. Yet she remains true to the original, with her face to the side and her curls flying in every direction as if hit by a magical gust of wind. To me it’s a perfect rebrand, slightly more mature but honoring the original’s intention. But when it comes to the music, for the most part it makes sense why all those songs were cut to begin with.
The next album to be rereleased was Red, which arguably was the most heavily marketed out of the re-releases. Primarily because suddenly there were releases of not one but two new music videos. One of which was for the iconic release of “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” which ultimately led to the failed Oscar campaign for Taylor Swift’s work directing the short film. In general, this rerelease got more people’s attention and Taylor Swift more and more became a topic of conversation. In terms of vault songs, there is a huge leap of quality from Fearless’s vault. It then makes sense that Swift was seemingly prouder of this album and wanted to draw more attention marketing wise. There are three collaborations which are the best collabs of any of the (Taylor’s Version) albums. “Run (ft: Ed Sheeran)” is exactly what you picture a Sheeran and Swift collab to be, cute harmonies and an acoustic background. “I Bet You Think About Me (Ft: Chris Stapleton)” got the second music video directed by Blake Lively and starring Miles Teller. A classic slow country ballad which feels like the early prototype for “Mean”. Lastly, “Nothing New (ft: Phoebe Bridgers)” seems so modern and it’s astonishing for me to think of young Swift writing this prophetic song back in 2012. The use of Bridgers is also a brilliant tool both vocally and story wise. “Babe”, “The Very First Night”, and “Message In a Bottle” definitely have a younger, poppy sound which is probably why they were originally cut from the edgier vibe Swift was hoping for with Red. Nonetheless, I love these childish love songs and am glad for their release into the world. Conversely songs such as “Forever Winter” and “Better Man” are honestly the weakest of these vault songs and were probably cut due to quality. Lastly, to address the ten minute song of it all. Yes, I think it’s brilliant. Yes, I think it’s maybe her best written song. And yes, I always listen to the 10 minute version. The heartbreaking story she tells grows stronger and more vivid every time I listen to “All Too Well” and the music video just perfectly encapsulates those feelings. Ultimately, Red (Taylor’s Version) was a huge treat for long-time fans and provided not only good songs but music videos and extended cuts.
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Speak Now is a personal favorite album of mine, the teenage angst, the electric guitar…The fact she wrote this entire album by herself between the ages of 18-20 is honestly one of her biggest musical achievements. Controversially, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is the first re-release to actually change original lyrics. The song “Better Than Revenge” hasn’t necessarily aged perfectly and clearly did not sit well with Swift in the year 2023. The original line “She’s not a saint / And she’s not what you think / She’s an actress, whoa / But she’s better known / For the things that she does / On the mattress, whoa” does appear to be a millimeter away from straight up slut-shaming. Swift cleverly changed the lyrics to “She’s an actress, whoa / He was a moth to the flame / She was holding the matches, whoa” Which works within the story she is telling and feels less aggressive than the original. I actually really respect Swift recognizing a past mistake, especially as a singer who has closely tied herself to feminism. However, I think this line change is unnecessary and a detriment to the song. She was writing these songs during her messy teenage years and I think the new versions should stay true to those feelings instead of rewriting the past. Most girls at one point in their life have pointed their finger at another woman and been less than kind. I think if Swift today at age 35 wrote such a lyric it might be inappropriate and bizarre. But listening to this teenage girl rip her heart out and put honest pen to paper is relatable and fun. Personally, I will alway listen to the original version. In terms of Vault songs they basically all suck. There are two collaborations “Electric Touch (ft: Fall Out Boy)” and “Castles Crumbling (ft: Hayley Williams)”. However they are equally frustrating because these are two artists who perfectly match the Speak Now aesthetic yet in these songs they are given basically nothing to work with. The one saving grace of the vault songs was “I Can See You” which got its own music video. The premise being that Taylor Lautner and Joey King are conducting a heist to break Taylor out of a literal vault. It is honestly the most ridiculous and outrageous music video, screaming 2010s. But it’s fun and ultimately the only Vault Song worth listening to. Reflecting on this album as a whole, as a big fan of Speak Now this did not feel like a win.
1989 might be THE quintessential pop album of the 21st century. At the time of release, however I definitely wasn’t a fan of hers or maybe I just wasn’t a fan of “Shake It off” which seemed to be haunting me everywhere. But as Taylor’s first true rebrand into pure unadulterated pop music, 1989 was definitely a phenomenon. And true enough 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is just the crème de la crème of Vault Songs. It’s insane to me that any of these were cut in the first place. “Is it Over Now?” Is truly one of her best breakup songs ever. But all of them “Slut!”, “Say Don’t Go”, “Now That We Don’t Talk”, “Suburban Legends”, they are all top tier songs that could’ve even stood alone as singles. And many feel like foreshadowing for the type of pop music she would return to in Midnights. Personally, I can only feel grateful for the Scooter Braun debacle because it ultimately brought these songs to light. In terms of the rest of the album, there was definitely some pushback from fans in terms of production. I think a lot of the times with these re-releases there is always a little something lost, her voice is literally older and different, the sound production can’t be replicated to a T. But Swift does a pretty good job all things considered. But a good example of this change is “Style” and it makes sense why even some of her most die-hard fans would still choose to listen to the original. In terms of reshoots and album covers, this one has the most bizarre drastic change. Swift seems adamant on gaslighting her fans into believing 1989 was always a summer, beach album. When the opening song is literally “Welcome to New York” and the aesthetic was abundantly shitty Polaroids of friends and parties. I’m not sure why she made this change, but ultimately these vault songs are some of her biggest creative successes.
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The next two rereleases Swifties are waiting for are Reputation and Swift’s debut album Taylor Swift. It looks like she will end this process by starting at the beginning with her first album. Which means Reputation is coming out next and as a fan favorite album, the vault songs are long-anticipated. I think it’s clear that sometimes these re-releases are unsuccessful in terms of if fans are getting bang for their buck. Personally, Fearless and Speak Now did not stand out to me and left more to be desired. Conversely, Red and 1989 expanded upon the previous album and lore in such a powerful way it’s hard to think of the original version. Regardless they were all insanely successful. Taylor was able to reclaim her own music on her own terms which is incredibly rare not just for women but for artists in general. I can think of very few other artists with fans this dedicated, that re-recorded albums would do so popular to the extent that they land back in the charts. And it’s not just the Swifties, radio shows pretty consistently use (Taylor’s Version) when they play her old music. In general, there’s been an overwhelming amount of support for this process. It’s definitely unconventional and at times I believe falls short of providing new content or staying true to original albums. But there’s also so much to love and I love to see a woman succeed. It’s the year of the Snake and Reputation is up next, crossing my fingers it holds up to the hype.
