Release Date: April 9th, 2021
Genre: Country pop
I don't have a personal connection to Taylor Swift's music. I was a few years remove from high school so her music didn't help heal me, or teach me life lessons. In fact, I gave her music a chance because I wanted to make fun of it, but instead, she made me feel like I've been there before. I won't get into the details about her reclaiming her masters. Any fan of Taylor's will know that it's better to stream this album, and it's really cool how faithful it is to the originals, except the instrumentals are clearer, and her voice sounds wiser. Although not the ideal circumstance, she gets to do something most artist never get to do, she gets to rewrite her narrator and celebrate her music again with her fans. Her albums didn't get much coverage on year end's best of list, but now she's taken very seriously.
Review: As for the original 13 songs on Fearless, nostalgia is a huge factor. Back then, I didn't think this was a perfect album, in fact, I had it ranked in the top 30s on my year-end list because yes, there were all catchy songs, but I also thought the music was very plain. Still, I remember hearing "Fifteen" and the line, "It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here for the next four year in this town," just hearing her voice travel through those words painted this very vivid image for me of what it was like to be young and innocent, and thought i didn't care about a senior boy, I think we all had high hopes for what high school could be, and so, that was the moment I became a believer in her.
I'm obviously not a girl, but her honest diary-like lyrics are universally relatable. When I say the music feels plain, it's because I feel like music is just the foundation, but it's the way Taylor sings and creates the melodies, like the way she hums on "Hey Stephen" or the way she's reminiscing on "The Best Day" and the words just magically rhymes. It felt effortless to me.
I've known about the platinum edition of Fearless, but I barely touched them, they sound like b-sides to me. I will say that I've always loved the piano version of "Forever & Always" and I somehow have never heard "The Other Side of the Door," but that ending is amazing. Because it's part of the Fearless complete story, it's good to have.
As for the 6 "from the vault" songs, it's cool because they sound new and old at the same time. "You All Over Me" has "Clean" vibes all over, at least lyrically. It's also funny how when people break up, they'll say they want the other person to be happy, but "Mr. Perfectly Fine" and "Don't You" are songs where it actually hurts to see the other person be okay. I know it's not something adults should admit, but it's an honest human emotion to not want to see the other person move on before you.
Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. Fearless 7/10
2. Fifteen 9/10
3. Love Story 10/10
4. Hey Stephen 9/10
5. White Horse 8/10
6. You Belong with Me 10/10
7. Breathe 10/10
8. Tell Me Why 8/10
9. You're Not Sorry 8/10
10. The Way I Loved You 7/10
11. Forever & Always 10/10
12. The Best Day 10/10
13. Change 6/10
14. Jump Then Fall 7/10
15. Untouchable 6/10
16. Forever & Always (piano version) 10/10
17. Come in with the Rain 5/10
18. Superstar 5/10
19. The Other Side of the Door 8/10
20. Today Was a Fairytale 7/10
21. You All Over Me 8/10
22. Mr. Perfectly Fine 9/10
23. We Were Happy 6/10
24. That's When 8/10
25. Don't You 9/10
26. Bye Bye Baby 5/10
Summary: The songs are clearer, the vocals are more mature, but these were all the songs Taylor was working on during Fearless. Before Folklore, Fearless was my favorite Taylor Swift album, but I had to admit, I felt the production was a bit outdated due to her squeaky voice. Now that that is fixed, I prefer this version. I would give the original 13 songs a 10, but as a whole, it brings it down a bit.
Key Tracks: Love Story, You Belong with Me, Forever & Always, Mr. Perfectly Fine, Don't You
Rating: 8/10
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