Image Credits: Rolling Stone
Taylor Swift is one of the music industry’s most successful, beloved artists, and her incredible accomplishments throughout the past couple years have shown just that. After surprising her fans in 2020 with the release of two new albums, titled Folklore and Evermore, Taylor began to fulfill her previously announced goal of releasing re-recorded versions of her older albums. Taylor’s motives for releasing these re-records include more than just amusing her fans (although, that’s surely an added bonus) - there’s a history behind her latest achievements.
It all begins with Big Machine Records, the label that Taylor had previously worked with, from her self-titled debut album to Reputation. The CEO of the label, Scott Borchetta, did not allow Taylor to buy her masters unless she entered a new contract with Big Machine. Taylor did not take this offer because she knew that Big Machine Records would eventually be sold, and she did not want her future work to be under the label’s control. After preventing Taylor from buying the rights to her music, Borchetta sold Big Machine Records to a label owned by Scooter Braun; according to Taylor, Borchetta knew that she faced mistreatment from Braun and his clients, but went ahead with the sale anyway.
This meant that both Borchetta and Braun would profit from any usage of Taylor’s first six albums, so she decided to take back the ownership of her music by re-recording her older songs. Back in 2019, Taylor announced this decision to re-record her older albums, causing lots of pride and excitement among her fans.
In February 2021, Taylor revealed that Fearless, her sophomore album, would be the first re-recorded album available to fans. Released on April 9th, 2021, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) includes a total of 27 tracks. 6 of these songs were“from the vault,” as Taylor says. This means that they were written during the Fearless era, but did not make the original album; these never-before-released songs became known as “vault tracks.”
Then, on June 18th, 2021, Taylor took fans by surprise by announcing that Red (Taylor’s Version) would come out in November. With 30 songs total, the album includes 9 vault tracks - and even the original, 10 minute version of fan favorite “All Too Well.” The Red (Taylor’s Version) era even included an “All Too Well” short film, starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien, as well as a music video (directed by Blake Lively, might I add) for a vault track titled I Bet You Think About Me.
East’s Opinions
Favorite Re-Recorded Album (So Far)
The majority of students and teachers who responded to the survey chose Red (Taylor’s Version) over Fearless. Many respondents also provided the reasoning behind their choice.
Devika Nair summed up the magic of Red (Taylor’s Version): “although Taylor has taken creative license to modernize some of the production of the songs off of Red, everything else about the songs has stayed true to the essence of the album. Taylor knows that her voice has matured, and that her vocal technique has gotten better, which is why one of the things that I love about the re-recordings is that she does not try to imitate her 22 year old voice, but instead adds more maturity to her songs. Additionally, like many of the songs from her debut album, most of the songs on Red are about love, heartbreak, and aspirations. However, unlike when she released these albums, Taylor has gone through life changing experiences that she has learned from and can now look back upon, which adds a different perspective to the new re-records.”
Many Red fans said that the album had much better vault tracks than Fearless. One student says, “the Red songs have always been closer to my heart than Fearless (though Fearless is still absolutely amazing), and of the vault songs I loved Red TV's 10x more. The release week of Red TV was also amazing with so many interviews, the All Too Well Short Film, the I Bet You Think About Me MV, and more.”
Ms. Giunta prefers Red because “All Too Well 10 minute version is the best song Taylor has ever created,” and Dominique Dillard notes that Red includes more genres of music than Fearless. Prisylla Schultze also believes in the superiority of Red because of Taylor’s “inclusion of more features,” with special emphasis on Phoebe Bridgers in “Nothing New.”
One respondent claims to be Jake Gyllenhaal. After choosing Red as his favorite re-recorded album, he added, “I didn’t listen to it, but it better not include me.”
While Red earned the most votes, some respondents prefer Fearless. Ella Prieto says, “I think it was super special as it was her first one. Additionally, everyone has always loved Red while Fearless is rarely given the credit it deserves so I enjoyed seeing everyone excited for it.” Jacob Samuel chose Fearless because of “songs like ‘You Belong with Me’ and ‘Love Story’ and ‘The Way I Loved You.’”
(Personally, I have to agree with the majority here. As much as I love Fearless, the Red vault tracks are my favorites.)
Favorite Vault Tracks
Out of the 15 vault tracks from Fearless and Red (Taylor’s Version), one of them was especially popular: the 10 minute version of “All Too Well.” In years past, she had mentioned this unreleased original version of the popular song, and fans knew that the re-recordings would give her a chance to release it. So, it’s not a surprise that 16 respondents mentioned “All Too Well” (10 Minute Version) when asked about their favorite vault track. Jake-Gyllenhaal-impersonator says, “the one about me, Jake Gyllenhaal,” later adding, “my new scarf is awesome.”
With 7 votes, “Message in a Bottle” was another favorite among the survey respondents. 6 people chose “Nothing New,” and “The Very First Night” received 4 votes. “I Bet You Think About Me” and “Forever Winter” were also mentioned. “Mr. Perfectly Fine” seems to be the most popular vault track from Fearless (Taylor’s Version).
“All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” is my top most-streamed song from the last 6 months, so… I think that speaks for itself.
Highly Anticipated Future Re-Recordings
By far, this question received the most divided responses. Speak Now got the most votes, with 1989 and Reputation following closely behind. While Taylor’s self-titled debut album came in last, some respondents are the most excited for its release.
Angie Saltzburg says, “Speak Now was my childhood. I would dance around my room listening to the album on my hello kitty CD player. Today, Never Grow Up is even more impactful after moving out of my old house and going through experiences I hadn't even thought about when I was young.” Prisylla Schultze adds, “I saw the Speak Now tour when I was little, and it is my all time favorite Taylor Swift album.”
Devika Nair looks forward to Reputation (Taylor’s Version) because of the story behind this particular album, calling it “the ultimate ‘when life gives you lemons’ story.” Devika says, “by the end of the album, Taylor is able to assess her broken reputation and discover redemption in the new found love she had gained through all of this chaos.” Alex F writes, “I am SO EXCITED for reputation vault tracks, and I also want to see what she does with the production.”
To justify her choice, Gibby Bartenstein states, “1989 is elite.” John Fosbenner also chose 1989, stating, “1989 is the most nostalgic track for me, and is also one of my favorite albums from her. The songs are really catchy, and it's overall just a great time.” Jacob Samuel explains his excitement for the album by saying, “I need to hear Blank Space and Style ASAP.”
What’s Next?
Taylor Swift fans love to speculate about what she’s releasing next, and she is known for subtly hinting at her next move. So, I knew that East’s Taylor fans may have their own predictions about the third re-recording.
Unsurprisingly, as fans have been noticing a lot of supposed hints towards this album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) was East’s top prediction. Jacob Samuel notes that his TikTok “is full of Speak Now theories.” However, Taylor’s easter eggs were not the only reason why respondents guessed Speak Now; Walker Holman says, “Speak Now because this one is my fav and I know she knows that it’s my fav so she will definitely announce it next.” Devika Nair also theorizes that Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is up next; however, she adds, “honestly, you never know what is going on in blondie’s brain.”
Alex F predicts that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is next: “If she goes with the rollout she has been for her last 2 re recordings, we should expect an announcement in February and then an album drop in June. Because 1989 is more of a summer album, it would make more sense then if speak now dropped. Also because when she released her signed CD's, the price for Fearless was $19.89 and then the price for Red was $20.10. Since the 1989 related price came before Speak Now price, it makes sense that 1989 would come first.”
Molly Heumann agrees: “She may announce 1989 first before Speak Now because she announced Red TV in like September at the beginning of fall and it was released like mid fall/early winter so we had it just in time for the season. I think she will announce 1989 in maybe February or March and release it in May or June in time for summer.”
Whatever album Taylor decides to release next, it will undoubtedly bring lots of joy to her fans, including those of us at East!
Image Credits: Glamour
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