Does Miss Swift ever go out of style? It would be difficult to argue that Taylor’s explosive takeover of the music industry is anything but trendy in nature – from her economy-boosting and ‘tik-tokified’ eras tour to her endless churning out of re-recordings, Taylor has practically hand-stitched her own name into the tapestry of music greats. As a self-confessed Taylor junkie, I know more than anyone how important 1989’s rerecording is to this ongoing baptism of Taylor as the official pop goddess. To Swifties, 1989 is pop gospel. We simply must start our days with a coffee, a shower, and an incantation of New Romantics. 1989 was Taylor’s first foray into pop, ditching her cowboy boots and slamming screen door for a tight little skirt and plenty of attitude. While ‘Red’ demonstrated Taylor’s curiosity in the genre, 1989 planted two high-heeled shoes, a questionable bob, and a whole host of Victoria’s Secret model friends firmly in the world of pop culture. 1989 simply exists as the bedrock for Taylor’s commercial success and popularisation leading right up to Midnights.
Basically, it’s a pretty big deal.
Needless to say, tracks such as Blank Space and Shake it Off have become radio anthems and club classics, making their re-recordings seem like a far bigger deal than the lesser-known tracks of ‘Fearless’ or ‘Speak Now’. While I could talk all day, and quite frankly write a whole thesis, on the significance of 1989 to Taylor’s discography, the exploration of whether 1989 (Taylor’s Version) lives up to its clearly groundbreaking predecessor awaits.
The Big Hitters
Welcome to New York
Taylor’s ‘Welcome to New York’ has always served its place as a typical tin-can opener of a track – a necessary entry step that allowed us to sink our teeth into the real goods of the album. This is not to say that ‘Welcome to New York’ wasn’t… well… welcome, but it certainly never existed as anything more than a way to tell us that Taylor is not a country bumpkin anymore. There’s a ‘young and free’ injection, however, in Taylor’s version. Whether it be because we are simply channeling the fresh-start message of the song in listening to a new version of it, or because of the vastly improved quality of the synth-heavy backing track throughout, ‘Welcome to New York’ is now way less skippable.
Out of the Woods
Out of the Woods produces some of the most clear and clever changes of the entire album – every note is louder, brighter, and smoother than before. Swift’s own backing vocals make the song feel far more layered, haunting, and intentionally disorientating; paired with Antonoff’s own vocals the chorus excels as a well-tuned symphony. The bridge (oh the iconic bridge) shatters this synergy, leaving Taylor alone at the fore, but a shattered jewel will always glimmer and, undoubtedly, Taylor reinvents it with gleaming ease. It remains a diamond in her collection.
I Know Places
The most underrated track of the whole record is finally getting the recognition it deserves in this version. Taylor launches her whole being into this track, proven by her growl when she snarls out the lyrics ‘we run’. There is a sense of unparalleled attack in this track that wasn’t there before, which finally compliments the hunter versus prey theme that the song hinges upon. The highlight of course though is the reverb added to the final ‘I’ in the classic monosyllabic trilogy, which feels so 2010s but so perfectly Taylor at the same time. If you are looking for subtle, embellishing changes I Know Places is perfect.
Clean
My favorite track of 1989 did not disappoint, despite being the most noticeably altered in my opinion. Indeed, Clean feels so changed it feels as though Taylor threw out the original record and started all over again. Her voice sits beautifully in its lower register in a way it never did nine years prior, but she somehow maintains an airy, light feel to her vocals. It is breathy yet strong, innocent yet seductive, sad yet cheerful – Clean manages to coalesce forces and feelings that seem impossible and unprecedented for Swift in an elegant manner reminiscent of ‘Enchanted’. It’s just one big breath of fresh air in an 80s-inspired synth-heavy set.
Ok… I’m not sold
Blank Space
Blank Space is still Blank Space (phew). It’s still an anthem. It still has its iconic powerful beat. However, while I wanted to love the new (apparently muted) pen click, I could only just about like it and everything that comes with it. Taylor’s mature vocals add something crisp to the track, but it lacks the punch and excitement that Blank Space once held. Taylor sings with what can only be described as a sense of apathy towards singledom in this version that detracts from the feeling of the song. A very near miss.
Shake it Off
Okay so shoot me if you want but Shake it Off has never been a favorite of mine. I find the bridge cringey and clunky at best, and as someone who values Swift’s penmanship and lyrical genius Shake it Off has never really done it for me. However, like most of this album, the song seemed refreshed in nature. Taylor’s apparent fun during re-recording emanates through the track and it sonically backs this up. The drums are neater and louder giving an all-round fuller sound, but honestly, it’s still just Shake it Off so take from that what you will.
New Romantics
I actually don’t think I can even talk about the changes to this song yet. It’s simply too painful. Taylor did something bad!
My New Obsessions
Slut!
Despite obvious feelings that this song would be a damning misogynist critique, it is instead an ode to Harry Styles. The song has been sonically compared to False God, and it certainly does have that relaxed sultry vibe to it. However, I must say ‘Slut!’ is my least favourite of all the vault tracks, I find the melody quite dreary and the lyrics mediocre amongst Swift’s others. It’s a mid-song, sadly, despite there being a lot of satisfaction in Taylor saying ‘Slut’ this much.
Say Don’t Go
Say Don’t Go is arguably the best of the new tracks – catchy, power ballad-esque, heartbreaking. Taylor’s vocals reach new heights, and deliciously new lows, and the production is far more mellow (it basically just doesn’t have 50 screaming synths at once). It encapsulates the feeling of 1989 perfectly whilst adding another deeper layer of heartbreak to this era that rarely comes across in the hits of the album. I have already added it to my surprise song wishlist.
Now That We Don’t Talk
An unusually short song for a woman who is primarily known for her ten-minute monologue of All Too Well, ‘Now That We Don’t Talk’ is a simple, short message about hearing the gossip about your ex after a breakup and not being able to talk to them about it. Swift encompasses, yet again, the universality of essentially stalking your ex (even though I somehow feel the experience would be grossly different if I had the pleasure of it being Harry Styles). As you can gather, we really get far more of an insight into the muse of the album in the vault tracks, and while the production of the song is fluid and brings clarity to the meaning, I can’t help but wonder how the lyrics would fit in a more melancholy melody. A top hit regardless (by the way, she says ‘acid rock’ not ‘As It Was’, it’s easy to get confused!)
Suburban Legends
My best friend said that this song reminded her of Lorde’s Melodrama and I couldn’t agree more; Taylor Swift said “take five” and Jack Antonoff heard “change lives”. In my opinion, Suburban Legends adds the biggest genre difference to the album – I feel like I’m a pinball bashing around in a musical machine, ricocheting off of several different unique sounds creating one big, unhinged track. However, our jumping Jack still manages to extract a sense of energetic euphoria from it all and Taylor once again delivers a level of genius that would scare my professors. She really is a suburban legend and I’m standing in a 1950s gymnasium just for her (I’m yet to decipher this lyric so any help would be appreciated).
Is It Over Now?
There was always going to be at least one scathing, brutal vault track, and ‘Is It Over Now?’ is it. Wild screams could be heard from across the world at Taylor’s acknowledgment of the blue dress meme and the calling out of Mr. Styles for searching in ‘every model’s bed for something greater’. Although the highlight must be the sigh of relief, we all exhaled when we realized Taylor is truly one of us and considers doing insane stunts to get someone’s attention. ‘Is It Over Now?’ is really a Harry and Taylor 101 lesson that should be compulsory for all baby swifties. The opening sample from Midnights is a lovely production touch, linking the beginning of her pop dynasty to its current ancestor.
It is this link that leads me to say this: 1989 has been significantly upgraded, but is also definitely midnight-coded. Taylor’s vocals are delightfully stronger, most of the production choices are just simply better and the vault tracks bring a sense of full circle to the album that was lacking before. Nonetheless, the vault tracks in particular seem to echo Swift’s newer pop material, which personally I love, but I have seen many critiques. While it may seem like I’ve gone on and on about how the album has changed so much, in truth most of the alterations concern small tone shifts and the loss of Taylor’s country lilt, in reality I think Taylor rightly decided to not mess with an album that has already been canonized in the pop genre.
1989 can never be buried. It is, as always, a pop bible (although I must say the 1980s feel was a bit played out, sorry Taylor even a God gets it wrong sometimes).