Last Friday, Taylor Swift re-released her album “Red,” and fans have been swooning ever since. Not only is the album full of some familiar songs, but there are ten new ones! Everyone across social media is celebrating and rightfully so. This re-release marks another opportunity for Taylor Swift to own her own music and give her ardent fans a chance to support her. In this review, I’m going to be discussing some of the most significant songs off the album, as well as the album as a whole.
Let’s start with the inarguably greatest song on the album: “All Too Well”, the 10-minute version. For those of you who have watched the short film, you get what I’m saying. Not only does this song set the tone for the entire album, but it holds a special place in the hearts of fans. This song is ideal for a good cry, as my friends and I can attest to. Even though the ten minutes go by so fast, it also makes it feel like we get three songs in one! “All Too Well” just gets better with age.
Another song we have to discuss is the re-recording of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” I have to start off by saying, I’m not classically trained in music, and I don’t really have an ear for it. So if there are subtle differences in the re-recorded Taylor Swift songs up to this point, I haven’t noticed them. However, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” absolutely sounds different, but not in a bad way, I promise. Taylor’s version is slightly deeper, perhaps a little mature. It’s only something that a decades-long fan would notice, and it’s not enough to change the tone of the song. Yet it’s a fun little Easter egg for fans to speculate over. Perhaps Taylor just wanted the song to sound differently and chose to sing it a new way, or maybe it was unintentional. Either way, this song will never not slap.
Now it’s time to talk about some of the newer, more light-hearted songs on the album. Two of my personal favorites are “Girl At Home” and “Babe.” The cute, upbeat lyrics and background music are reminiscent of Taylor’s music on the albums 1989 and Lover. However, some of the lyrics this time around are clever and wittier. The fun tunes get stuck in your head, and you won’t be able to stop singing them. I especially bring up these two songs because I haven’t seen anyone talking about them yet on social media! And why not? These underrated songs are total bops.
Two of my favorite bittersweet new songs off the album are “Better Man” and “Forever Winter.” Unpopular opinion alert: these two songs made me feel as, if not more, sad as “All Too Well” did. I think it’s because I relate more to the themes in these two songs. Immediately as soon as “Better Man” started playing (I recommend using headphones for the ideal listening experience), I knew it would quickly become one of my all-time favorite Taylor songs. As someone who identifies as asexual, the lyrics “I’m probably better off on my own,” really struck a chord with me. As for “Forever Winter,” the lyric that crushed my heart was: “Too young to know it gets better.” While you can read into this song a lot of different ways, I interpret it to be about a guy struggling with his mental health, and his girlfriend trying her best to help him. There’s something so haunting and relatable about these lyrics, at least for me personally.
There you have it folks! “Red” is the best album for your ideal autumn transitioning into winter listening experience. What’s your favorite song from the album? Make sure to share it with us!