Taylor Swift’s best-selling album was rereleased on Oct. 27, 2023. “1989” was Swift’s first big pop album when it was released in 2014. With some of the decade’s biggest hits like “Shake It Off,” “Style,” “Wildest Dreams” and “Bad Blood.”
Let’s start with that essential question: why is she re-recording in the first place? 1989 is the fourth re-recorded album of Swift’s, accompanied by “Fearless,” “Red” and “Speak Now.”
On June 14, 2019, Taylor Swift’s former studio, Big Machine, fell into chaos. All of her masters fell into a legal conundrum and were bought by owner Scooter Braun. So although Taylor’s name is credited on the albums, and although they are her creative work and design, all albums before her seventh, Lover, are not legally hers. And she wants them back: hence Taylor’s Version was born. Coined in 2021, the term refers to any album that Swift has re-recorded and in turn, rebranded as her own.
“When something says Taylor’s Version in parenthesis, it means I own it,” Swift said in an interview with Seth Myers.
On Oct. 27, 2023, Taylor Swift released, arguably, her most risky re-recording yet: “1989 Taylor’s Version.” Sitting on the billboard nearly since their releases, “Bad Blood,” “Shake it Off,” “Blank Space” and “Style” are commonly regarded as Swiftie essentials; so an attempt to take them back takes guts.
In the nine years since “1989” was initially released, Swift has improved technically as a singer. This is especially apparent in “Shake It Off (Taylor’s Version).” Her enunciation makes the song easier to understand which improves the quality of one of her most famous songs.
With higher production values and even stronger vocals, Swift’s 1989 Era is back. From the synthetic opener “Welcome to New York” to the peppy finale “New Romantics,” the original re-recorded tracks hold the same charm and memory as their stolen counterparts, but with a cleaner modern flair. They are the same, yet so different.
In addition to the rerecorded “1989” songs, music from the vault was included in “1989 (Taylor’s Version).” These songs had not been previously released and expanded upon an incredible album. Titles like “Now That We Don’t Talk” and “Is It Over Now?” are near the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and are putting “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” in the number one spot.
With painfully relatable lyrics, Swift stitches up a narrative, with the intention of ripping it apart. Putting a new swing on a story we know all too well, these 5 tracks detail the path from a love story to a heartbreak.
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” exceeds expectations and puts Swift one step closer to owning her music.
