On August 9, 2023, at her Eras Tour, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift announced that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was to be released on October 27th, 2023. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was also going to have five vault tracks, which are tracks that were created during the original era, but were not released, as they had “stayed in the vault.”
The original 1989 album was her first fully pop album, as well as her best-selling album. With beloved pop sensations such as “Wildest Dreams” or “Shake it Off,” the original 1989 album garnered much praise and popularity, even winning a grammy for Album of the Year in 2015.
However, in June 2019, Swift’s former record label, Big Machine Records, was bought by Scooter Braun, subsequently meaning that the masters of Swift’s previous albums—Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation—were now owned by Braun.
Swift decided she would re-record her previous six studio albums, including 1989.
In the first week of sales, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) sold over 1.35 million copies in the US, and more than 3.5 million copies globally, which is more than the original 1989, which sold more than 1.28 million copies. Additionally, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) garnered almost 380 million streams.
Despite the booming sales and streams of the album itself, the reviews of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) from our school are mixed.
Our resident Swiftie, Nathan Wheeler, is content with the outcome of the album. “I’m very satisfied.” Wheeler states, “I think there were not as many differences as other Taylor’s Versions.”
Similarly, sophomore Cassandra Soucy says, “I think it’s great.” She follows up by stating, “It’s also real, and holds so much emotion.”
Another sophomore, Maya Smith, states, “It’s really really amazing, and she definitely hit the mark on almost all of her songs, but some were a bit less amazing than the first release.”
However, when asked if 1989 (Taylor’s Version) lives up to the original, junior Katie Jamroga states, “No. I don’t think that the re-records themselves do.”
A common problem with the re-recordings is that many people believe that they either sound too different from the original songs or don’t sound good at all. Most people said that the worst re-recording on 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was the eighth track on the album: “Bad Blood (Taylor’s Version)”.
“I think that song for me was never one of my favorites, and I think my personal feelings of it kind of just goes into why I don’t think even the re-record is good.” Wheeler states.
“I just don’t really like the song.” Soucy adds.
Nevertheless, one positive thing that seems to be unanimously agreed on is the quality of the vault tracks.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) added five new tracks from the vault, those being “‘Slut!’” “Say Don’t Go,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Suburban Legends”, and “Is It Over Now?” 1989 (Taylor’s Version) [Deluxe] also added one additional vault track, that being “Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar)” which, on the original 1989, was a single that was added to it in May of 2015.
“The vault tracks were really really good, so I was really happy with the vault tracks.” Jamroga stated. “I think some of the additional songs are somehow better than some of the original songs” said Soucy. Wheeler even stated, “Having the vault tracks makes it more likable.”
In Smith’s opinion, “She’s an absolute icon for having the energy, idea, and mental capacity to be able to re-record all of her albums and add new, unheard of songs to them that are just incredible.”
Although 1989 (Taylor’s Version) may not be the exact same as the original 1989, it is still an overall wildly successful album, with a lot of heart and soul put into it. It may not live up to everybody’s wildest dreams, but for some people the album will never go out of style.
