Taylor Swift - "1989 (Taylor's Version") Discussion
Here we are again. Another Taylor’s Version. We’re nearly done with this re-recording adventure now, but it has been a huge success for Swift, Universal Music Group, and Republic Records. Only debut album Taylor Swift and the iconic Reputation remain unrecorded.1
Of course, I can’t not address the fact that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) released with news from industry insiders revealing that the records labels are pulling up the proverbial ladder in response to the massive success these re-recordings have had. New artists signing with labels are now encountering terms dictating longer timelines before they can legally rerecord their own music — in some cases, up to 30 years.
An artist who signs those terms at the age of twenty wouldn’t be able to re-record their earliest releases until they’re in their fifties.
I speculated earlier this year, in the discussion of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), that we may see a new wave of big name artists hopping labels to find more favorable terms for themselves — including the opportunity to re-record their old music in order to own the masters.
However, in making those speculations, I failed to consider Capitalism.
Because even with the literal buttloads of money that UMG has made by granting that deal to Swift, it’s still more important for labels to try and lock down the money they already have, rather than risking any artists already in their stable jumping ship to repeat what Swift has achieved with a competitor.
Which, to be fair, makes a certain amount of sense from the Labels’ point of view. But it is incredibly restricting for artists. And, while the deep wallets of record labels enable artists to make music and put on big tours, it’s the artists who actually make the music that we enjoy. The labels are currently just a necessary evil — until a better model comes along.
This latest move by the labels at-large really just exposes them further.
The re-recorded 1989 is just what we expect, at this point, though. Each of these (Taylor’s Version) re-recordings has featured deeper instrumentation and thicker production polish — without actually changing the core song at all. Ultimately, this means that the songs we already love are even better as a result.
Several tracks on 1989 (TV) are more subtle in regards to these changes, though. The more upbeat, poppy anthem-style tracks, such as opener “Welcome to New York” and “Shake It Off”, are already incredibly honed for their intended effect, leaving little room for ‘improvement’. But the slower tracks, like “This Love”, and mid-tempos, such as “Wonderland”, have had their accompaniment reimagined.
The album also includes five tracks pulled ‘From the Vault’ and a second version of “Bad Blood” featuring Kendrick Lamar. These are all fantastic (of course); the vaulted songs have had the benefit of time. One of the best approaches for self-editing a piece, I’ve learned, is to put the work away for a while; when you come back to it months (or years) later, there’s no emotional tie to the poem, story, or song, so you can more easily recognize its flaws and improve the work. As a result, these five vaulted tracks (along with the vaulted tracks on the other (Taylor’s Version) re-recordings) can stand on their own along with the rest of the original album.
That said, “Say Don’t Go” and “Is It Over Now?” are clearly the best of the bunch, musically; “Slut!” packs a punch, lyrically, but has a simpler melody with more straightforward composition.
I’ve also always considered “Bad Blood” to be one of the weaker songs on the album, overall, but Kendrick Lamar’s presence feels like an improvement.
1989 (TV) doesn’t feel like the same level of improvement that Speak Now (TV) was, but it’s still better than the original album — and has five new songs, to boot. With at least one more re-recording on the way, we’ll be back here again soon. I’m definitely looking forward to the new version of Reputation.
And, frankly, her debut album is (by far) the least important album in her discography; I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided that it ultimately didn’t matter. Of course, given how much loathing she has for Braun, she’ll probably re-record it out of spite.