Red Review (Luciana’s Version)

Luciana Morales|January 21, 2022

By: Luciana Morales

Taylor Swift’s Fourth Studio Album, Red, came out a little over nine years ago, but the re-recorded version has broken records and is still currently on charts.

Photo comparison of the two album covers. Swift likes to keep the same aesthetic for covers, while still changing it enough to the point where it’s truly hers, just like her music.

Taylor Swift chose to re-record after a situation focusing on her masters, the original recording of songs. It all started with her first recording label, Big Machine. When she first signed with them, she gave them ownership over any music she made while under their contract, which expired in 2018. This ended up including her first six albums; her self-titled, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation. Big Machine was later bought by Record Executive Scooter Braun, who then sold it to Shamrock Holdings. Shamrock offered to sell it back to Swift, however this meant Scooter would benefit, and Swift was not comfortable with this. This led to her decision to re-record her first six masters.

Having started recording on November 1st, 2020, Swift was able to release her first re-record, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) on April 9th, 2021. She most recently released Red (Taylor’s Version) on November 12th, 2021. This re-record includes all her songs from the original recording, and extra songs that she either kept “in the vault” or has written for other artists. It also included the highly anticipated 10 minute version of one of her most listened to songs, “All Too Well.”

My ranking on her entire tracklist for Red (Taylors Version). Ronan has not been included into the ranking due to the emotional meaning behind the song.

Now, onto my review. I’ve been a big fan of hers since I was a kid. One of my first memories is sitting on my mom’s bed watching her “You Belong With Me” music video as my mom brushed my hair. This re-recording era means a lot to me, to be able to listen to her music without feeling the guilt of benefiting Scooter Braun, which was her intention. However, I still have a few pieces of criticism about her latest re-recording, including comparing the new record to the master, and giving my thoughts on her new additions. 

The entire point of re-recording is to have fans and the general public listen to the new version, which means keeping the songs the same so that they don’t have to pick and choose. And this seemed to happen well enough for her Fearless re-recording, but there are a few songs in Red where she seemed to ignore that. Some songs include “22”, “I Knew You Were Trouble” (IKYWT), “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (WANEGBT), and “Girl At Home”. These songs are all pop songs that she added onto a kind-of country album, and they all seem to suffer from the same problem – Production. “22”, IKYWT, and WANEGBT aren’t as noticeable, however the production is too strong. It has too much of an electronic beat when the original has a softer background, creating a big difference from the original version. “Girl at Home”, however, is an entirely different song. What used to be backed up by a guitar and some keyboard is now a full blown electronic pop song. It gives the song an entire new vibe, making this sudden transition harder for fans.

That being said, I still view the album as extremely successful. She is able to hold that nostalgic feeling her original songs had while still giving fans a few new songs to dance and cry to. A personal favorite of fans is “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” taken from the vault. This song has been sought out by fans ever since she mentioned in an interview how the original version of the highly love song “All Too Well” was 10 minutes long. This isn’t the only song from the vault that I love, however. Personally, I’m obsessed with “Message In A

Swift’s Poster for her short film based on the 10 minute version of All Too Well. Photo courtesy of taylorswift.com

Bottle” and “The Very First Night”. They’re just the perfect songs to dance around to after crying like a maniac from the heartbreak she’s suffered through. 

However, the 10 minute version of All Too Well in particular really stuck out for me. I was fully expecting to enjoy one stream, and move on. But her lyricism has gotten me to stream this daily. One thing about Swift that sticks out is that she really knows how to add deeper meaning into her songs. And that is shown with All Too Well. Specifically the line “It’s supposed to be fun, turning 21” she truly captures her heartbreak and just how much pain the ex-boyfriend put her through with this one line. 21 is supposed to be a monumental birthday for everyone, and his actions ruined this birthday. This version of the song really captured Swift’s ability to add poetry to her songs, and showed her magnificent writing skills.

I’ve got to say, Red (Taylor’s Version) blew my mind, and I can’t wait to see what else she has left.