HEAD TO HEAD - Drowning in "Red" or soaking up the sound (Two writers weigh their opinions about Taylor Swift's new album)

SWIFTIE (MEGHAN):

Beautifully crafted and delivered, “Red” was quick to hit number one on the Billboard charts in 2012 and the “Red” tour grossed around $150 million. And now, Taylor Swift’s done it again, this time in her own way and on her own terms. “Red (Taylor’s Version)” shares the same elegant lyricism that “Red” did so many years ago, paired with a newfound maturity and sense of reminiscence. The 30 track album features eight new songs and everything that made “Red” such a hit, including all the original feature artists plus Phoebe Bridgers and Chris Stapleton. I worried that in re-recording, some of the songs would’ve lost some sincerity in their provocation, but if anything, Swift brings the same anger and emotion she had as a heartbroken 21 year old — I mean, come on, half the world is mad at Jake Gyllenhaal right now.

Her storytelling is driven, engaging; “The Moment I Knew” has me staring out my car window like I’m in a sad movie and “Everything Has Changed” makes me want to fall in love all over again. Sure, I’m not going to sit here and say the whole album is perfect. “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “22” and “We Are Never Getting Back Together,” are clearly overdone pop songs meant to get stuck in your head, but I don’t think that you can rate an entire album on a handful of cheesy radio songs.

Really, all I’m saying is the people who hate Taylor Swift are the same people who say she makes mindless pop music, and that’s not super fair. I think “Red (Taylor’s Version)” is an alluring look into something messy and real and maybe not so pretty on the inside. As someone who is about the same age as Swift was when she released this album the first time, I can understand every emotion presented in the lyrics - so maybe even if you have this strange hatred of Taylor Swift, you should give “Red (Taylor’s Version)” a listen for yourself. Maybe you’ll find some solace in the sound.

NOT A FAN (ANGELA):

As if the original hour wasn’t enough, America’s country-pop darling Taylor Swift has released a two hour re-recording of her 2012 record “Red.” “Red (Taylor’s Version)” arrived to the masses on Nov. 12, 2021, just in time for the Christmas shopping rush. If you couldn’t tell, I am not a fan of Ms. Swift, per se, but I am certainly not above singing along to “Our Song” or “Teardrops on My Guitar,” so don’t think me a full Anti-Swiftie. I come from a place ranging from ambivalence to apathy here.

My research on this topic began with the original “Red.” Of course, I already knew the top tracks, “22,” ‘I Knew You Were Trouble” etc., and these were undoubtedly great for the time. The rest of “Red” was uncharted territory. I had just seen Swift perform her 10 minute version of “All Too Well” on Saturday Night Live, which I didn’t totally hate. I was cautiously optimistic. What I discovered on “Red” was a collection of mediocre pop tracks with the phony mark of 2012 all over them. The cheesy dubstep accompaniment and twee ukulele threw me straight back to eighth grade in the worst way. I also found the pacing to be off: not really taking us on an emotional journey, but instead just throwing songs at us in no particular order. “Begin Again” is an obvious exception.

With this new knowledge of 2012’s “Red,” I had a few expectations of “Taylor’s Version.” The addition to the title, “Taylor’s Version,” suggests she was denied some sort of creative freedom in 2012. To my great disappointment, “Red: Taylor’s Version” is imperceptible from “Red.” I saw such potential for a reworking of the album: scrap the horribly dated line in “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” about dressing up like hipsters, get a less morose sounding dude to duet with on “The Last Time,” address the pacing issues by shuffling some songs around. But no, all we get is one hour and six minutes of more forgettable and grating music. Lucky us.

The Scooter Braun situation surrounding Swift’s re-recordings is a whole other can of worms here, and I would love to go into a detailed discussion about morals and contracts and ownership and legal loopholes, but this is supposed to be purely about the music. All this to say, just because this is a pretty big-deal move in the zeitgeist of Music, it doesn’t mean it can’t be wholly disappointing. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is still cringey, “The Last Time” is still unbearably glum, “Stay, Stay, Stay” is still annoying. It’s hard to not find any sort of connection within the romanticism of Swift’s work. However, Swift’s great-idea songs turn up short, filled with jabs at ex-lovers devoid of any personality or vulnerability, and clumsy metaphors (is the scarf supposed to be innocence? Her virginity? Just a scarf???). Most songs feel as though Swift came up with the title first, and wrote the rest of the song around it. There is so much repetition and emphasis on the title lyric the song loses any emotional impact. On the topic of “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” there is zero value added in the extra five minutes. As Exponent managing editor Phoebe Zea said, “I stand strong in my belief that only Led Zeppelin and Skynyrd can successfully do a 10 minute [plus] song.”

So, “Red (Taylor’s Version)” is not that good. But the millions of Taylor Swift fans across this planet will likely rabidly disagree with my summations, so really I’m just whispering to the crowd, or some such analogy. I find it difficult to truly condemn anyone’s opinions about music (unless your opinion is that The Smiths make good music), so if you love “Red (Taylor’s Version)” then good for you. I do not.