"1989 (Taylor's Version)" - Taylor Swift Album Review

Taylor Swift has blessed her fans with the re-recording of her fifth studio album, an iconic pop album that altered music forever, “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”

This masterpiece was originally released on Oct. 14, 2014, and Swift reclaimed her musical sensation on Oct. 27, 2023.

“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is quite possibly the most insane artwork Swift has ever done. In 2014 this album shocked everyone to their core, as the young country girl began testing new waters and completely entered the pop genre. This rebirth of Swift’s musical composition is personified in the title of this album as it’s her birth year, 1989.

Swift began teasing her fans with the re-recording with the release of “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)” on Sept. 17, 2021, and “This Love (Taylor’s Version)” on May 6, 2022, as it was in the teaser trailer for "The Summer I Turned Pretty.”

Fans were anticipating the day when “1989” would belong to Swift again, and thankfully Oct. 27 is the day of delightful reconciliation.

Swift finally announced the release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” on Aug. 9, 2023, at the final performance of the first U.S. leg of the “Eras Tour” in Inglewood, CA. Fans were highly suspicious of this announcement, and their theories were confirmed by the astonishing blue costuming of the entire concert.

Swift then enlisted Google to create a word-search puzzle for the vault tracks on “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” including her fans in this wild experience. There were 89 puzzles in total, and fans were required to complete 33 million of them to officially unlock the vault.

The original release of “1989” was produced by Max Martin, who had worked with Swift on specific pop-inspired tracks on “Red.”

For “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” Jack Antonoff and Christopher Rowe collaborated with Swift in producing this album, revamping the execution entirely.

The promotion for this album has been insane, unlike any other re-recording, simply because this album is a staple in fans' lives. “1989” came out at a time when fans were growing and needing to relate to deeply personal music, and this album formed that relationship.

Many have speculated on social media about a double release of either the vault tracks or a B-side of the re-recorded album. This theory has yet to be confirmed, but this hypothesis by fans deeply shows their investment in Swift and her music.

The part of the re-release that is the most exciting are the vault tracks, which were announced by Swift on Sept. 20, 2023. The vault tracks were read from an audio message on Google, and the tracks were announced to be: “Slut!,” “Say Don’t Go,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Suburban Legends” and “Is It Over Now?”

The original tracks on the re-recording of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” have some noticeable differences, such as the muted intro on “Bad Blood” and the heavier base in “Wonderland.”

This should be expected in a re-recording, as Swift is reclaiming her artwork and also morphing it to align with the woman she has become.

Fans have been seen on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that some songs have shown an atmosphere unlike before, especially in “I Wish You Would'' and “Welcome To New York.”

Overall, there has been an intense love for the tracks and it's obvious that these songs will remain on the billboards for a long time.

The vault song “Slut!” was heavily anticipated by fans, as they were speculating if it was going to be a buzzed-up pop song about the brutal words thrown at Taylor Swift.

However, this song was quite the opposite, with a more chill and remembrance lyricism. Swift almost seems to be reclaiming the definition of slut that has been used against her, stating in the song that for once being drunk in love would be worth it.

“Say Don’t Go” is an unexpected pop vault track that has a melody unlike any other song on “1989 (Taylor’s Version).” This song's meaning is comparable to “Foolish One” from “Speak Now,” resonating with the “delusional girlies” as fans have stated on social media. Lyrically, this song matches metaphors Swift has used before with symbols of matches and cards describing the love interests' shaky character.

The shortest song ever released by Swift is “Now That We Don’t Talk,” which is criminal behavior from Swift as this song is an absolute masterpiece. Genius speculates that most lyrics are about Harry Styles, and iconically it is confirmed through the lyrics “I don’t have to pretend I like acid rock / or that I’d like to be on a mega yacht.”

“Suburban Legends” is a vault song that resonates with Swift's previous album “Midnights” so well.

Swift teased this song by posting the lyrics “I broke my own heart because you were too polite to do it,” and fans' excitement grew for this awe-inspiring vault song.

The last vault track, but the most star-studded, is “Is It Over Now?” which has an engrossing pop beat with emotionally meaningful lyrics. It is known that 2014 was a very hard year for Taylor Swift, and this can be understood by this song.

The lyrics “I think about jumpin’ off of very tall somethings” show that all the sexual and emotional trauma Swift went through took a toll on her mental health.

“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is a masterpiece of a lifetime, and the re-release shows the healing Swift has been through in the last nine years that has made her into the accomplished woman she is today. This iconic pop album should be blasting through every speaker in the world, as that's the appreciation it deserves.

Rating: 10/10

Reviewers favorite songs: “Wonderland,” “Is It Over Now?,” “I Wish You Would,” “You Are In Love,” “This Love” and “Slut!”

Reviewers least favorite song: None

Grace Bowman is a third-year majoring in biology and minoring in psychological sciences. To contact her, email gab5585@psu.edu.