Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version): Another Chapter in the Pre 1989 Era

Taylor Swift has been busy putting out her Taylor’s Versions of her previous records as she gains ownership over that catalogue. She has been putting these records out at a rapid pace and we have almost filled out the pre – 1989 era. The only record left is her self titled debut record, which most Swifties put at the bottom of their lists, so it is unclear when she will tackle this one. She has put off 1989 far longer than I thought, because that will sell a bazillion copies. She may go all the way back to Taylor Swift after this one, or she may just jump to 1989 and melt all sales records. We are going to take a quick look at this record by focusing on a few stand out tracks, some of the new material and some final thoughts.

Before we get into it, let me rank my Swift records so you know where this one stands. Here we go:

1. Midnights
2. 1989
3. folklore
4. evermore
5. Red
6. Fearless
7. Speak Now
8. Lover
9. Reputation
10. Taylor Swift

That’s the list, so Speak Now falls into the bottom half for me, but it is still an amazing record. Ranking Swift records is like ranking Picasso paintings…they are all incredible art, but something needs to go last. Chronologically, Speak Now fits right in between Fearless and Red, which sees Swift’s evolution from a country singer to the pop icon we see in 1989. Therefore, Speak Now is this great mix of country and pop as she tries new song structures. So, let’s dive into some standouts from the record.

Right off the bat, you can tell that Speak Now will have the largest gap between the original version and the Taylor Version. You have to keep in mind, Swift recorded Speak Now in 2010 when she was roughly 20 or 21. Let’s look at the opening track of the record, Mine. In the original version the pop elements felt tacked on to a largely country track with Swift’s higher pitched vocal. In the Taylor Version the pop country fusion is seamlessly woven together with Swift’s confident and powerful vocal cutting through everything. In the Taylor’s Version she takes a song with a lot of pop potential on the original and really dials it up to 11.

Now, let’s look at one of my favourite tracks from the original, which is Back to December. Swift uses largely the same studio musicians she used for the original recordings, so there is no surprise that the tracks have a similar sound. However, everything on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) sounds warmer and tighter as the band slows everything down half a step, which lets the song breathe. Back to December has this warmer feel with a confident and strong vocal by Swift. Her vocal, along with the added post production and tighter arrangement, gives the track a more modern pop sound. Therefore, you feel like you are not simply listening to a re-recording of these tracks, but a whole new re-interpretation.

Let’s look at the new tracks. There are the Taylor’s Vault tracks, which is a mix of tracks that were cut off the record and some tracks that never made it onto the record for whatever reason. Now, these tracks are always hit and miss…I mean, there is a reason Taylor didn’t put them on the record in the first place… Taylor Swift wrote and produced most of the tracks on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) with Christopher Rowe, but her production dynamic duo of Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff come back together to consult on the vault tracks. She also has Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams (from the band Paramore) feature on a number of vault tracks with varied success in my opinion. I can see Taylor bringing them on for that pop rock vibe she was looking for on the original recording. But I find Fall Out Boy a major misstep and not fitting in at all.

I think the standout tracks from the vault are Castles Crumbing with Hayley Williams and Superman. Where Fall Out Boy failed, I find Hayley’s vocal a welcome addition to a haunting track that has Jack Antonoff written all over it. The only thing is that Antonoff’s influence has this feel more like a 1989 track than something that belongs on Speak Now, but it is a solid pop track. Superman is one of the tracks that did not make the final cut on the original Speak Now, but it is an epic pop country track. It has the themes of love, relationships and killer pop / country hooks that fit in with a majority of Swift’s work from this era. All and all, the vault tracks are always a roll of the dice and these gems are worth it.

In my opinion, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is the best illustration of the value of the Taylor’s Version series. The increased production value, production choices with instrumentation and Swift’s matured vocals all work to give the entire record a new life. This is a modernised version of Swift’s transition from country to pop, which will culminate in the 1989 record. The re-imagining of this record with a more modern pop sound makes this a must buy for both Swifties and general lovers of pop music.

Listen to Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)