I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard a song from Red. Executive editor, Jasmine Parker reviews.
Rating: 5/5
Twelve-year-old me was sitting in the back of my mum’s Ford Fiesta as she drove me and my little brother to school, when “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” started playing on the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast show. I knew who Taylor Swift was, but I wasn’t a fan back then.
Red changed that. Within 48 hours of the album’s release I’d memorised every single line, and I’ve been obsessed ever since.
being known as the taylor swift person when you were in high school is a heavy cross to bear but someone has to do it
— evan (@evanmtthw) November 16, 2021
When Taylor announced the re-recording of her albums, I knew this was the one that was going to feel most special to me; this was the album that made me fall in love with her song writing. Although the re-recordings have come from unfortunate circumstances, what Taylor Swift has done with Red this past week shows what a gift this experience can be.
Take, for example, cult classic “All Too Well”. An absolute fan favourite and a song placed number 69 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, rumours have circled practically ever since it was first released of an extended version in existence. “All Too Well” didn’t receive any publicity at the time, having never been a single, but this time around it’s getting the attention it deserves, with a bonus ten minute version on the album and an accompanying short film. What fans have been given with “All Too Well” is perhaps the best example of a silver lining in the Scooter Braun debacle.
The song itself is remarkable. Having been named by fans and critics alike Swift’s premier songwriting sample, it was always going to be hard to live up to expectations of what the extended version would be. But Swift hasn’t just met those expectations, she’s knocked them out of the park. I always thought “All Too Well” was a lyrical masterpiece, but it turns out we hadn’t even heard the best of it.
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I do think the parts that were cut were removed for good reason. If Swift had released a ten minute song indulging in her heartbreak back in 2012 it sadly would have only served to strengthen the slut-shaming and victim-blaming she experienced – and that’s before we even get to the feminist discourse in the newly extended version. Quite frankly the world wasn’t ready to process Swift calling attention to problematic power dynamics in age gap relationships back then, and I think she’s put the song out at the right time.
My only gripe – and it pains me to say this – is that the song does feel a little disjointed to me. Perhaps that’s because I’m so used to hearing it without the new additions, but I do think there’s some fragmentation where new and old bleed together. That said, I’ve always loved Red because its songwriting is raw, real and imperfect. As much as I adore the lyrical beauty of folklore and evermore, they’re so poetic that it feels unattainable – somewhat less relatable. Red is the diary of heartbreak of a 21-year-old, and we can all see ourselves in that.
Perhaps the best thing the “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)” has done is complete the story arc of the album. At 30 songs, that Swift has had to spread over four vinyl discs, this truly is an epic, and the extended version of “All Too Well” is a missing puzzle piece.
We now know that “22” follows “All Too Well” as a counter to her ruined 21st birthday – a moment alluded to in the line “it’s supposed to be fun turning 21” and fully expanded on in the song “The Moment I Knew”. From the extra lyrics in “All Too Well” we know Swift wrote the pop bop to make up for her lost experience.
The extra lyrics also add new meaning to her hidden messages. Swift loves to leave her fans hidden notes by capitalising certain letters in lyrics books, like “I love you doesn’t count after goodbye” in “State of Grace”. In the song “Sad, Beautiful, Tragic”, she sings “words, how little they mean when they’re a little too late”, but many fans hadn’t pieced that together. With the new lyrics from “All Too Well” – “I was thinking on the drive down, anytime now, he’s gonna say it’s love. You never called it what it was” – that finally makes sense.
SHE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT SHE'S DOING#AllTooWellTheShortFilm #AllTooWell #alltoowelltaylorsversion pic.twitter.com/i4sEFb4yWB
— Flora🕸️ (@floluvlou) November 13, 2021
And let’s not forget the extra digs at Jake Gyllenhaal’s love for ‘cool indie music’ in “I Bet You Think About Me”, having already made the jibe once in “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”. The additional, thoroughly important details of him owning “organic shoes” and “a million dollar couch” bring some much-loved Taylor Swift sass to the song.
What I’m trying to say is that the addition of the vault songs do more than simply indulge fans with more music. They add new, emotional motifs, give the album a more coherent storyline and elevate its artistry.
I would, of course, be more than happy to get new Taylor Swift songs just for the sake of it. I’ve been listening non-stop to “Message in a Bottle” and “The Very First Night” so far, both much-needed upbeat additions to the album. Fans obsess over Taylor’s heartbreak ballads, and for good reason, but I’m a big believer that her happy songs are underrated by the fandom. “Stay, Stay, Stay” was my guilty pleasure on Red, and I’m glad she’s added a few more moments of happiness to the record.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Swift’s re-recording venture is her unparalleled ability to churn out hits. It’s unthinkable that the vault songs were all initially scrapped – her not-good-enoughs are better than some artist’s lead singles. With it having been announced on Saturday that Red (Taylor’s Version) is the biggest album debut by a female artist on Spotify, it’s phenomenal that the re-recording of a ten-year-old album can have so much success.
The plain truth is that Taylor Swift’s talent speaks for itself, and that can be seen no clearer than in this album. With the gift she’s given fans this week in being able to relive one of her most iconic eras with all-new material, I can’t wait to see what she has in store for the next re-recording release.