Red (Taylor's Version) Review

Nine years ago, Taylor Swift released her fourth studio album ‘Red’. Fast forward to 2021, and the American pop singer brings out a 30 track, ‘Taylor’s Version’ of the album, including re-recorded original tracks and nine tracks ‘From The Vault’, which fans have never heard before. ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ is the follow-up of ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ which was released in April this year. Swift is re-releasing her earlier albums due to a dispute with her previous record label over the rights of her first six albums.

If I didn’t already love the original versions of these songs, I love them even more now. Taylor’s Versions of ‘Girl At Home’, ‘Stay Stay Stay’ and ‘The Lucky One’ are my favourites, and these re-records make the songs even more personal to listen to. Every song ‘From The Vault’ is incredible, however my favourites are ‘The Very First Night’ and ‘Message In A Bottle’, which deliver early 2010s pop princess energy.

Without a doubt the star of the album is the ten minute version of ‘All Too Well’, which brings new lyrics and even more emotion in comparison to the five minute original version. No doubt this was the most anticipated track on the album, with both Swift and fans talking non-stop about it. On release day, Swift also brought out a short film on YouTube featuring the track. It starred well-known actors Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink, who portrayed versions of Taylor and her ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal (who the album makes reference to). Overall, this track is a masterpiece, and deserves more than a 10/10 rating.

‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ has several features, including the re-records of ‘Everything Has Changed’ featuring Ed Sheeran, and ‘The Last Time’ featuring Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol. In terms of tracks ‘From The Vault’, Ed Sheeran features on a song called ‘Run’, Californian singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers on ‘Nothing New’, and Chris Stapleton features on ‘I Bet You Think About Me’. All of these artists work beautifully with Taylor’s voice, and each song is perfectly unique to the album.

Overall, Red (Taylor’s Version) is a sensational album, with beautifully written lyrics and perfect vocals. Without a doubt, this album is a 10/10, and there is not a single skip to be found.