 and her later, poppier offerings. She wrote it entirely herself, between the ages of 18 and 20, focussing on themes of infatuation, heartbreak and revenge. So when the megastar announced the imminent release of Speak Now 'Taylor's Version' – her third re-recording of albums from her back catalogue, in an attempt to wrestle back financial ownership from her former management – Swifties were excited and nervous. How much would she change? Would problematic lyrics get reworked? Would her mature vocals suit the songs that are, above all, reflections on being a teenage girl on the precipice of adulthood? As before, Speak Now opens with Mine, a sweet country-pop jaunt rescued from being too cloying by its clever lyricism ('You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter'). Catchy love song Sparks Fly is amplified by heavier strings and percussions, and soaring ballad Enchanted allows Swift to flex how much her vocals have developed, all the while bewitching a new generation of fans thanks to its central positioning on her Eras tour setlist. Part of Speak Now's charm is its juvenility – it's written like a storybook, filled with knights in not-so shining armour, dragons and castles, coupled with real-life raw emotion – so it can seem jarring, at first, to hear Swift's adult vocals on more wholesome tracks like Speak Now, Mean and Never Grow Up. But her grasp on tone and melody has much improved since her days of twanging every lyric with a faux-Deep South accent, so when treated like a reimagining rather than a reinvention, it still works. Critics love to dwell on Swift's famous boyfriends and ex-boyfriends – and how she picks apart their relationships in her songs. Jake Gyllenhaal previously took the title for most damning report card, as the inspiration for the now 10 minute-long All Too Well. But S){kind=link}
Swift’s re-record flaunts how much her vocals have improved, but fans will be disappointed with her revisionist take on Better Than Revenge
Speak Now, Taylor Swift’s third album, released in 2010, falls someplace between the innocent country schtick of her breakout debut Fearless (a universal fan favourite) and her later, poppier offerings. She wrote it entirely herself, between the ages of 18 and 20, focussing on themes of infatuation, heartbreak and revenge.
So when the megastar announced the imminent release of Speak Now ‘Taylor’s Version’ – her third re-recording of albums from her back catalogue, in an attempt to wrestle back financial ownership from her former management – Swifties were excited and nervous. How much would she change? Would problematic lyrics get reworked? Would her mature vocals suit the songs that are, above all, reflections on being a teenage girl on the precipice of adulthood?
As before, Speak Now opens with Mine, a sweet country-pop jaunt rescued from being too cloying by its clever lyricism (“You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter”). Catchy love song Sparks Fly is amplified by heavier strings and percussions, and soaring ballad Enchanted allows Swift to flex how much her vocals have developed, all the while bewitching a new generation of fans thanks to its central positioning on her Eras tour setlist.
Part of Speak Now’s charm is its juvenility – it’s written like a storybook, filled with knights in not-so shining armour, dragons and castles, coupled with real-life raw emotion – so it can seem jarring, at first, to hear Swift’s adult vocals on more wholesome tracks like Speak Now, Mean and Never Grow Up. But her grasp on tone and melody has much improved since her days of twanging every lyric with a faux-Deep South accent, so when treated like a reimagining rather than a reinvention, it still works.