Welcome to Eras. (Saahir’s Version), the series where I go through all of Taylor Swift’s re-released albums chronologically, analyze the era and rank the songs. However, with this being the first “episode” of the series, let me give you a quick history lesson behind (Taylor’s Version), and why it’s so vital to Swift and her fandom.
Swift released six studio albums under Big Machine Records (“Taylor Swift,” “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” “1989” and “Reputation.”) Under her contract, Swift did not own the masters (the actual recording of the song) to any of her music: a choice that would later haunt her.
In July 2019, Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Records and with the company, gained possession of Swift’s masters. In a Tumblr post following the sale, Swift said she was not aware of the sale and wished it was discussed with her beforehand. Swift then announced on Good Morning America that she had plans to re-record all her albums with Universal Music Group, her new record label, which brings us to the present. Swift has since re-released three of the six albums and has announced one more, “1989,” to be released this year on Oct. 27.
Album Synopsis
“Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” reflects Swift’s teenage years and romanticizes what some may believe to be unimportant experiences. Songs such as “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” romanticize teenage relationships, but other tracks on the album such as “You All Over Me” and “You’re Not Sorry” emphasize the harsh aftermath of young love.
Vault Track Review
Something Swift added to the album when re-releasing is “Vault” tracks, songs written for the original album that didn’t make the final cut.
The first ever vault track the public heard, “You All Over Me,” is a country ballad featuring Marren Morris. It describes how sometimes an initial infatuation with someone doesn’t end well. Swift recounts how “no amount of freedom gets [her] clean, [she’s] still got [the person the song was written about] all over [her],” in the chorus. While I was super excited when this song came out, it has fallen toward the bottom of my vault ranking.
This next song that stays at No. 1 in my vault ranking, is “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” the second vault track from Swift’s second studio album. Fans speculate that this song is written about singer Joe Jonas and how he treated Swift during their relationship, expressing how he had a “change of heart.” This song is a pop banger with some great lyrics perfect for when you want to scream all of your frustrations away.
Next up, “We Were Happy.” Swift recalls the times when she was happy in a past relationship. Unfortunately, the title gave it away, and that underwhelmed me. This song was pretty average, and that’s all I can think of saying. It’s a track reserved for a specific mood in my life, and it serves a great purpose when I need it.
The third vault track is “That’s When (feat. Keith Urban),” a track that is truly underrated. After picking this song to listen to, I realized how much this specific chorus is stuck in my head. Urban’s gritty country rasp is perfect in contrast to Swift’s butter smooth vocals.
“Don’t You” is another song that puts the listener in the teenage perspective, telling a past lover to cut all contact because if they continue to talk, Swift will fall back in love with them. Through this song, Swift realizes she is susceptible to getting caught doing something she might regret if she is smooth talked enough.
The final vault track of the album, “Bye Bye Baby,” is yet another slow ballad. Swift’s choice to make the song a slower ballad was not one I would have made. While slow tempo songs are one of her specialties, I wish this song was more cohesive with the theme of the album.
As an album, “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” was a good start of the re-recordings and left me excited for the rest of them. The perfect listener for this album is someone just entering high school, eyes wide and ready to learn. This album is a great coming-of-age story, complete with many songs about teenage romance.
