Taylor Swift’s Perfect Red

BY: India McCarty

Last week, Taylor Swift released Red (Taylor’s Version), the latest installment in her quest to re-record her masters. For anyone living under a rock and doesn’t know this story: Swift wanted to purchase her masters from her old label, Big Machine. Label head Scott Borchetta refused to sell them to her (the only buying option he gave her was that she had to sign another 6-album contract with him). Instead, he sold them to a manager and wannabe entrepreneur, Scooter Braun, and Swift announced she would be re-recording her first six albums.

Red (Taylor’s Version) is the second re-record – Fearless (Taylor’s Version) dropped earlier this year – and it’s already garnering critical and commercial acclaim. The album, panned by some critics for a lack of cohesion and maturity, is now earning 5-star reviews.

In addition to the re-recorded 2012 songs, Swift also gave fans a whopping nine “vault” tracks, songs that didn’t make the cut on the original release and are finally getting a chance to shine.

Here are our rankings of the vault tracks.

9 . “Run (feat. Ed Sheeran)”

Long-time friends and frequent collaborators, Sheeran and Swift teamed up again for this soft ballad about getting out of town with your lover. Even though this was meant for Swift’s Red, this track also would’ve fit in well on Sheeran’s debut.

 

8 . “Forever Winter”

This song details Swift’s struggle to understand and support someone who is struggling. “Too young to know it gets better // I’ll be summer sun for you forever // forever winter if you go,” she sings mournfully over the acoustic guitar.

 

7 . “Message In A Bottle”

Red is the album where Swift started to make a definite move towards pop, and this song sounds like a cut from her smash album, 1989. It’s the first track Swift wrote with frequent collaborators, Max Martin and Shellback, who also worked with her on “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “I Knew You Were Trouble.”

 

6 . “Babe”

Released in 2018 by Sugarland – with Swift on backing vocals and in the music video – the superstar finally released her version. It’s a fun, catchy track about someone who wrecked their relationship and now regrets it, but Swift has no sympathy: “You really blew this, babe.”

 

5 . “The Very First Night”

Another sparkling pop track, “The Very First Night,” sees Swift looking back on a failed relationship and wishing she could go back to the beginning. Even though the lyrics are melancholy, the production is uptempo, making this a song you’ll dance to with tears in your eyes.

 

4 . “Better Man”

This song is another Swift original given to other artists, namely, country group Little Big Town. It won Song of the Year at the 2017 CMAs and a Grammy award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Swift’s version cuts deeper as she muses, “We might still be in love // if you were a better man.”

 

3 . “Nothing New (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)”

Fans were overjoyed to see Bridgers’ name on the tracklist, and they were not disappointed. “Nothing New” studies how scary it can be to realize that time is passing you. It’s also Swift’s thoughts on her place in the music industry: “Lord, what will become of me // once I’ve lost my novelty?”

 

2 . “I Bet You Think About Me (feat. Chris Stapleton)”

Swift returns with a good old-fashioned country twang with this tune, complete with honky-tonk piano and a wailing harmonica. The singer rips into her ex, poking fun at everything from the “indie music concerts” he attends to his “organic shoes” and “million-dollar couch.” It’s classic Taylor Swift at her best: teasing boys who broke her heart with a mile-wide grin on her face.

 

1 . “All Too Well (10-Minute Version)”

Swift has been dangling a 10-minute version in front of fans for years; some wondered if the song existed. They got their answer with the last track on Red (Taylor’s Version). Swift doubles the run time of the original with added verses, giving more dimension to a song that was already rife with detail. It tells the story of her relationship with an older man. The music video for the track, which Swift wrote and directed, shows the age difference through stars Sadie Sink, 19, and Dylan O’Brien, 30. Swift delivers the perfect parting shot for her ex with the line “I’ll get older, but your lovers stay my age.”

 

 

Red has always been a criminally overlooked album in Swift’s discography. With the release of this version, Swift reminds critics that she’s always been this good; they just weren’t paying attention.