Taylor Swift 1989 (CD, Big Machine Records, 2014) ****
Taylor Swift The Life of a Showgirl(CD, Republic Records, 2025) ***
They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6
Active compensatory factors: While I am not a completist, I am a Swifty in that I really admire Taylor Swift (Tay Tay). She is extremely talented musically, extremely savvy business and image wise, and she is reshaping the pop world in real time. She also appeals to a broad range (yours truly is a case in point) and doesn't pander to or insult that audience. She's a remarkable person who is fully deserving of all the worldwide success.
Plenty of highlights: White Horse; Fifteen (with the memorable lines - In your life you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team. I didn't know it at 15); You Belong With Me, Love Story.
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I've already written about Reputation on this blog. [It's worth a quick revision here - does my three-star rating hold up? Yes, it does].
Where do they all belong? Plenty of her albums ripe for discovery - Speak Now, Red and those three albums between 1989 and Midnights. Maybe even Tortured Poet's Department.
Genre: Country pop, folk pop, synth pop, Alt pop
Places I remember: The Warehouse, Real Groovy Records, JB Hi Fi
Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Snow on the Beach (Midnights)
Gear costume: You Belong With Me (Fearless);
Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Snow on the Beach (Midnights)
Gear costume: You Belong With Me (Fearless);
Active compensatory factors: While I am not a completist, I am a Swifty in that I really admire Taylor Swift (Tay Tay). She is extremely talented musically, extremely savvy business and image wise, and she is reshaping the pop world in real time. She also appeals to a broad range (yours truly is a case in point) and doesn't pander to or insult that audience. She's a remarkable person who is fully deserving of all the worldwide success.
My collection starts with her second album - Fearless, released when she was 19. Even at this stage she is successfully combining country, folk, and pop elements.
1989 (Taylor's birth year) is a landmark album in many ways. She's always been a performer who is far more mature than her years. This album serves to reboot her as a purely pop performer and it's where I first paid attention. AllMusic makes the point that '1989 isn't a record about songs, it's all about sonic style' and they are not wrong, yet the songs are still there - two of my favourites - Welcome to New York and Shake It Off being two. Their point is valid though - the hi-tech drums, processed vocals etc definitely give this a different soundscape. Still - it's also worth noting that the songs on 1989 were strong enough that Ryan Adams covered all of them on his album also called 1989.
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I listened to the next three albums (Lover, Folklore, Evermore) on Spotify but Midnights I had to own. It is her best work so far (a bold claim). The confessional thematic matter exploring regret, self-criticism, fantasies, heartbreak, and infatuation are not new, but the stripped back, minimalist approach is genius, as is the inclusion of Lana Del Rey (Yay, Lana! Another supremely talented individual).
It also helps that I'm a big fan of these kinds of melancholy late night records (like Moby's Destroyed).
The Life of a Showgirl is her latest album (I 've bypassed The Tortured Poet's Department - too long and it didn't grab me, but I should give it further listens on Spotify). It catches Taylor in happy/loving mode (she is getting married next year and the all conquering Eras tour was mega successful) and so she returns to some retro dance pop sounds (think Lady Gaga more than Madonna). Will be interesting to see how she follows up - I'll certainly be listening!
Where do they all belong? Plenty of her albums ripe for discovery - Speak Now, Red and those three albums between 1989 and Midnights. Maybe even Tortured Poet's Department.
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