Taylor Swift: 1989 Album Review

 It's been almost 5 months since I did an album review and I apologize, I will make sure to do more in November.  Today I will be reviewing Taylor Swift's 5th album, "1989", which was released 3 days ago.  It's strange to think that it's been 8 years since Taylor released her debut single, "Tim McGraw", and since then has had 62 songs be in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 putting her the 2nd place as female artist with most charted songs, Aretha Franklin is in 1st with 73.

 Anyway back to the album.  Taylor had stated ahead of time that "1989" would be a pop album, but I think everyone knew that since her last album, "Red" went from pop to country to even dub-step in one song and from her single "Sweet than Fiction" from the "One Chance: The Incredible True Story of Paul Potts: Motion Picture Soundtrack", wow that is a mouthful.  Anyway this is my track by track review:

1) Welcome to New York: I go back and forth with this one.  I like that it's kinda become an anthem for equality and it's very catchy but I feel the music overpowers the lyrics.  The song was also co-written by Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic.  It was also released as a promo single.  7/10

2) Blank Space: This song is set to be the second single from the album.  I was confused about her talking about "Starbucks Lovers" and went I looked online I saw that the lyric was "Got a long list of ex lovers".  That kinda made me laugh because Taylor got a lot of media scrutiny for her dating life after "Red" was released.  The overall song is great.  9/10

3) Style: I love this song!  It is my second favorite song on the album.  It is very poppy and has an upbeat chorus that makes me wanna dance.  Even as I typed this review my head is bobbing to this song.  This song, along with many other songs on this album, is rumored to be about Harry Styles from One Direction.  10/10

4) Out of the Woods: When "Shake It Off" was released, I was scared about listening to "1989".  Then this song was released as a promo single and I was happily surprised.  This song is my favorite song on the album and I hope it becomes an official single in the future.  Like "Style" this song is rumored to be about Harry Styles.  It was also co-written by Jack Antonoff from the band, "Fun." who also co-wrote Sara Bareilles' hit single, "Brave".  10/10

5) All You Had to Do Was Stay: I hated this song at first but after a couple of listens, it' grown on me.  It's very catchy but I can't the high "Stay" parts that are played in the chorus.  8/10

6) Shake It Off: The first single from the album.  It's a very empowering song about not letting the haters get to you.  That being said, it took a long time for me to like the song.  It also became Taylor's second number 1 song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.  The video was also pretty funny.  7/10

7) I Wish You Would: Another song co-written by Jack Antonoff.  If you got the deluxe edition of the album, then you got a voice memo of this song.  In the memo Taylor explains that Jack had the instrumental done and Taylor wrote the lyrics after hearing it.  The songs talks about how the narrator wishes their ex would come back so they could take back everything they said so they can get back together.  10/10

8) Bad Blood: Before the album was released, I was excited about hearing this song.  Taylor had said that she wrote the song about a girl, so I thought it would sound like "Better Than Revenge" from "Speak Now".  When I first heard it I was so disappointed that that wasn't the case but after a couple of listens I really liked it.  The verses are amazing and the chorus is very catchy.  The song is rumored to be about Katy Perry.  10/10

9) Wildest Dreams: A slow ballad that sounds like a cross between Coldplay and Lana Del Ray.  It has a very dreamy vibe to it which makes sense since the song is called "Wildest Dreams".  It's still growing on me.  7/10

10) How You Get the Girl: The first 6 seconds reminded me of "Girl at Home" from the deluxe edition of "Red".  Despite an upbeat chorus, it's not memorable as the previous songs and feels like a filler track.  It's my least favorite song on the album.  5/10

11) This Love: Not it's not a cover of Maroon 5's or The Veronica's songs of the same name.  This song is the only one on the album that Taylor wrote by herself.  It reminds me of Avril Lavigne's songs, "Falling Fast" and "Hush Hush".  The song gives me goossebumps and the chorus is just amazing.  10/10

12) I Know Places: This song feels like it should be on one of "The Hunger Games" soundtracks.  The verses are amazing but the chorus is kind of a letdown.  Ryan Tedder also co-wrote this song too.  6/10

13) Clean: The last song on the standard edition of the album.  It's a ballad that sounds dark in the beginning and is very haunting.  The song was co-written by Imogen Heap and is about getting over a relationship.  It's amazing.  10/10

14) Wonderland: The first off three songs on the deluxe edition.  I didn't like it when I first heard it but it's grown on me.  I feel like it would be perfect for an "Alice In Wonderland" movie.  I love the part where she sings, "Didn't they tell us not to rush into things, didn't you flash your green eyes at me, haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds."  I wish it was on the standard edition of the album instead of "How You Get the Girl".  9/10

15) You Are In Love: The second I heard the intro I knew I'd love this song and I do.  The song is a slow ballad about love at first sight.  This should've been on the standard edition of the album instead of "I Know Places."  I hope this will be a single.  10/10

16) New Romantics: Another amazing song, why are the songs on the deluxe edition better than some of the songs on the standard edition?  This song will have you on your feet dancing.  It's a very happy upbeat song and it should've been on the standard edition of the album.  10/10

 In the end Taylor's new album, "1989" is much better than her last album "Red" and will likely hit number 1 in the U.S.  I know there were 3 voice memos on the deluxe edition but I felt that there wasn't really a point reviewing them.  My favorite songs on the album are: "Out of the Woods", "Style", "Clean", "Bad Blood", "This Love", "I Wish You Would", "Blank Space", "New Romantics", "You Are In Love", and "Wonderland".  Out of 160 points I give the album 139 which 86%, a B+.  Awesome job Taylor!

Taylor Swift: Fearless Album Review

 I seem to be reviewing Taylor Swift's albums in backwards order.  I reviewed "Red" first, then I reviewed "Speak Now" and today I'm reviewing "Fearless" which won album of the year at the Grammys back in 2010.  Here's my track by track review:

1) Fearless: The title track as well as the fifth and final single from the album.  Before the album's release Taylor sang an acoustic version of the song while she was touring.  The song was released as a promo single before being released as an actual single later on.  It's a great song but I was really annoyed with the video.  I wanted the video to have a storyline but instead it was just shots of her on her tour.  10/10

2) Fifteen: The fourth single from the album.  This song was my sister's favorite song on the album at the time of it's release.  I thought it was a good song until Taylor sang the song with Miley Cyrus at the Grammys.  After that I didn't like the song.  While the song tells a good message and has a great video, I wish this song wasn't a single.  7/10

3) Love Story: The first single from the album.  In this song Taylor sings about being with a guy that no one approves of.  It also uses Romeo and Juliet references, with the exception of it being a happy ending.  The song became one of Taylor's biggest hits and was a perfect choice as a lead single.  10/10

4) Hey Stephen: This song was written about Stephen Barker Liles from the country band "Love and Theft" who opened up for Taylor Swift while she was touring.  Like "Love Story" the song was completely written by Taylor herself.  It's a really happy, lovey dovey ballad (yes I said that but it's true).  10/10

5) White Horse: The second single from the album.  This song initially wasn't going to be on "Fearless", in fact Taylor wanted to wait and put on her third album, which became "Speak Now" but the executive producers of the show "Grey's Anatomy" wanted to include some of Taylor's music on the series.  She played "White Horse" for them and when the producers responded, "White Horse" was put on the album.  It is completely different from "Love Story" lyrically and musically.  A very sad song that took me awhile to like it.  The video also made me cry, yes I admit it I cried!  10/10

6) You Belong With Me: The third single from the album.  While I thought the video was amazing, I felt that the song was repetitive once it was released as a single.  It's sad because I liked the song when got the album.  The song was her biggest hit in the U.S. until "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together".  6/10

7) Breathe (featuring Colbie Caillat): This is my favorite song on the album.  It is also the one I relate to the most.  The song is about the end of a relationship or friendship but no one is to blame for it.  Colbie Caillat sings background vocals on the song which makes it more amazing.  It was also nominated for a grammy and there is a video on youtube of Taylor and Colbie recording the song.  10/10

8) Tell Me Why: This song is the angriest song on the album.  It reminded me a little bit of "Picture to Burn" from her first album.  I love the lyrics and kinda wish it was released as a single.  10/10

9) You're Not Sorry: Another angry song.  This song was about a partner who's been lying and keeping secrets.  The song also remixed when it was on an episode of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" which Taylor guest stared on.  While Taylor was great on the episode the song, and it's remix, weren't as good.  7/10

10) The Way I Loved You: You know how relationships are complicated, well that's what this song is about.  It also talks about wanting to be with a guy that drives you insane but you love them over someone that is completely perfect.  It's a pretty good song.  8/10

11) Forever & Always: This was the last song recorded for the album.  Before the album's release, Taylor went on "Ellen" and mentioned that the song was about her ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas who broke up with her over the phone.  OUCH!  Despite it's lyrics being sad and angry the song is very upbeat.  It should've been the album's fourth single instead on "Fifteen".  10/10

12) The Best Day: Taylor wrote this song about her mother.  It's a really cute song and even had a video.  I like the song and I'm glad it was on the album.  8/10

13) Change: The song was originally one of the theme songs for the 2008 Summer Olympics and was later included on the album.  The song is very empowering and even had a video.  Despite this I don't listen to it as much as the rest of the album.  7/10

 "Fearless" was re-released in 2009 and won album of the year in 2010 at the grammys like I had already typed earlier.  My favorite songs on the album are: "Breathe (featuring Colbie Caillat)", "Fearless", "Forever & Always", "Love Story", "White Horse", "Tell Me Why", and "Hey Stephen".  Out of 130 points I give the album 113 which is 86%, a B.  86%?  Really?  Funny I thought it'd be more but a B is still good nonetheless!

Taylor Swift: Speak Now Album Review

 Back in July, i reviewed Taylor Swift's fourth album, "Red".  It's safe to say I didn't like the album that much.  Today I'll be reviewing her third album, "Speak Now", which I thought was a better album.  Here's my track by track review.

1) Mine: "Mine" was the first single from the album.  Taylor says that it's about her tendency to run from love.  Although the song and it's video are great, it reminds me a little bit of "Love Story" from her "Fearless" album.  10/10

2) Sparks Fly: Taylor performed the song live before a studio version of the song was released.  It's an amazing song.  Especially the chorus "Drop everything now, meet me in the pouring rain.  Kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain.  Cause I see Sparks Fly whenever you smile."  It was released as the fifth single from the album and it's one of my favorites.  10/10

3) Back to December: This was the second single from the album.  Unlike most of her songs, Taylor apologizes in this song.  The song is about Taylor Lautner.  At first listen it's blah, but after a few more it's amazing.  10/10

4) Speak Now: The title track, which was released as a promo single before the album's release.  In the song Taylor crashes the wedding of her ex and his bride-to-be.  She does this because the bride is wrong for him.  It's very good, and if anyone has been in that situation and stopped the wedding then I salute you, because I probably wouldn't have the courage to do that.  But then again my ex's wouldn't invite me to their weddings.  And if they did then they've clearly lost their minds!  10/10

5) Dear John: This is a song about John Mayer.  Shocking isn't it?  Who knew they dated?  It's the longest song on the album at almost 7 minutes.  It's a good ballad.  8/10

6) Mean: Before I heard this song I thought it would sound like "Picture to Burn".  Boy was I wrong!  It's very country.  It talks about how someone people can be nothing but mean to you.  I know the feeling.  (High school sucked!)  It was released as the third single from the album and got Taylor a Grammy.  Awesome!  10/10

7) The Story of Us: An upbeat song!  YAY!  She wrote this song after being at and award show a few seats away from an ex.  I wonder who the ex was.  Hmmmm...  The song was released as the fourth single from the album but it became Taylor's first single to miss the top 40 on the billboard charts.  Ouch!  10/10

8) Never Grow Up: A lullaby Taylor sings to a baby.  She's telling the baby to never grow up so they won't go through the challenges of growing up.  I like it and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who can relate to this song.  It made me cry when I first heard it.  10/10

9) Enchanted: It starts off slow, which makes it perfect to waltz to, but then it gets more upbeat.  I like it but it's not my favorite.  8/10

10) Better than Revenge: MY FAVORITE SONG ON THE ALBUM!  It talks about a girl who stole Taylor's boyfriend, but the girl should watch out because Taylor is great at revenge.  I wish that it was released as single.  10/10

11) Innocent:  This song is clearly about Kanye West.  We all know the song is about him and what he did at the VMA's last year.  Instead of singing about how hurtful it was Taylor takes a different direction it seems she's let go of the whole thing.  10/10

12) Haunted: Don't you just hate it when someone haunts you?  Taylor does.  In this song Taylor is haunted by an ex.  It's very dark and unexpected from Taylor.  My 2nd favorite song on the album.  10/10

13) Last Kiss: A sad song.  Talks about the end of a relationship.  The hidden message in the booklet for this song is FOREVER AND ALWAYS, which is a song on "Fearless" about Joe Jonas.  10/10

14) Long Live: This song might be heard at graduation ceremonies in the future.  I like it, awesome job Taylor!  10/10

15) Ours: This is on the Deluxe Edition that can be bought at Target.  The positive, it's very sweet.  The negative, the music sounds like Carrie Underwood's "Quitter" from "Play On".  It was released as the album's sixth and final single.  10/10

16) If this was a Movie: Why do I think of her song "A Perfectly Good Heart", from the deluxe edition of her self titled album, when I hear this song?  Either way, It's still good.  10/10

17)  Superman: Great song.  Nothing negative about it and it's a guilty pleasure of mine to listen to.  10/10

18) Back to December (Acoustic): I think it's better than the original version.  10/10

19) Haunted (Acoustic): It loses it's dark vibe but it's still good.  10/10

20) Mine (Pop Mix): It's pretty good but I prefer the original version of the song.  8/10

 "Speak Now", in my opinion is my favorite album of hers.  I don't why it wasn't nominated for album of the year.  I love all the songs on this album.  Out of 200 points I give the album 194 points which is 97%, an A+.  Hopefully her fifth album will be like this!

Taylor Swift: Red Album Review

 Taylor Swift came into the music industry in 2006 when she released her self-titled album which had 5 hits singles, "Tim McGraw", "Teardrops On My Guitar", "Our Song", "Picture to Burn", and "Should've Said No".  In 2008 she continued her success with her second album "Fearless".  "Fearless" debuted at number 1 on the billboard charts also with 5 hit singles, "Love Story", "White Horse", "You Belong With Me", "Fifteen", and "Fearless".  Although "Fearless" was a hard album to beat Taylor managed to do so in 2010 with "Speak Now", where she wrote all the songs by herself.  The album had 6 singles, "Mine", "Back to December", "Mean", "The Story of Us", "Sparks Fly", and "Ours".  "The Story of Us" became Taylor's first, and so far only single, to miss the top 40 on the billboard charts.  I thought when Taylor was going to release her 4th album it'd be better than "Speak Now".  BOY WAS I WRONG!  Despite "Red" doing good on the charts, it sounded uneven and bad to me.  Here's my review of the album track by track.

1) State of Grace: State of Grace was released as the final promo before the album released.  It sounded like something U2 probably would have sung.  Despite that it doesn't feel like a Taylor Swift song at all.  4/10.

2) Red: The title track was one of the 2 songs announced for the album in August.  It was also released as the second promo single.  Unlike State of Grace, I like this song.  Despite it using lines like "Losing him was blue like I'd never known, Missing him was dark gray all alone." and the auto-tuned "Red" part at the end of the chorus it still sounds great.  It was released as the 5th single and like previous 5th singles "Fearless" and "Sparks Fly" from her previous albums it's video showed parts of Taylor's concert.  That annoys me but at least we got a video right?  10/10.

3) Treacherous: When I saw this as a song title I thought it'd be an angry song like "Picture to Burn".  Clearly I was wrong, however the song is my favorite song on the whole album.  It's slow buts gets a little faster as it continues.  Taylor co-wrote the song with Dan Wilson who co-wrote Adele's hit "Someone Like You" so it's no surprise the song is great.  This should be the final single instead of The Last Time.  10/10.

4) I Knew You Were Trouble: Considering State of Grace being alternative rock, Red being mainly pop, and Treacherous being country, we'd think there wouldn't be anymore surprises with the album.  However I Knew You Were Trouble adds a little bit of dub step to the mix.  Very surprising.  The song was released as the third promo single and later the 3rd official single from the album.  I liked the song initially but after hearing on radio so much it bored me to death.  The video was great though.  7/10.

5) All to Well:  Co-written by Liz Rose, who's co-written a lot of Taylor's songs, All to Well ends up being the longest song on the record.  I didn't like the song at first but after a bad day last December I listened to it and it grew on me.  It's rumored to be about Taylor's ex-boyfriend and famous actor, Jake Gyllenhaal.  9/10.

6) 22: When I first heard it I thought "Did she use the same melody from The Corrs' song Humdrum?".  Afterwards I thought it was catchy and then I turned 22 and many people would mention this song.  It annoyed me so much and the fact that this song was released as the 4th single didn't help.  After a couple of listens today I'm starting to think it was a rejected from a Katy Perry album.  5/10.

7) I Almost Do:  I don't listen to this one.  For some reason it's not memorable.  2/10.

8) We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together: I HATE THIS SONG!  I admit it sounded good the first time I heard it.  Then it got on my nerves.  It sounds like a song Avril Lavigne might've recorded if she didn't do "Under My Skin".  This was the 1st single from the album and became Taylor's first number 1 on the billboard charts.  WHAT?!  I know, shocking especially since she's had better songs like "Love Story", "Sparks Fly", "Today Was a Fairytale", just to name a few.  The video is also strange was her band mates dresses as animals.  Creepy.  1/10.

9) Stay Stay Stay: Bad Bad Bad. That's all I have to say.  0/10.

10) The Last Time featuring Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol: The 7th and final single from the album.  This is surprising considering Taylor rarely features anyone on her records.  The slow is is half good half bad.  Taylor's vocals are perfect but Gary's don't mesh well with hers.  I think if she did the song by herself it would've been better.  5/10.

11) Holy Ground:  Because of it's title, I thought the song would be a ballad.  Instead the song is more upbeat and probably could've been on Speak Now.  Not bad at all.  8/10.

12) Sad Beautiful Tragic: Unlike Holy Ground being upbeat Sad Beautiful Tragic is slow with hints of sadness and vulnerability.  The song also stays at the same pace without that much of a change.  Taylor's vocals are great but I feel the song goes on just a minute too long.  5/10.

13) The Lucky One: A song that tells a story about a star who faces many ups in the beginning but it comes crashing down and leaves the spotlight for a normal life.  Not a bad song but I skip it most of the time like I do with I Almost Do.  5/10

14) Everything Has Changed featuring Ed Sheeran): Another collaboration.  Unlike The Last Time Ed and Taylor's vocals complement each other perfectly.  It's mainly an acoustic-like song but it's hands down one of the best tracks.  It is the 6th single from the album and the video for it was cute.  10/10.

15) Starlight: Taylor's known for always having an amazing love song on her albums.  On her first album it was "Mary's Song (Oh My My)", on Fearless it was "Love Story", on Speak Now it was "Mine", and on Red it's Starlight.  This probably should've been the first single from the album.  My favorite part is the chorus.  10/10.

16) Begin Again: Begin Again was the first promo single from the album and then became the 2nd official single.  When I first heard it I thought it wasn't all the great but after a couple more listens I liked the song.  10/10.

17) The Moment I Knew: If you got the deluxe edition of Red at target you got 3 bonus tracks.  The first being The Moment I Knew.  Taylor shows a lot of vulnerability in this song.  I feel sad when I listen to it though.  9/10.

18) Come Back... Be Here: Like Treacherous, Come Back... Be Here was also co-written by Dan Wilson.  It's not bad but it isn't awesome, it's kind of in the middle.  6/10.

19) Girl At Home:  I go back and forth with this song.  When I first heard it I thought it was great and after awhile I thought it satisfactory.  I still listen to it a lot though.  Just like with Holy Ground this could've been on Speak Now.  9/10.

  Overall Taylor's Red album was not as good as "Taylor Swift", "Fearless", and "Speak Now".  I liked only a few of the songs on this album.  I understand artists need to grow but she basically made the album Avril Lavigne would've made after Let Go had she not gone and made Under My Skin.  Another thing that doesn't make sense is that before the album was released Taylor released two songs for the Hunger Games soundtrack called "Safe & Sound" and "Eyes Open", both amazing songs and so it doesn't make sense why she didn't make the album a little bit like those songs.  Anyway, the songs I recommend are: Red, Treacherous, All to Well, Everything Has Changed, Starlight, Begin Again, and Girl At Home.  Out of 190 points the album gets 125 which is summed up as 65% a D.  My advice to Taylor is stick with writing with Ed Sheeran and Liz Rose, don't lose your country pop sound, and I pray your 5th album ends up being better than this.  Sorry!