Jump to content
  • entries
    12
  • comments
    23
  • views
    2,110

Taylor Swift 'Red' 2012


MrPopPants

569 views

Taylor Swift

'Red' 2012
Album Review

 

By Luke and Jordan

 

Full review: https://talkabouttunes.wordpress.com/2016/06/16/taylor-swift-red-2012/

 

1) State of Grace 

(T.Swift)
As soon as the ‘Play’ button has been pressed, this seems like a great opener with gradual building drums and escalating guitar riffs – almost punky. Taylor then graces us with her vocals, singing about who ‘we’ are in metaphorical terms. The track seems to work well as an interlude, as there isn’t much of a chorus to grab on to, it’s quite wishy-washy. The song starts to pick up by the third verse though with faster paced vocals and heavier beats, but it’s a shame it came in so late. The song starts to outstay it’s welcome with its repetitive chorus – however if the chorus had more girth to it, then it would have been welcomed. It is strangely feel good. 4/10
An exciting beginning sound, Taylor begins to tell her story in song. The instrumental is a saving grace for this track. A casual listener may not appreciate the lyrics upon first listen. I like how the song ends, the arrangement is done beautifully; although it is quite  along track. 5/10

 

2) Red 

(T.Swift)
As soon as the song switches to ‘Red’ a different sound becomes obvious straight away, we are taken to the southern part of America. Then T-Swizzle reintroduces us to drums and some beats to keep us entertained. The hook she supplies “Re..eh..eh..eh…” is a great way to grasp the listeners attention; and the other features “Loving him was blue” is very clever and a great lyrical moment – I wish she played on this more. This fast paced track also gives us strong vocal moments and adlibs and by the middle 8 we are given an electric guitar moment which is very refreshing and exciting. This track majorly outshines ‘State of Grace’ I do wish however that she would sing with some more diction – I am struggling to understand her. 8/10
I love the guitar riff at the beginning, the music is simply beautiful with Taylor Swift’s vocals and a pop/country feel. The hook on “Red” is the pop element which is easy to grasp. Describing different colours of feelings but “Loving him was red” means strong, passionate, angry, hot, painful. The production is great with different musical moments and instruments which spiced up the song. On the last sentence, she takes us down low which ends the song nicely – this song would have been a great opening track to the album. 9/10

 

3) Treacherous  

(T.Swift, D.Wilson)
A more mellow sounding guitar riff now, and this is the same with Taylor’s vocals – I much prefer this Taylor Swift to the schreechy “BABY NOW WE GO BAD BLOOD HEY” which is jarring. The sentiment in the song is very nice and I can picture her singing her heart out to this song, but it’s bland. Similarly to “State of Grace” the song picks up towards the end of the track – but by this time, I probably would have skipped it. Sorry, not my bag! 4/10
Another calming moment where the lyrical content is at the forefront, rather than the instrumental. The song does pick up musically during the second verse, then you are taken to a quieter moment before it picks up again. 4/10

 

4) I Knew You Were Trouble  

(T.Swift, M.Martin, Shellback)
Wow, the pace has been picked up with this cute little number hasn’t it? Another very strong song lyrically but also musically. The builds from Taylor in the bridge are fantastic, the arrangements get gradually faster and then suddenly there’s a drop in the music and a dub-step sound appears. I must commend Taylor Swift for incorporating modern sounds with her country roots, no matter how subtle – it’s different to chart music at the time of release and just as attainable. Lyrically, you can see Taylor has been scorned previously and she lets her emotions and past experiences out through song. A great tune. 9/10
A deep lyrical song with a hot and captivating beat, the pre-chorus cools it down but you’re built up to “Lying on the cold, hard ground” followed by a heavy bass and dubstep moment, which isn’t expected from Taylor Swift; and at the time wasn’t as common int he pop industry.  You just want to jump around the room to this song, it’s an instant hit – and I knew this before it was released as a sing that it was going to be something special. She supplied great vocals that are full of passion, and it is an iconic Taylor Swift song that has influenced other pop acts to venture into the field of dub-step. 9.5/10

 

5) All Too Well  

(T.Swift, L.Rose)
The formula of this album is growing tiresome now – we seem to be going ‘Good song, bland song, good song, bland song’ and this is another bland song. Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate the lyrical content but it’s the instrumental that doesn’t seem to fit the vocal arrangement especially around the second verse. Once again, the song picks up towards the end of the track becoming heavier and more commercial…  This should have been done earlier on. I will say that her vocals sound good, even though the track is drab – One of the best uplifting parts of the song comes from the unknown male singer, the voices blend very well. 4/10

Another beautiful melody followed by those amazing lyrics that tell as story. A wonderful chorus. The male backing vocals help give the song something extra, she takes you to another level and the story is incredible emotional – I can’t help but have a tear in my eye. 9.5/10

 

6) 22   

(T.Swift, M.Martin, Shellback)
Yes, a fun bop! You can almost feel the fun seeping out of the speakers, Vocally, you can hear Taylor having fun and singing from emotion memory and it’s nice to hear, as a lot of artists don’t do this. The backing “Who’s Taylor Swift anyway? Eww” Is particularly fun! I can see 22 year olds everywhere singing this (I will admit, my friends and I did). The vocal arrangement of the chorus is a great hook, how the inflections come after “22” and “you keep me next to you” This is definitely a song to play when getting ready to go out. 7.5/10
A fun track for Taylor to sing, a catchy pop track and chorus with some nice adlibs!8.5/10

 

7) I Almost Do

(T.Swift)
Still following that formula… I will admit, this song is slighty better than the other ballads we have heard thus far, the hook is easier to grasp and a great lyrical moment with “I Bet” leading her off to sing about anything she likes. This track is reminiscent of something from a Disney movie, I can see The Little Mermaid singing this – One of my favorite moments here is when she lets out little falsetto moments which almost sound like whispers “It takes everything in me“, they are sweet and she comes across in a vulnerable light in conjunction with the lyrics. This is a sound that I can imagine Miley Cyrus pursuing if she didn’t start twerking on huge teddy bears. 6/10
It’s about splitting up with someone but wanting to get back with them and almost doing so but being scared to. A great mid-temp with some exciting moment. 8/10

 

8) We Are Never Getting Back Together 

(T.Swift, M.Martin, Shellback)
Oh and would you look at that… a good track! Predictable much.
I can see why this was the lead single from the album – it presents Taylor in a different light whilst still attaining a ‘Girl Next Door’ image. Taylor still has that “Swift sounds” we have become accustomed to whilst incorporating heavier beats to accompany her and it works well coinciding with the song’s slightly aggressive theme. The middle 8 is refreshing compared to the rest of the song, with her sweet vocals and then her ‘talky’ part. This has become something of a female empowerment song and it’s easy to see why. 7/10
Another fun track with a simple message. The pop beats and catchy “ooohs” give the audience something to grasp. The fact she talks in the song, gives it a more personal feel, and you invest into Taylor as a person, almost like she is talking to you as a friend about a personal relationship. A pop song all the same that will do well in the charts.8.5/10

 

9) Stay Stay Stay   

(T.Swift)
How chirpy! I’m so pleased she has broken this formula with an uplifting song even though the opening lyrics are “I’m pretty sure we broke up last night” it’s a pretty strange juxtaposition. Again that male vocal blends well with Taylor’s naturally high vocals. The chorus is very easy to grasp and I imagine this would be a single if she released another from the album. The vocal overlays in the background towards the end of the track work very well and boosts the song up a notch. 7/10
A fun child-like instrumental is that a ukulele? A nice love song that talks about relationship ups and downs but regardless they should stay together. 8/10

 

 

Full review: https://talkabouttunes.wordpress.com/2016/06/16/taylor-swift-red-2012/

 

0 Comments


Recommended Comments

There are no comments to display.

Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×