Track-by-Track Impressions of Taylor Swift's 1989
1989, the fifth studio album from Taylor Allison Swift officially released on Monday. The album sells for $12.99 on Apple's iTunes, but the better deal is to be found at Target where you can get the 1989: Deluxe Edition for just $1 more. The Deluxe Edition adds 3 additional tracks, 3 voice memos from Ms. Swift, and a collector's set of Polaroid pictures.
1989 marks a new musical direction for Ms. Swift: it is her first full foray into pop music following record-breaking success in Country music. In moving into Pop music, Ms. Swift goes all-in, and the results are spectacular through a combination of excellent song writing, Ms. Swift's vocals, and great production. Despite the shift to Pop, Ms. Swift continues the tradition of releasing albums that people can identify with as they listen, too. Here's a track-by-track rundown, including the bonus tracks (14-16)
1. Welcome to New York: 1989 opens with the catchy tune "Welcome to New York." It's a strong track to open the album, and it's a clear indication that Ms. Swift's shed Country music. There's no fiddle in this song, but plenty of synth. Yet, the expected lines about love from Ms. Swift still make their way in and the song manages to tell the truth about New York City:
Welcome to New York: Like any great love, it keeps you guessing. Like any real love, it's ever-changing.
2. Blank Space: The second track on 1989 has a slightly slower tempo than "Welcome to New York," yet still has a catchiness to it. This is perhaps the album's best song.
So it's gonna be forever, or it's gonna go down in flames. You can tell me when it's over, if the high was worth the pain. Got a long list of ex-lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane, ‘cause you know I love the players, and you love the game.
3. Style: Perhaps the song that most directly refers to Ms. Swift's ex-boyfriend Harry Styles (of One Direction fame), "Style” sounds like it's about timeless fashion, but it's really about a relationship that keeps going on despite not being a good one.
When we come crashing down we come back every time. We never go out of style. We never go out of style.
4. Out of the Woods: Perhaps the most repetitive track on 1989, "Out of the Woods" features a chorus that asks the question "Are we out of the woods yet?" and "Are we in the clear yet?" If "Style" is about a relationship that keeps going, perhaps "Out of the Woods" is about escaping from one.
5. All You Had to Do Was Stay: This was a mediocre track on 1989, but on an album of this caliber it's still a good listen.
Hey, all you had to do was stay. Had me in the palm of your hand. Then, why'd you had to go and lock me out when I let you in. Stay, hey, now you say you want it back now that it's just too late. All you had to do was stay.
Plus, the song is about the feeling that many people have had where someone tries to fix a relationship they gave up on after it's just too late.
6. Shake It Off: The first single from 1989 was released in August. Great beat, extremely catchy, and an amazing song about shaking off the haters. I spent the majority of a long transcontinental flight listening to this song and still didn't tire of it.
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate baby. I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, I shake it off, shake it off.
While the music video has no bearing on this review of the album, it's also a must-see.
7. I Wish You Would: This was my least favorite track on 1989, excluding the bonus tracks. The song is about someone who wishes someone would come back to them. In a sense, the music seems too complex, with too fast a tempo, and it doesn't quite fit the song.
8. Bad Blood: Allegedly about fellow Pop artist Katy Perry, "Bad Blood" tells the story of two friends who now have become enemies and have bad blood between them.
Hey, now we got problems; and I don't think we can solve them. You made a really deep cut, and baby now we got bad blood.
The song once again is catchy and the music pairs well with the lyrics on this one.
9. Wildest Dreams: This track has a bit of creepiness to it. It's about someone who wishes that their ex will remember them – but remember them at the peak of their game.
Say you'll remember me, standing in a nice dress, staring at the sun set babe. Red lips and rosy cheeks. Say you'll see me again even if it's just in your wildest dreams.
Yet, the song works and the music comes together very well with the vocals here.
10. How You Get The Girl: "How You Get The Girl" is your typical Pop music song which tells a story and then kicks into a faster tempo for a chorus. In this case, it's all about how to get the girl you like. The secret is to just tell her you want to be with her:
I want you, for worse or for better. I would wait forever and ever. Broke your heart, I'll put it back together. I would wait forever and ever. And that's how it works. That's how you get the girl, girl...
In real life, this might lead to rejection, but in a song from Ms. Swift it all works out and the song wraps with "That's how it works: That's how you got the girl."
11. This Love: This track features the slowest tempo on 1989. If a music video were made for this, it would have to be set on a beach or in the ocean. It's about a love that went away, yet comes back like a tide.
This love is good, this love is bad, this love is a life back from the dead. These hands had to let them go free, and this love came back to me.
12. I Know Places: The highest vocal notes from Ms. Swift on 1989 are found on this track. Ms. Swift sings about the idea of a secret place where she can go with her lover and not be seen by anyone. It's a song that speaks to the challenges of being a celebrity: the public wants to know about your life, and the media will try to deliver what the public wants to know by following you around everywhere always trying to get a photo (and of course, the more scandalous, the better, because scandal sells magazines and makes people click links.
13. Clean: The regular version of 1989 wraps with "Clean," a song about being washed free of negativity. As is typical with Ms. Swift, that negativity is a failed relationship. The song has a relatively slow tempo, but it fits the song perfectly.
It was months and months of back and forth. Ah, ah, you're still all over me like I wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore. On my head as I lost the war and the sky turned black like a perfect storm. Rain came pouring down when I was drowning, that's when I could finally breathe, and that morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean.
14. Wonderland: It's immediately clear that this song is based on the idea of Wonderland from the Lewis Carroll children's book as Ms. Swift sings of taking a wrong turn that leads to a "fall down the rabbit hole." Overall, a good song.
15. You Are In Love: This track is all over the place with the lyrics. Parts of the song work well, but other parts just don't come together.
16. New Romantics: The final track on 1989: Deluxe Edition is incredibly catchy and upbeat. The song also makes reference to all the "haters" of Ms. Swift, with the line "'Cause baby I could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me." This is the best of the three bonus tracks.
A average score based on averaging the individual track scores would be 8 / 10, but 1989 comes together as an album so well that it's deserving of much more. 1989 has been declared the best Pop album of the year by many, but it may very well be the best album of the year across any genre of music. After listening to 1989, you may very well want to put it on shuffle and repeat all day long.
Overall Review Score: 9 / 10