Graphic by Gabby Gagnon ‘24
By Lily Reavis ‘21
Editor-in-Chief
Personally, if you told me to recite the poetry I wrote at 17 years old, I would run screaming into the woods. Apparently Taylor Swift, though, isn’t afraid of her adolescent self, as proven by the rerecording of her 2008 album “Fearless.”
In the rerecorded album, which was released this week, the now 31-year-old singer powerfully and genuinely returns to her early country-pop roots. Her decade-old lyrics, now sung in her matured voice, skillfully craft a message about personal value and the art of growing up. There are also subtle differences in the new version of the album, like the fraction-of-a-second-longer pause before the chorus in “The Best Day” and a new perspective in “Change,” which emphasizes the time between the two recordings.
“My expectations were beyond exceeded,” Naomi Brown ’21, a self-identified Taylor Swift fan, said. “I felt like she stayed true to the character of the songs, while also digging deeper.”
The release of “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” is a welcome and sentimental return to childhood. Even more so, it’s a heart-twisting ode to growing up over the past 20 years and the trials of the early 2000s. For myself and a number of other 20-somethings, the new album feels like a reminder that personal narratives are more important than public personas. In the rerecorded album, Swift once again proves to the world that she is unconcerned with its perception of her.
“One of the coolest things, in my opinion, about being a Taylor fan is seeing her evolution as an artist,” Vincent Finch-Brand ’21 said. “As much as I love her new songs, it was also really cool to hear some new songs written very much in the style of her old songs.”
You don’t need to be a die-hard Swiftie to understand the importance of this new version of “Fearless,” though. For the first time since her career began at 13, Swift is now the sole owner of a piece of her early discography. Her dignified composure in the face of a shady record deal is something to be admired whether or not you enjoy the singer’s early country-twinged songs.
In the same vein, the release is also a massive diss to music executives Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta, as well as record label Big Machine Records, all of whom collectively own the rights to her first six albums.
“I think that a lot of people might be confused as to why she would release nearly identical versions of her old albums, but … even if I didn’t love the new versions, which I do, I would still support her choice to rerecord her music with full creative control and ownership,” Finch-Brand said.
Additionally, by rerecording those albums, Swift, who is listed as the songwriter on each, could effectively eliminate all media usage of her early work. That would remove all financial value of her first 80 songs from her old record label, as they wouldn’t be able to play those songs on the radio, in movies, on television or in ads. Brilliantly, Swift could book all of those slots with her new recordings instead, giving her a financial monarchy over the work she created and rightfully owns.
Wait, it’s just the old album again?
Okay, I’ll admit it — the idea of a rerecorded album is kind of weird. We already spent a whole decade memorizing the lyrics and learning the backstories of the songs. I’ll be the first to say that I was not as excited for “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” as I had been for “folklore” and “evermore” earlier this year, just because of the added thrill of new music.
But Swift didn’t just rerelease old tracks; she also dropped six never-before-heard songs “From The Vault” that she wrote early on, but never included on any albums. “One thing I’ve been loving about these ‘From The Vault’ songs is that they’ve never been heard, so I can experiment, play and even include some of my favorite artists,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post on March 24, announcing the release of the first vault song, “You All Over Me,” which features Maren Morris.
Another “From The Vault” track, “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” is the emotional 2008 breakup bop we never got — aside from the other three that were released back then. The singer’s maturity shines through the obviously-teenager-written lyrics for the perfect return to middle school without all the awkward memories. I’m torn between feeling betrayal toward Swift for not giving me this masterpiece of a song earlier and feeling relieved that it doesn’t remind me of the trumpet player I dated in tenth grade. I think Swift knew what she was doing when she decided to give this to us in 2021.
The rerecorded tracks are also notable. “The thing I love so much about Taylor Swift is her storytelling ability,” Brown explained. “I think that even though these songs were written by a teenage Taylor, she has the ability to still bring a lot of truth and honesty to them.”
The song “Change” was originally written about Borchetta, Swift’s first music producer, and the “walls” he helped her break down on the way to stardom. Even though the rerecorded version features the exact same lyrics, the meaning is now drastically altered due to the huge public fallout between Swift and Borchetta over her previous record label deal. When the adult Swift sings, “These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down / It’s a revolution,” on the rerecorded album, it seems to be pointed at Borchetta for attempting to maintain ownership over her work.
It’s hard not to feel a twinge of childhood nostalgia hearing the fully grown Swift the rerecorded album. Frankly, I shouldn’t have to explain why the rerecorded version of “Fifteen” made me cry, but if listening to the 31-year-old Swift sing, “Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now,” doesn’t make you emotional, I’m embarrassed for you.
“Fearless” is only the first of Swift’s six original albums that she has said she will rerecord and rerelease. Although the singer hasn’t officially announced which album will be next, fans have speculated that it is likely either “1989” or “Speak Now” based on the singer’s recent focus on her earlier work.
“I've heard rumors that ‘1989’ is next,” Finch-Brand explained.
“Looking back, it makes sense that she started with her first AOTY [Album of the Year] win and one of her career-defining albums,” Brown said. “I am super excited to hear ‘Speak Now’ rerecorded, because it was a childhood-defining album for me and I’m excited to hear it as a 21-year-old. I also love her debut album and think that a lot of the songs on it will benefit from it being rerecorded with her more mature voice.”
Knowing all that we do about Swift from the past 18 years of growing up with her music career, the release of “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” comes as an emotional return to adolescence. And honestly, if that’s not for you, that’s fine — I’m buying the album as a CD and breaking out my portable disc player for this one.