Taylor Swift’s ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ launches with stellar reviews: It’s ‘an impeccable remake of her best album’
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The 2004 album “1989” was a pivotal moment in Taylor Swift‘s career, making her a rare artist to transition from one genre to another full-time and enjoy even greater success than they’d achieved before. After she established herself as a country singer-songwriter, that was the moment she became a full-fledged pop star. Now she has released “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” the latest in her series of albums she has re-recorded in order to regain control of her music rights.
Several reviews came in the very day her new “1989” dropped on October 27, and the early consensus of critics has been overwhelmingly positive. Rachel Aroesti (The Guardian) writes that the album “provides a perfect excuse to revisit those monstrously accomplished tracks” and that it “also helps make sense of that decade in pop.” Angie Martoccio (Rolling Stone) adds that “now, in a post-rockist world, ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ shines a lot brighter. Standing on the beach, in the clear and out of the woods, so does Swift,” while the five previously unreleased “From the Vault” tracks “might be her best batch yet.”
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Neil McCormick (The Telegraph) calls it “an impeccable remake of her best album — and her five new tracks reflect the original’s themes in intriguing ways.” And Hollie Geraghty (New Musical Express) says, “‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ feels more symbolic than her previous re-releases. Not only is it another step closer to having a full back catalogue of albums that she will own, but it’s also a celebration of the moment Swift really took ownership of her pop sound.”
There is one mixed review among the positives on MetaCritic, from Adam White (The Independent UK), who says the tracks originally produced by Max Martin, who is absent from this recreation, “struggle to take off without him,” while “there’s a polish to the vocals that is technically better, but it lacks the yearning strain of those original outings.” But even White concedes, “This revamp does at least serve as a reminder of the album’s untouchable greatness.”
The original “1989” won Swift her second Grammy for Album of the Year — at the time a historic feat, which she blew out of the water when she won that award for a third time with “Folklore” in 2021. She could win for an unprecedented fourth time with “Midnights.” It might be too much for even Swifties to ask that “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” bring her a fifth trophy in 2025. But you never know with Swift.
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