REVIEW: ‘SPEAK NOW (TAYLOR’S VERSION)’ ‘FROM THE VAULT’ SONGS
BY KIM LANGHIRT
Taylor Swift is once again breaking records following her recently re-recorded third studio album. Originally released in late October 2010, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” is Swift’s latest success in the fight for the ownership of her own art.
Each of the albums re-recorded versions have so far remained faithful to their original counterparts, though “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” has the most notable changes. There is, of course, the change to the controversial lyrics of “Better Than Revenge” as well as the re-balanced soundtrack of “Mean.”
Above all, the most anticipated portion of the album, what Swift calls her “From the Vault” songs, are the unexpectedly necessary addition to the already iconic album. The collection of six songs is almost an entity of its own, with each track feeling like a nighttime extension of the album, similar to the “Midnights (3am Edition).” “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” which already encompasses a large range of emotions, is strengthened by the equally jolting feelings of the “From the Vault” songs.
The first of the tracks, “Electric Touch,” features Fall Out Boy. The band and Swift sing about two people hanging out together for the first time. Both hope it could lead to something but fear that it won’t because of their past experiences. The upbeat punk-pop feel flawlessly captures the hopeful anticipation of the story. Each chorus increases in volume and emotion, with the last one being the most powerful.
Rumored to be written about Swift’s longtime friend Emma Stone, “When Emma Falls in Love” is the softest song of the Vault tracks. The track’s sound falls somewhere between “Enchanted” and “Last Kiss.” It’s a song about admiring a girl who is “like a book you can’t put down,” and the nagging feeling of wishing you had the same allure, a feeling our teenage selves can certainly relate to.
“I Can See You” is most unlike any other song on the album. Within the first few notes, the track seemed out of place, but the initial vocals resembling the first vocals in the original “Speak Now” track, “Mine,” provide the song a place in the album. The bold staccato soundtrack resembles the heart-rush of secretly pining for someone. It’s the kind of song that gets your blood pumping and makes you want to dance. It will surely be a crowd favorite.
Swift also featured Paramore singer Hayley Williams in “Castles Crumbling.” The drama and tensions are high, reflecting the theme of dealing with disappointment in yourself. The song speaks to dealing with what Swift describes as “these voices in my head telling me that I had the perfect chance and I blew it. I hadn't been good enough, I had given it all and been found wanting,” in the album’s liner notes. The pair’s voices alternate between airy whispers and cries for help, which builds the track up seamlessly to the final blow to Swift’s reign in the last verse.
The fifth “From the Vault” song, “Foolish One,” will hit home for any hopeless romantic. The song is deceptively upbeat, when in reality, Swift’s lyrics are truly heartbreaking. She opens up about being hard on herself for continuing to have hope in romance after all she’s experienced. By the end of the song, the heartache is undeniable. Just in time, the final chorus lyrics change to, “Foolish one / the day is gonna come for your confessions of love / when all is said and done, he just wasn’t the one / no, he just wasn’t the one,” and Swift’s vocals sound wiser, as if she is speaking directly to her younger self. Was this chorus added after the song was originally written?
The storytelling in “Timeless” will feel familiar to any longtime Swiftie. Lyrics like “On the counter was a cardboard box / And the sign said ‘photos 25 cents each,’” and, “There was one of a teenage couple in a driveway / Holding hands on the way to a dance,” paint a vivid picture from the first listen. Detailed storytelling has become Swift’s signature songwriting style and even became the theme of her sister albums “folklore” and “evermore.” That familiarity is what takes “Timeless” from mediocre to meaningful.
Although Swift is revisiting these songs 13 years after they were written and released, the stories they tell still feel personal to her. Her raw and vulnerable younger self is even more relatable with the addition of the “From the Vault” songs. The careful balance between cohesiveness and maintaining that these tracks weren’t originally included is what makes this set of “From the Vault” tracks the best one yet.
