The 1989 (TV) Review (Blake’s Version)

Nine years ago the original critically acclaimed 1989 released, the synth-pop album would transform Taylor Swift into a pop icon forever and it’s now back and better than ever. 1989 (Taylor’s Version), or 1989 TV, is the fourth album released by Swift for her re-recording project that she began to own the masters of her first six albums.

This past year has been a whirlwind for Swift, with The Eras Tour starting in May, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in July, The Eras Tour movie in October, and that same month, with much anticipation, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) being released.

Overall the 13 regular and 3 deluxe tracks that have been re-recorded sound great and true to the original. Swift’s vocals have matured, sounding better than ever, and every song feels as if the production has been dusted and cleaned up in order to shine. While some say her re-recorded tracks tend to lose the emotion of the original, 1989 TV still hits as hard now as the original did when it first came out in 2014.

All the hype around these re-recordings isn’t just for the album itself, but for the tracks she adds to them known as the “From the Vault” tracks. These tracks weren’t on the original album or the deluxe album, instead, they were scrapped from the album or written for the album but never made it on. These are entirely new to the public, they not only extend the album but give more insight into her life around the time the song was written. 

This album’s vault was entirely produced by Jack Antonoff, a singer-songwriter who began working with Swift in 2012 on a track called “Sweeter Than Fiction ” (which has also been re-recorded and is on the Target exclusive vinyl of 1989 TV). The vault tracks have a dreamy synth sound reminiscent of Midnights, Swift’s latest non-rerecording album. The tracks range from mid-tempo to the upbeat classic pop sound 1989 is known for. Within the vault Swift delves into love that makes outside comments and insults worth it, the aftermath of a breakup when they can no longer talk, and an on-and-off relationship that leaves Swift asking “Is it over now?”.

A quick poll let us know that a good amount of Blake students enjoyed the album, and while not everyone was a fan, a majority let us know that the album was on loop for them 24/7 and that they found the vault tracks amazing! Overall, 1989 TV was immensely satisfying for fans of the original album, hitting every mark it needed to and even some more with the vault tracks.