Reclaiming Herself: Red (Taylor’s Version) Review
Emily Hanna
“Alexa, play ‘All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)’”.
November 2021 saw songs nearly a decade old dominating the charts, social media, and all of our conversations, but how and why did one Taylor Swift album take over the music industry again?
Nine years since the debut of her hit album Red, Taylor Swift has re-recorded, re-released and re-claimed her music. The renowned singer-songwriter arrived in the dog-eat-dog music industry aged just 16, signing a 13-year contract with Big Machine Records. However, after she was released from this contract, the company sold her music and the rights to music industry tycoon Scooter Braun against her wishes. This meant that Swift no longer owned the master tracks of her earlier songs, which were sold and resold, eventually to the highest bidder for $330 million. This marked the beginning of the musician’s fight to reclaim everything she had worked for.
Since the news broke of this controversy, Swift has made known her intention to re-record her earlier albums. This certainly has its risks, coming with a reliance on fans to boycott her original music, in order for her to financially benefit. However, the risk has paid off, as on release, Red (Taylor’s Version) became the most-streamed album in a day from a female artist on Spotify; impressively taking the title from another of her albums, Folklore.
Despite exciting new collaborations with artists such as Ed Sheeran and Phoebe Bridgers, the song drawing the most attention on Red (Taylor’s Version), was the long awaited All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault) - excuse the parenthesis - which was written in the aftermath of Swift’s relationship with older actor Jake Gyllenhaal in 2010. The heartbreak anthem rocketed to the top of the Billboard Top 100 upon release - an achievement rarely seen for songs of such length. To accompany the song, a short film starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien was also released, which her loyal fans have been religiously dissecting. Swift has always been a fan of hiding easter eggs in her work, and this release is no different.
Since the release of the album, Swift-mania has taken over the globe, with nightclubs everywhere launching sell-out Taylor Swift themed nights such as ‘Swiftogeddon’ and ‘Swiftmas’, which have attracted huge crowds, notably in Belfast where Swift did much of her re-recording for the album.
The excitement around the re-release of Red is perhaps because the album can be seen as Swift reclaiming herself. It’s a statement denouncing those who’ve tried to claim her success, and a lesson to never let others walk over you.
Emily Hanna is a Culture reporter at The Scoop and an English student at Queen’s University Belfast.