Hey Everyone,
Today I’ll be reviewing Taylor Swift’s newest mega album “Red”. PLEASE feel free to comment and or give suggestions on future reviews. OK, let’s dig in shall we.
OVERVIEW
“
Red” is Taylor Swift’s 4
th studio album, and is a follow up to the highly successful album “
Speak Now”. The album was released through Big Machine Records. It features 16 tracks for a total length of 65:11. I know Swift is considered a country artist but this album is much more mainstream pop than country. There are a couple tracks with some notable featuring artists, namely Gordon Lightbody (
Snow Patrol) and
Ed Sheeran. This album has been an immense success for Swift and sees her breaking into new musical genres. This album is friendly for listeners of all ages.
LYRICS
Swift’s lyrical themes throughout the album are pretty typical standby’s for mainstream artists. The subject matter consists of either A. falling in love or B. breaking up. Don’t get me wrong there are a few exceptions, but for the most part that’s what you get. The lyrics are easily digestible for the listener and are effective at getting a quick emotional response. The downside to this is that at times her lyrics can get a bit immature and melodramatic. Overall the lyrical content I would have to say is exactly what I expected. Perfect for teenagers finding love or losing love for the first time or for a man or woman who wants to go for a drive and re-live those teenage feelings of love and loss. To wrap it up in a nutshell, in my opinion they're not good and they're not bad.
RATING: 2.1(OF 5)-DECENT
SOUND
Swift is
definitely going for a genre crossing sound in this album. Combining elements of country, pop, dance, and even post punk styles in her songs. Her songs range from the more raw acoustic sound to very busy upbeat dance type music. The track I was most impressed with was State of Grace, which nearly sounds like an 80’s
U2 song with Swift at the helm. However, tracks such a 22 with its extremely immature lyrical content and way overdone musical style really hampered the overall album for me. There are some musical gems throughout the record and Swift’s vocals are as always…. AMAZING! If you are a Swift fan you definitely will not be disappointed in the sound of the record. As for me, like the lyrics I find it not good but not bad. My reason for this is for every song that was good I found that there was one that was equally unimpressive.
RATING: 2.4(OF 5)-DECENT
PRODUCTION VALUE
The production value as with most mainstream releases is nothing short of phenomenal. The sound mixing was perfect and each track was produced very well. It definitely maximizes the potential of Swift’s vocals and each song in general. The list of all the producers, musicians, and sound engineers that went into the production of this album is a mile long. With that amount of resources going into the album it should be nothing less than stellar.
RATING: 5(OF 5)-AMAZING
CUTTING EDGE FACTOR
Although Swift was making an attempt at crossing into new genres this album it is hardly cutting edge. Even if it is new to her and her fans this album does not break any new ground. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying it’s a bad thing necessarily. The millions upon millions of records and tickets sold don’t lie. As the old adage goes “if it ain’t broke…..don’t fix it!”
RATING: 1.5(OF 5)-BAD
OVERALL
2.75(OF 5)-DECENT
In summary I would say this is a decent album. Perfect for the fans of country/pop crossover or just mainstream pop. I hope you found this review helpful, and as always feel free to comment and or give some suggestions for future reviews.
If you would like to check this album out for yourself click the link below.
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