Taylor Swift: Fearless Poll

I don't really know this album aside from "You Belong With Me," so that's all I listened to, but the original version sounds much better to me. What the re-recording is missing, I think, is the wistfulness in her voice that balanced the cattiness of the lyrics. In the original, "she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts" comes off mostly as envy; she would like to be the kind of person who can wear short skirts. In the re-recording, the envy is missing from her voice, so what I get instead is a sense of superiority, of "she's wrong for you because she's shallow and slutty, unlike me." Does anyone else have that reaction? I feel like I'm zeroing in on something so tiny as to be almost unnoticeable, but it really takes away what I liked about the song.

I think that may fall under the rubric of what I've been saying about her vocals – she doesn't sound really expressive or like she's committed to "selling" the story or emotion in many of these songs (which isn't surprising, considering how old they are).

(and she's always been a really expressive singer, even when her singing was a lot more rough)

xxp: I have always read the short skirts/t-shirts thing as a superiority thing! The "I am not like the other girls" trope kinda applies there.

The lyrics read that way to me on paper, but I also hear some envy/wistfulness/insecurity in her younger voice that makes it more nuanced.

Like in the original version I can hear her wanting to buy into that trope because she's jealous; in the re-recording all I hear is the trope itself.

I also heard it as self-deprecating, in the original song. No one feels superior for sitting on the bleachers (well, a certain kind of snide teen does, but the character in the song isn't Daria).

But maybe you're right! Like, I think there could be elements of both that I had just never thought about.

Did give a listen to Forever & Always on better speakers and yeah, even though it's a decent performance of the song, the differences are kinda stark. Mostly on the production choices, I guess? I think the original was more driving. Also, there's a little artificial harmonic on the electric guitar in the second verse that's a huge point of joy for me in the song and they don't exactly nail it, I don't think.

It got me thinking about how people used to criticize TS for her lack of singing chops, which always confounded me because she sounded great to my untrained ears. Maybe what I liked were some of the vocal nuances that more singing-acquainted people would have considered bad singing and those have disappeared as she has grown as a professional singer? Or maybe she's just not all that worked up about Joe Jonas anymore and her heart wasn't all that in it.

As a high-school bleacher-sitter, I always felt way superior.

It was a false impression, but that's high school.

just wanted to say: "that's when"!!!!!!

I don't really know this album aside from "You Belong With Me," so that's all I listened to, but the original version sounds much better to me. What the re-recording is missing, I think, is the wistfulness in her voice that balanced the cattiness of the lyrics. In the original, "she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts" comes off mostly as envy; she would like to be the kind of person who can wear short skirts. In the re-recording, the envy is missing from her voice, so what I get instead is a sense of superiority, of "she's wrong for you because she's shallow and slutty, unlike me." Does anyone else have that reaction? I feel like I'm zeroing in on something so tiny as to be almost unnoticeable, but it really takes away what I liked about the song.

― Lily Dale, Friday, April 9, 2021 4:13 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

I've been listening to this all weekend, and the vocal delivery is noticeably different throughout. What I hear is an artist who's worked a lot on things like breath control and pitch and is now delivering a much more sturdy, "professional" vocal track. Unfortunately there are places where it feels too clean, or maybe rehearsed is a better word.

And yes, I know *exactly* what you mean on "You Belong With Me." My favorite vocal on the entire original album was the end of verse 2 of "You Belong With Me" where she sings, "You say you're fine, I know you better than that/ Hey, what you doing with a girl like that?" The original is a super sweet falsetto that felt as though she had to work to hit what I assume is a rather tricky melody. It reads playful, naive, and yes, wistful is a good word, too. In the new one, she blows through the first falsetto as though she can now do it in her sleep, and then spits out a "what you doing with a girl LIKE that" in a more arrogant voice.

I know this reads as a criticism. I don't actually know if it's a good or bad thing. She's a far more capable vocalist now than she was when she first started, and I will happily listen to "Taylor's Version." But I'm actually a bit relieved to know others have noticed this too.

Having it on in the background, listening as a whole album, it mostly does the trick for me. I find myself getting wrapped up in it in a lot of the same places I do on the original album. I still think that Forever & Always didn't really get the performance it deserved and I imagine that there are other songs where it works that way for different listeners.

This is a nice song-by-song tribute that NPR put together with contributions from different writers and musicians.

https://www.npr.org/2021/04/12/985842675/still-fearless-re-recording-the-past-on-taylors-version

"Tell Me Why"
Fearless found me at the most pivotal time in my life. I was making the transition from middle school to high school, started growing my hair out in dreads — which would become a staple of my look well into the beginning of my career — and I was finally starting to get a grip on songwriting. I'd started teaching myself guitar in elementary school and by 8th grade, I was proficient enough that everyone wanted me to accompany them at the school's talent show since my middle school didn't have a guitar program (unlike the surrounding schools). I felt kinship with Taylor Swift because she started writing songs really early on in her life and it gave me the confidence to continue to write. Fearless felt like a masterclass on songwriting, but "Tell Me Why" always stood out.

"Tell Me Why" taught me how to write a chord progression. Though it wasn't a single, or even necessarily one of my favorites off the record, it was my absolute favorite to play. Despite its heavy lyrics, the chord progression sounded equally breezy and flowy sonically. The chorus of "Tell Me Why" really stands out. It's wordy and longer than the average chorus, but it never feels clunky.

Additionally, all three choruses in the song vary lyrically, which is something I always love to do. Obviously Taylor wasn't the first to do this, but she was the first I can remember doing it and making it sound as seamless as it was, thus creating yet another T Swift songwriting trick you can track throughout my entire discography — and, I'm sure, for future records to come. — Shamir, musician

Have a weird ask that I wonder if any of you may remember. I have this strong recollection of discovering Taylor's self-titled debut from a blog post circa 2007 that also covered Miranda Lambert's debut or maybe Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. As I remember the blog had a cartoon tiger in the header. Anyone have any clue what I'm talking about? I'd love to know who the writer was and find that post if it's still up somewhere...

I’m glad I bought this, for the “vault” tracks alone—they’re really good! (and what will probably keep me coming back to this version)

WELL WELL WELL you all really went out and left my greatest expectations in shambles this week.😆 Word on the street is you made Fearless (my version) the biggest country album 1st week of the last 6 years & the top release of 2021 so far. Honestly?? How?? Did I get this lucky??

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 16, 2021

I’ve grown to like the re-recorded album tracks a lot now, too. I’ve basically been going back-and-forth between the two versions. What an album...