NESPA Winner: Review, 2022

The Searchlight, Walpole High School, Walpole, MA

Just when fans believe Taylor Swift has peaked, she continues to raise the bar, and she has done it once again with her latest, “Red (Taylor’s Version).” When Swift announced she would be re-recording her 2012 hit “Red” next, fans were thrilled; many consider “Red” to be her best work. It is safe to say that they were not disappointed.

At an extensive 30 tracks, the new “Red (Taylor’s Version)” nearly doubles the length of the initial album. While the 20 tracks from the original deluxe album remained primarily unchanged, it is evident how much Swift has developed vocally throughout these past nine years since the initial release of “Red.” Swift’s ability to capture the innocence of her 22-year-old self with new, mature vocals almost serves as a tribute to how much she has grown as an artist over these nine years.

Additionally, Swift brought in nine new “From the Vault” tracks. These songs may be new to fans, but Swift has had them under lock and key since before the initial release of “Red;” these particular songs did not make the cut for the original album.

Fans finally got to hear proper recordings from Swift of “Better Man” and “Babe,” which had been written by Swift herself, but performed by Little Big Town and Sugarland, respectively. “Message In A Bottle” and “The Very First Night” recall the radio-pop sound of 2012. The acoustic ballad “Run (feat. Ed Sheeran)” reminds listeners of Sheeran’s other feature on the album, “Everything Has Changed.”

“I Bet You Think About Me,” featuring Chris Stapleton, provides fans with a Nashville twang reminiscent of her older country albums. Swift also dropped a music video for this song, directed by Blake Lively.

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