Taylor Swift - 1989 [Taylor's Version]

The fourth of Taylor Swift's re-recorded albums arrived in October 2023 and immediately outperformed the original. It moved more than a million copies in its first week in the United States, the biggest sales week of her career at that point, and returned her to the top of the Billboard 200 during the middle of the Eras Tour.

The 2014 original was the album where Swift walked away from Nashville and made a synth-pop record with Max Martin, Shellback, and Jack Antonoff. The re-recording keeps those arrangements largely intact while giving "Style," "Blank Space," and "Out Of The Woods" a heavier low end and a more assured vocal. What has changed most is context: these songs about scrutiny and reinvention land differently sung by someone who won the argument.

The five vault tracks are the real draw. "Is It Over Now?" went straight to number one on the Hot 100, and "Now That We Don't Talk" and "Say Don't Go" both sound like they could have been singles in 2014. Together they make the case that the original album was cut from an even deeper bench than anyone knew.

Double LP pressed on crystal skies blue vinyl. Republic Records.