1989 Taylor’s Version: We Found (Rerecording) Wonderland
Written by Mercy Wisecup
December 19th, 2023
Taylor Swift’s 1989 earned its standing as a pop classic when it debuted in 2014. Not only did 1989 win Album of the Year at the 2015 Grammys, it contains some of Taylor Swift’s biggest hits. Ask anyone to sing “Shake it Off,” “Blank Space,” or “Bad Blood,” and they’ll know the chorus. Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is her best re-recording yet, paying homage to those original hits while bringing previously unreleased songs into the world of 2023.
Taylor during the 1989 set at her Eras Tour// Image Courtesy The Wrap
Taylor Swift has already re-recorded her albums Fearless, Speak Now, and Red, and I personally find them inferior to the original. Despite the technically “better” vocals and production in the new versions, the emotions of the original songs aren’t quite captured. Her younger albums all benefit from her younger voice, and the re-records haven’t replaced the originals for me.
Yet, when I tuned into 1989 (Taylor’s Version) at midnight like millions of Swifties around the world, I was completely shocked and surprised. Many of the songs sound almost identical to the original versions, particularly “Welcome to New York,” “Shake it Off,” “How You Get the Girl,” and “You Are in Love.” Others faced considerable improvements, such as “Out of the Woods.” The production is much lusher, which I didn’t even know was possible on one of Swift’s best songs. The vocal delivery is on par, if not better, than the original. I’ve heard complaints about re-recorded songs like “Style (Taylor’s Version),” but I can’t help but disagree with complaints that it’s somehow butchered. Some more of my favorite songs on the original, “I Wish You Would” and “Wonderland,” actually have been replaced by the Taylor’s Version for me. Every single song on 1989 was done justice or improved on the re-record.
Image Courtesy Taylor Nation
With the re-recorded album also came five never-heard before “vault tracks.” These tracks were written during their respective album’s era, but never released. While the previous re-recorded albums hold a handful of good vault songs, none have as consistently great unknown tracks as 1989 (Taylor’s Version) does.
- “Slut!”
The title of this song is misleading. Instead of Taylor singing a “Blank Space”-esque, snarky response to media criticisms, she whispers a glittery love song. Despite being nothing like I expected, this song immediately won me over. Taylor’s usage of imagery in the verses is very similar to the lyrics of 1989’s original tracklist, but instead of “cherry lips” and “crystal skies,” she sings about “tangerine light” and a “moonlit swimming pool.”
Standout Lyric: Got love-struck, went straight to my head/ Got lovesick all over my bed
- “Say Don’t Go”
1989 pulls from a lot of 80s influences in terms of its sound, and it’s most obvious on songs like “Say Don’t Go.” The low, gravelly vocals on the verses ramp up to a great, catchy pop chorus. The fact that “Say Don’t Go” is my least favorite vault track and I still love it is a testament to the quality of 1989’s previously unreleased songs.
Standout Lyric: ‘Cause you kiss me and it stops time/ And I’m yours, but you’re not mine
- “Now That We Don’t Talk”
The production of this song veers pretty strongly away from 1989’s style, with arpeggiating synths that move more into the territory of Taylor’s newest original album Midnights. However, the instrumentation of “Now That We Don’t Talk” is so ear-wormingly catchy that I wish that the world had gotten this song back in 2014.
Standout Lyric: Truth is, I can’t pretend it’s platonic/ It’s just ended
- “Suburban Legends”
When I read the vault track titles before the album came out, I pictured this song as something slightly obnoxious and similar to “New Romantics”; a song about partying in New York. I didn’t expect that out of all the vault tracks, this would be the one I’d come back to again and again. With imagery of the ocean, high school, and a “slippery plastic summer,” this song is one of my favorites from the whole album.
Standout Lyric: You’d be more than a chapter in my old diaries/ With the pages ripped out/ I am standin’ in a 1950s gymnasium/ And I can still see you now
- “Is it Over Now”
“Is it Over Now” sounds the most 1989-esque, and it’s easy to picture it being on the original album. Following the success of the original album’s top singles, “Is it Over Now” exploded to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Taylor’s 13th #1 hit of her career. The lyrical references to other 1989 songs like “Out of the Woods” and “Style” are full-circle moments, making “Is it Over Now” a perfect closing track for 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
Standout Lyric: You dream of my mouth before it called you a lying traitor
The Highlander 