REVIEW: TAYLOR SWIFT - 'SPEAK NOW' - Celebrity Bug

Hot

Post Top Ad

11/17/10

REVIEW: TAYLOR SWIFT - 'SPEAK NOW'

Speak Now (Album Cover)

Following the critical acclaim and commercial success of ‘Fearless’, which earned her a Grammy for ‘Album of the Year’, Taylor Swift returns with ‘Speak Now’, on which she re-teams with producer Nathan Chapman.

Of her third studio release, the country starlet reveals “each song is written with a specific person in mind, telling them what I meant to tell them in person.”

SUMMARY ANALYSIS

The 14-track project starts with “Mine”, the lead single, on which she sings of the moments in a relationship, where you are still trying to figure out how to cope with the ups and downs, and ultimately making it work.

“You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter”, she cleverly sings on the record, marking a solid, but not unforgettable start to the disc.

On “Speak Now”, the title track, she sings about interrupting the wedding of a former boyfriend, who is about to marry an undeserving bride.

Never too afraid to bare the details of her personal relationships, Swift does just that with the descriptive ballads “Dear John” and “Back to December”, about her relationships with John Mayer and Taylor Lautner, respectively.

On the former she blasts Mayer for messing with her head and his “sick need to give love and take it away”, while the magic unfolds on latter, an apologetic ballad that sees the singer taking the blame for ruining the brief relationship.

“I'd go back in time and change it but I can't, so if the chain is on your door I understand”, she vulnerably sings as the stunning track comes to a close.

Other strong moments include “Never Grow Up”, which she sings to her younger brother, “Innocent”, which is about Kanye West and the backlash from the 2009 Video Music Awards, and the uplifting closer “Long Live”.

She continues to hit her stride on “Better Than Revenge”, a fiery uptempo on which she seeks revenge on a girl that stole the guy in her life, while “Haunted” masterfully excels through its dynamic and creative production.

Though Swift is often referred to as a country singer, her music fits in with pop genre, but she briefly deviates towards her label on “Mean”, which is not only marks the album’s countriest moment, but also serves as its weakest.

“Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things / Drunk and talking all about how I… can’t… sing”, she sings at the end, leading you to realize that Swift obviously knows her talent shines more through her writing than vocals.

Other less than stellar cuts include “The Story of Us”, the dragging “Last Kiss” and “Enchanted”, which tries to hard to recreate the magical allure of her 2008 hit “Love Story”, much like the previously-surfaced “Sparks Fly”.

FINAL VERDICT

On ‘Speak Now’, her third studio album, Taylor Swift cleverly and articulately words all of the fourteen tracks, which were penned solely by the superstar, and whether good or great, you feel a piece of her in every single song.

These songs are the journal entries of her life and at only twenty years of age, Swift has to be given credit for her ability to transfer those high school like stories into some of the smartest and creative pop gems radio has ever heard.

4 OUT OF 5

CELEBRITY BUG'S KEY TRACKS
“Back to December”, “Never Grow Up”, “Better Than Revenge”,
“Innocent”, “Haunted” and “Long Live”.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Post Top Ad