A Deep Dive Into Red (Taylor’s Version)

Taylor Swift blew up the internet yet again June 18, announcing that her next re-recorded album would be Red. Known as her “heartbreak album,” it first debuted Oct. 22, 2012 and received two Billboard Music Awards and one American Music Award. With this Nov. 12 re-release comes a short film, “All Too Well,” to accompany her 10 minute version of the well-known song, “All Too Well,” along with a music video from her Vault track “I Bet You Think About Me.”

Starting with the basics, Red (Taylor’s Version) has a total of 30 songs, with the original deluxe tracklist of 22 songs and an additional eight heartbreaking tracks from the Vault (unreleased songs that were supposed to go on the album), making the album a total of two hours and 10 minutes long. For her first re-recorded album Fearless, April 9, Taylor released three songs prior to the full album. However, with Red, she didn’t release any sneak peaks.

The upbeat “State of Grace” kicks off the album, punching up the emotion in Taylor’s voice. The original version was softer, but in Taylor’s Version, the raspiness relives what felt in the moment.

As you’re listening down the tracklist, the songs “All Too Well” and “Girl at Home” have a very noticeable beat change to them. “Girl at Home” uses synth rather than an acoustic guitar, giving the song a pop feeling rather than the country feeling in the previous version. “All Too Well” is slower and sadder, holding more emotion with the acoustic guitar rather than the tougher and more aggressive strumming from the original track.

The final 10 minutes of the album are dedicated to the long-awaited “All Too Well (10 minute version).” The beginning of this version has a different beat to it than the shorter “All Too Well,” with a soft electric guitar playing the intro rather than the tougher acoustic guitar, tugging on the heartstrings. Two additional verses and another bridge were added to this song.

Taylor Swift broke the record for most opening-day streams by a female artist with Red, reaching 90.8 million streams, surpassing the previous record of 80.6 million streams, which was held with her older album Folklore.