Taylor Swift - Taylor's Versions (Re-Recordings Official Thread) Album • Page 66

the drop in "i knew you were trouble" sounds like shit for some reason

 

"i knew you were trouble" (taylor's karaoke version)

 

Listening in my headphones now, and the "weeEEE"s are definitely strange. They're a tiny bit lower in the mix compared to the vocals that happen right before them, so it makes them noticeably different. If she had just sung them in the same take as the rest of the line instead of just copying/pasting the "weeEEE"s, it would have been so much better. Oh well. The song still rules.

 

Thought about this as well

 

I may need to just go ahead and do the side-by-side comparison bc I have seen the word “flat” be used to describe the new versions and, listening on my studio monitors yesterday, my partner and I were both talking about how these new recordings sound like they have more depth. like the old ones were coated in this early 2010’s pop sheen that made the songs sound maybe like “technically perfect” or whatever but that, at times, kept me at arms length. this feels more like I am listening to a band playing together right in front of me and I could almost reach out and touch them. while maybe a little rougher around the edges, the latter approach makes these songs work tenfold for me.

 

"Message in a Bottle" makes total sense as an album opener. Very similar to "Welcome to New York."

 

i love the pop sheen tbh

 

It's really the only song from this set of b-sides and vault tracks that works up front, too. I would have liked something a little more parallel to "State of Grace" to open this (kind of like how "Today Was a Fairytale" has a lot of similarity to "Fearless"), but "Message in a Bottle" is a fitting substitute.

 

"Babe" is so good

 

The London line in Message in a Bottle makes me think it was written post-Red but well before the 1989 sessions post-Harry

 

Really? I think the old "All Too Well" in particular sounds way more organic/"band playing in a room" than this version.

 

that’s fair, but it’s the difference for me between hearing the old ones and thinking “this is a fun song I like it” and being physically moved to goosebumps multiple times to songs I had heard dozens of times already, but hearing in a new light. I imagine a lot of people are going to feel differently, especially huge Swift fans and people who prefer the pop music more heavily polished. kinda similar effect to when, say, I saw Foxing live in 2014 and it moved me to the point I barely wanted to listen to the Albatross anymore bc the studio recordings didn’t have the same impact. idk, best example I could pull out of my ass lol.

 

This is very good, but I agree with the sentiment that some songs (like 22) are missing something compared to the original. Sounds sort of flat and doesn’t quite hit as hard for me.

 

well, yes, really. I am not lying about the sensations I felt when listening. everyone is gonna have a different response. like I said, I haven’t done a comprehensive side-by-side and I do reserve my right to change my mind if that side-by-side reveals something different than just going by memory alone did. I’ll probably do that soon.

 

"Forever Winter" rules

 

I just saw @Matt Chylak say on Twitter that Jack did the producing on ATW10 and now I'm wishing it had been Aaron or whoever originally did it. I don't think that's a song that suits his talents.

 

it would make sense that people who have lived with these songs and grown with them for nearly a decade would have a different response to hearing new recordings of them than I, a very casual, would. very glad my partner seemed to be very happy with the album, it was a really special listen for me bc I loved seeing their reactions. I got excited when they got excited and emotional when they got emotional, etc. I might have been more cynical listening alone, who knows.

I do think if I am gonna be critical, the big singles sounded the least improved for me, but those songs also sound the most dated to me too. I do think those were always going to be the hardest ones to get right tho.

 

The Very First Night is fascinating to me. I hear something new lyrically with every listen.

 

Oof, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" sounds as bad as everyone is saying. Super lifeless. I've liked the other stuff on it, though.

 

Nate Chapman produced the original "All Too Well." But if you're talking about the new version of the original version, that was produced by Christopher Rowe.

 

WHY THE FUCK IS THE BASS SO QUIET IN "STAY STAY STAY"?!?! I'm hopping mad!!! That's the best part of the song, musically. God dammit.

 

Both of the TV releases are fine, and obviously important for her, but I really don't see myself ever wanting to listen to these new ones over the originals.

 

Nothing New is so beautiful

 

Yeah, I'm just here for the vault tracks

 

maybe it’s what you’re listening to them on? it was the first thing I noticed about the song when listening yesterday. that low ass note that kicks off the hook is ridiculously good. I didn’t think it was mixed low at all.