Fearlessly, Taylor Swift releases Fearless
Written: Dec 29 '08 (Updated Apr 30 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Well thought out calculations, The ballads
Cons: Sometimes her voice is too flat
The Bottom Line: Pop album covered in country clothes. Don't be fooled. This is a magnifecent pop album with country flavor.
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| glvrican's Full Review: Fearless by Taylor Swift |
(This Is In My Best 25 Mainstream Albums Of 2008)
Taylor Swift knows what she's doing. She had the luck of being on a label that signed actual artists (Yeah Brit, I'm pointing at you) and her debut country album when triple platinum, something 2007 and 2008 was hardly capable of doing. On the album cover, she has a visible smirk on her face, giving me a feeling of her knowing exactly what she's doing and what she's capable of. She knows there's going to be some controversy over her and Joe Jonas' off-the-wall relationship and she knows people will take her side (have you seen her recent appearance on The Ellen Show?). She even knows FEARLESS is or was going to be successful, as in the liner notes she thanks her fans almost more than any other artist has in their 'thank you' section and gives all of the boys who broke her heart 'fair warning.' She even sells herself as both a product and a brand, knowing what her fan base wants, such as offering them up limited edition items, chances to have their photos in her album's artwork, oh, and most importantly, day on day and day by day blog updates.
It's not that Taylor's cynical but she's been calculating. She knows what worked the first time around so she does just that, bringing her game up a notch or two. It's as if she called country versions of Dr. Luke and Max Martin and produced country hits created in a Hit Factory (or a chemical lab) that, deep inside of them, are actually pop tunes with catchy pop hooks that will most likely crossover to pop radio formats. She even released about five songs every week before the release of her album, seeing if the feedback would be good enough and hell, it was perfect timing, as the sales of the first week was over about 600,000; the highest sales in a week by a female artist for 2008. She pummeled all first week sales that supposed to be the best first week sales from a female artist of 2008, such as albums from Mariah Carey and Beyonce and better yet. the 'comeback' of Britney Spears.
That's what's so ironically creepy about Taylor Swift. Though she writes her own music and melodies and they're completely truthful (at least I hope so), she knows when to release them and where they should be put. That plan to release five songs a week worked, her plan worked as planned, and she succeeded with super fast flying colors, as now, she's in second place with the most top 20 debuts. Her calculated plan to remix her country hits into pop formats even worked on me, as I'm not into country that much (if not at all) and I bought this bi*ch her album! This girl is either too smart for the music business or just plain insane. Either way, fearlessly, her plans for country domination are working.
The title track starts the album off on a mellow start, soon turning into a somewhat country/rock melodrama of "dancing in the rain" with her "best dress, fearless." Taylor's use of words are pretty childish (except for that one word I can't pronounce in the second part of the first verse) but the way she uses them are both calculated yet genius. Her genius-like ways are most profound and obvious on tracks such as "Love Story" and "Hey Stephen," where she mixes pop hooks with infectious country drum loops and acoustic guitars. "Hey Stephen" should be the definite genius-way that is Taylor, simply of the laugh she makes after the line:
"All those other girls, well they're beautiful
But would they write a song for you?"
She gives off a creepy, kind of mad-scientist feeling that she's very well aware what she's doing. Very aware. The light organ in the song also gives a mellow, light feel to the song, which I don't fall for. Behind that sweet voice is a girl who's calculations are becoming almost Einstein genius. As for "Love Story," which was the first single, there was no better way to start an album off. It's pure pop, only it's disguised with a banjo and the occasional country violin and harmonica. The fact that the song also has a Romeo & Juliet topic is obviously radio friendly and gives soccer moms the thumps up for Taylor's acceptance from the kids. It's a pefect pop crossover and Taylor has a lot to celebrate, as the song is the most popular country song since Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" and it even attracts older to younger audiences.
The best track is obviously the second single, "White Horse." It isn't neccasarily sad or depressing but Taylor sings in an emotional tone as she sings like "I'm not a princess" and "This ain't hollywood." Her lyrics are also beyond her age and it almost shows you how smart she really is. I haven't seen lyrics like this since Madonna's "Drowned World / Substitute For Love" that go:
"This is a big world, that was a small town
There in my rearview mirror, dissapearing now
Now it's too late for you and your white horse to catch me now"
Another song that's wise beyond her years is "Fifteen," an interesting and impressive third person version of a song about herself, which also highlights the problem with teenage sex during high school days.
"And Abigail gave everything she had
To a boy who changed his mind
And we both cried"
"You Belong With Me" has a somewhat synthetic sounding drum loop during the first verse and it's a catchy pop tune again disguised in a banjo and country guitars. The pop hooks work extremely well, especially when Taylor sings:
"She wears high heels, I wear sneakers"
"She's cheer captain, I'm on the bleachers"
Other "You Belong To Me" look-a-likes are "Tell Me Why," a somewhat angry, rock tune that has a catchy, wonderful melody, and "The Way I Loved You," with its irony when the entire album is about feeling like crap because of a boy but in this song, Taylor misses it. "Forever & Always" isn't the ballad I was hoping for (as it was mentioned about Joe Jonas in different interviews) but it has a somewhat hopeful message, even though it's the story of Joe Jonas' bad relationship antics.
Tracks such as "Fifteen" and "The Best Day" are ultimatly forgettable, as one is too long to remember or even bear and the other is just bland, with a bland melody and bland lyrics about Taylor's father and mother. "Fifteen" isn't a great track but it sure beats hearing "The Best Day" so instead of "Fifteen" along with the "The Best Day," "The Best Day" is probably the only bad track here, even though it is a bit meaningful and refreshing from all of the heartbreak / love songs. The other forgettable song is "Breathe," which was co-written and has background vocals done by Colbie Callait. The song is melodic and when heard, it's hard not to sing along and notice the single potential. But that's the problem. Only when it's heard does it have staying power. It takes quite a while to stay in the head and almost forgettable that you once heard it. Other than that, it can be called the country, lesbian version of "No Air."
Ah, what a great album. FEARLESS. What can I say about it now that I've already explained about Taylor and calculations? Well, though I think she's a genius and knows what singles to release and when to release them, I know her lyrics are meaningful and truthful and there's no denying that she has potential as the queen of country, if not the princess of country (damn you Shania Twain). Hell, Taylor's best bet isn't even the pop hooks but the ballads are her tump card. "You're Not Sorry" isn't as catchy as "White Horse" but it defines the meaning of emotion in the words, as Taylor sings in her nasal register, bringing out that inner voice we all know she has. Either that or her flat voice...
Bold Tracks Are Best Tracks.
1. Fearless
2. Fifteen
3. Love Story
4. Hey Stephen
5. White Horse
6. You Belong With Me
7. Breathe
8. Tell Me Why
9. You're Not Sorry
10. The Way I Loved You
11. Forever & Always
12. The Best Day
13. Change
TOTAL SCORE: 4/5 (I'm onto you, Taylor.)
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Going to Sleep
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glvrican
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Member: Luis Vazquez
Location: Connecticut
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