Taylor Swift official album photo

As “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” dropped this past weekend, we revisit a Taylor Swift classic and with it encounter a few personal improvements and a couple of new songs along the way. And no, Taylor Swift wasn’t actually with us to point us these salient points.

But she might as well be. The global pop superstar has taken great lengths to stay faithful to the song’s arrangements as she re-records these songs, but puts a few accents and stresses on her delivery of a chorus or a phrase here and there. Which boils down to the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift persona that I personally admire.

“Speak Now” was an interesting era in Swift’s career as it signaled her foray into pop rock while still very much into the country-tinged sound that made her famous. “Mine” in particular was a big track from the original album. The new version has noticeable bits that are different. The guitars at the intro aren't exactly note-for-note faithful from the 2010 version, but the 2023 edition nonetheless works, as does everything else about it. As for Swift’s vocals? You’d be hard-pressed to notice any difference. Perhaps the vocals are a bit more robust which the passage of time has naturally brought on? Only true Swifties would know what to look for.

Meanwhile, Taylor’s version of “Sparks Fly” is close to the original, which says how precise these musicians can be. Taylor included. If anything, recording engineer Christopher Rowe and Swift have added a degree of lushness to the 2023 version. The strings of “Back to December” stand out in particular. While “Speak Now” remains exuberant as it did the original. Ditto “Dear John,” but there’s depth and perspective in the latter when there wasn’t before. Other than the clap back—well written as it were—it was before that eventually had everyone on Swift’s case of writing about popular exes.

As for latter-day “Mean” her delivery of the ‘a liar, pathetic, and alone in life and mean’ line seems a tad pronounced this time around. That and “Story Of Us” jumps with energy perhaps informed by a hundred live performances since it was first released.  While it’s easy to gravitate towards the familiar songs, Taylor’s Versions just remind us how tracks like the moving starkness “Never Grow Up,” and Swift's rockin’ on “Better Than Revenge,” mellow and melancholy “Last Kiss” deserve more attention.

In addition to tracks we already know and love, the re-recorded album includes six additional songs from the vaults of recordings at the time.  This includes “Electric Touch” featuring Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump in a shimmering pop-rock song about exciting and eager first dates.  Meanwhile, another track, titled “Castles Crumbling” features Hayley Williams of Paramore in a mid-tempo neo-folkish piece. Patrick Stump and Hayley Williams were stars of pop punk circa 2010, so chalk these collaborations as victories for this reworked record for letting us hear these tracks.

Piano-decked “When Emma Falls In Love” sees Taylor channeling ‘Drops of Jupiter’ type pop balladry. A definite hot spot is the Blondie-esque guitar intro of “I Can See You” which opens up to flirty verses and builds up to a signature Swift chorus. Album closer “Timeless” is a lesson in Taylor Swift’s writing of getting into the details like time and place into her lyrics that take her listeners instantly into a mood.  While the acoustic guitar and simple drumbeats find the perfect combo in the pumping groove of “Foolish One” which feels like the 2023 edition Taylor Swift is singing/telling off a younger Taylor Swift to grow up in the ways of love and relations albeit pleasantly.