Taylor Swift: 'Red' Album Review

'Red' is Taylor Swift's latest album

Taylor moves away from country and experiments with pop

The first single was the break-up anthem "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"

Red

In  Taylor Swift's latest album the seasoned singer-songwriter takes a turn away from classic country and heads towards a fresher pop sound, instead of the usual twangy southern-tinged ballads about heart break and longing, Taylor instead plays with around with some new sounds, introducing a slightly dancier vibe, like on the track "I Knew You Were Trouble". Red is essentially a crossover album that shows Taylor maturing as an artist, but fans who love her as wide-eyed country sweetheart may be disappointed to see her move in this direction, even though she throws in a few songs close to her country roots.

Like Taylor's other albums, Red is an emotional roller coaster that takes listeners through the post-break up anger on the debut single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," to love at first sight in "Begin Again," but songs like "22" introduce a wistful note about growing up and leaving your youth behind (and in fact, Taylor will be 23 in just a couple of months.) She also teams up with English singer-songwriter Ed Sheerhan (The 'A' Team) and the Gary Lightbody, lead singer of Snow Patrol, for some a couple of interesting duets.

Taylor has gone in a new direction and crafted an interesting crossover album with huge pop appeal, with some songs hearking back to her origins about heartbreak thrown in. Not every track is a winner, and this may not be her best album to date, but it shows promise for her musical (and hopefully romantic) future, and there's a little something for every listener in there.

Track List

1. State of Grace
2. Red
3. Treacherous
4. I Knew You Were Trouble
5. All Too Well
6. 22
7. I Almost Do
8. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
9. Stay Stay Stay
10. The Last Time
11. Holy Ground
12. Sad Beautiful Tragic
13. The Lucky One
14. Everything Has Changed
15. Starlight
16. Begin Again

Check out the title track from Red below!

Red Album Rating: 

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