Taylor Swift announces her place in the world with Red

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      Red (Universal)

      There comes a time in every young girl’s life where she has to take off the cowboy hat, drop the acoustic guitar, and turn her back on the shit-kicking hicks who’ve ensured she’ll never have to pole-dance in a Tennessee trailer park for a living. Following a template laid out by the likes of Shania Twain and Carrie Underwood, the insanely cute Taylor Swift makes a big, bold statement on Red, her fourth studio outing.

      Forget being a little bit country, the 22-year-old superstar from Reading, Pennsylvania, is all pop ’n’ roll here, the album marked by Grand Canyon–size drums, into-the-stratosphere guitars, and the kind of mega-club beats that have launched a thousand duck-face photos.

      The extent of the singer’s ambition is laid out right off the top, on “State of Grace”, a chiming alt-rocker that’s all high-drama perfection, from Swift’s gorgeous, wounded-by-the-world vocals to the mournful cellos burning in the background.

      Those who remember when Alanis Morissette was the biggest pop star on the planet will find plenty to love in the vocal showcase that is “I Knew You Were Trouble”. From there, Swift makes it clear that she’s not living in some clued-out pop-culture bubble (hello, LastNightsParty people) on “22”, which starts out with “It feels like a perfect night to dress up like hipsters and make fun of our exes.” She also shows that she’s just as at home playing things tough (as on the thumping “Holy Ground”) as she is going the touchingly tender route (“The Moment I Knew”).

      If there’s one criticism you can level at Red, it’s that the back half of the album slows down to a crawl, but that’s nothing a cover of, say, Soundgarden’s “Jesus Christ Pose” wouldn’t have solved. Overall, after seven years in the business, our little girl has finally grown up, to the point where she pretty much looks unstoppable. Sorry, Nashville-country fans, but Red is Swift announcing that she now belongs to the world. Taking the sting out of that is that she still looks fucking adorable in a cowboy hat. Which is more than you can say for Miley Cyrus.

      Comments

      2 Comments

      'Roger'

      Nov 9, 2012 at 3:56pm

      This is Her 4th Studio Album..I find it Very Well Produced, & Very Bouncy in Musical Terms..Right now It been #1 in 40 Countries, & Certified Platnum in the US by R.I.A.A. On 23 October, the day after Release..

      Taylor Swift's Mania, or Swiftmania..Reminds me much like Beatlemania, that I missed because I was too young...

      Ever Since I first Heard 'Tim McGraw' came out as her First Single..
      Because I do Know About Music, & usually Pretty Accurate on who will be Big..I told People in New Westminster Library..Watch & this Woman [Taylor], will be Huge..So far, She's Proved me Right..Breaking Records, like Paul McCartney Does still...
      Songwriting: Taylor is Original, & adopts many Styles, Even ELO as an Inspiration of 'The Last Dance', a Duet she did with the Singer from Snow Patrol...Personally I like Every Song, Both Dance, Pop, Country, Folk [I'm Pertaining to the Duet with Ed Sheeran]....
      Taylor Swift, & I can Say this for Sure..She is the Modern-Day John Lennon & Paul McCartney..It's like everything she touches, it turns to Gold...It's Nice to See her Rock as much as Country...

      In Time 'Red' will be regarded as a Classic...

      One more thing..I've collected Music, on & off since 1972. Lived in US, England, & Germany..Also Checked out the Record & CD bins, in France, Luxembourg [& also been on Radio Lux, too], Netherlands, Belgium, & Wales
      Currently I decided after striving to get out of my Breakdown..I buried myself into my Hobby..& Now I have access to 30,000 Hours of Music in my Collection, & most is Unreleased, like Radio Shows, Soundboards, & so on...& I can Give Any Disc Jockey, & Reviewer for the Run of their Money, Especially on 1960's British Pop-Rock...& I'm Canada's #1 Beatles, & Beach Boys Expert...Challenge Me...I Want That..

      & one last Items of Business..I write some of the Best Poetry, You'll Ever Read..

      ..Some of you ask why it hasn't been Published..It's call falling thru' the cracks in the system..

      Steve Vanden Eykel

      Nov 12, 2012 at 3:21pm

      I think Roger's off his dementia pills. No way anybody that illiterate could write poetry. Excuse me, Poetry.