Red (Taylor's Version) is the second re-recorded album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on November 12, 2021, through Republic Records. A re-recording of Swift's fourth studio album, Red (2012), it was part of her re-recording project following the 2019 dispute over the master recordings of her back catalog.
In addition to re-recorded versions of songs from the original album, Red (Taylor's Version) includes the re-recording of the 2012 charity single "Ronan" and nine tracks denoted as "From the Vault": six unreleased songs, a 10-minute-long version of "All Too Well", and Swift's solo versions of "Better Man" (2016) and "Babe" (2018), which she had written for other artists. Swift and most original producers reprised their works on the re-recorded tracks with additions from Christopher Rowe, and the vault tracks were produced by Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff, Elvira Anderfjärd, and Espionage. Featured artists include Phoebe Bridgers, Chris Stapleton, and Ed Sheeran, with the lattermost contributing vocals to two tracks.
Red (Taylor's Version) is a genre-blending album that combines pop, country, rock, and electronic, featuring acoustic instruments, strings, and electronic keyboards. Its songs address the different dynamics of love and heartbreak. The album received unanimous acclaim for Swift's vocals, its enhanced production quality, and the vault tracks. Red (Taylor's Version) topped the charts in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it was Swift's fourth number-one on the Billboard 200 in less than 16 months, registering the shortest time span for an artist to collect four number-one albums. It was certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Swift promoted the album with televised appearances on NBC talk shows and a self-directed short film accompanying "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)". Red (Taylor's Version) broke the record for the most single-week new entries by an artist, with 26 of its tracks charting on the Billboard Hot 100; "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" became the longest song to ever top the chart. The vault tracks "I Bet You Think About Me" and "Message in a Bottle" were promoted as radio singles. Publications have credited Red (Taylor's Version) with popularizing the "Sad Girl Autumn" popular culture phenomenon. The album won a Billboard Music Award, two American Music Awards, and an NME Award.
Background
Taylor Swift signed a recording contract with Nashville-based independent record label Big Machine in 2005. As part of the contract, Big Machine released Swift's first six studio albums, from Taylor Swift (2006) to Reputation (2017). Her fourth studio album, Red, was released on October 22, 2012. It expanded beyond the country stylings of her past albums and explored styles of mainstream pop and other genres. The album's lead single, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", was Swift's first number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100. Other singles, "I Knew You Were Trouble" and "22", were commercially successful and propelled Swift towards pop stardom. Although critical reviews of Red were generally positive, its eclectic musical influences led to critics questioning Swift's country music identity; the album was retrospectively regarded as a testament to Swift's artistic versatility. Rolling Stone placed it at number 99 on its 2021 revision of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
By August 2018, Swift's contract with Big Machine had expired; she signed a new contract with Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group, which secured her the rights to own the masters of the new music she would release. In 2019, the talent manager Scooter Braun and his company, Ithaca Holdings, acquired Big Machine Records. The masters of Swift's Big Machine-released albums, including Red, were effectively transferred to Braun, which resulted in a public dispute between Swift and Braun. Swift denounced the purchase and began re-recording her first six studio albums, including Red, in November 2020. By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to control the licensing of her songs for commercial use and therefore substituted the Big Machine–owned masters.
The first in Swift's re-recording series was Fearless (Taylor's Version), which was released on April 9, 2021. It is the re-recording of her second studio album, Fearless (2008). In addition to re-recordings of the original Fearless album tracks, Fearless (Taylor's Version) includes several unreleased tracks denoted as "From the Vault". Fearless (Taylor's Version) became the first re-recorded album in history to top the US Billboard 200. Two months after the release of Fearless (Taylor's Version), on June 18, 2021, Swift announced Red (Taylor's Version) as her second re-recorded album; it is the re-recording of Red. In addition to the re-recordings of the original album tracks, Red (Taylor's Version) also includes nine vault tracks.
Music and lyrics Composition In a social media post, Swift wrote that re-recording Red made her think of the album, both musically and lyrically, as "resembling a heartbroken person [...], all over the place, a fractured mosaic of feelings that somehow all fit together in the end". Music critics mostly characterized Red (Taylor's Version) as a pop album with eclectic musical styles, as with the original album. It also echoes the arena rock and synth-pop sounds of its original recording, with songs that draw on country pop and pop rock styles. All songs feature the additional "Taylor's Version" moniker; they incorporate diverse sounds, including synth-pop, indie rock, electronic, dubstep, and folk, using both acoustic and electronic instruments. Tracks 1–20 are re-recordings of the original Red album songs, and they are country pop and experimental tracks intertwined between one another. Track 21 is the re-recording of "Ronan", a 2012 standalone charity single inspired by a four-year-old boy, Ronan Thompson, who died from cancer complications. Gary Lightbody of the rock band Snow Patrol and Ed Sheeran returned to feature on "The Last Time" and "Everything Has Changed", respectively.
All but one re-recorded tracks feature the same arrangements as their original versions; they were produced by their respective original producers, except Max Martin, Dann Huff, and Nathan Chapman, whose production was conducted by Swift and Christopher Rowe. "Girl at Home" was reworked from an acoustic number into a synth-pop track produced by Elvira Anderfjärd. The re-recorded tracks feature Swift's mature, deeper, and more resonant vocals, and a subtly sharper production that either tweaks or emphasizes certain instruments. Pitchfork's Olivia Horn wrote that the melody of "Sad Beautiful Tragic" might have tweaked "a note or two", USA Today Melissa Ruggieri found the drums on "I Knew You Were Trouble" sharper and the guitars on "22" more defined, and NME Hannah Mylrea described the opening drums on "State of Grace" as "crisper", the soft rock guitars on "Red" as "a little brighter", and the mandolin on "Stay Stay Stay" as "lifted". According to Carrie Battan from The New Yorker, some of the stronger instrumentation made the re-recorded album resemble a live performance.
"From the Vault" tracks
Tracks 22–30 are labeled "From the Vault", which are songs Swift had written but did not include in the 2012 album. Two vault tracks—"Better Man" and "Babe"—are songs that had been written by Swift and recorded by Little Big Town in 2016 and Sugarland in 2018, respectively. The closing track, "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)", is an unabridged version of "All Too Well" that contains lyrics Swift wrote in 2011 before trimming down the track. Carson Mlnarik from MTV News wrote that some vault tracks featured Swift's country songwriting, which was a reminder of how "Red is a country album at its core". The vault tracks were produced by Swift, Shellback, Anderfjärd, Espionage, Jack Antonoff, and Aaron Dessner.
"Better Man" is a banjo-led country ballad that incorporates mandolin and strings with lyrics about the aftermath of a painful breakup. "Nothing New", a folk duet with Phoebe Bridgers, is about insecurities around aging and the social perceptions of young women. "Babe", whose version by Sugarland is a country song, is reworked into a pop-ska and country-pop arrangement consisting of slide guitar, keyboards, brass, and percussion. Its lyrics describe the missteps in a dissolving relationship.
"Message in a Bottle" is an upbeat dance-pop and electropop track about the beginnings of a romantic connection. "I Bet You Think About Me", featuring background harmony vocals by Chris Stapleton, is a harmonica-driven country ballad. It has tongue-in-cheek lyrics deriding an ex-lover's luxurious and pretentious lifestyle. "Forever Winter" is a power pop song opening with energetic brass before proceeding to the chorus that features Swift's dynamic vocals and incorporates horns, flutes, and guitars. Lyrically, "Forever Winter" is about Swift trying to help a friend through his mental health struggles.
"Run" is an acoustic indie folk-leaning duet with Ed Sheeran, who wrote the track with Swift the same day they wrote "Everything Has Changed". The production of "Run" is driven by a twiddling guitar and orchestral compositions, while its lyrics consist of romantic gestures. "The Very First Night" is an uptempo bubblegum and country pop song that sees Swift reminiscing about the first moments of a blossoming romance. "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" is a slow ballad with a pop rock sound driven by a thudding and insistent bassline. It features additional verses that provide a richer context to the original song.
Release and promotion
On June 18, 2021, Swift released the cover art of Red (Taylor's Version) and initially announced that the re-recorded album would be released on November 19, 2021. Alongside the announcement, pre-orders for the digital album were made available. The cover depicts Swift wearing red lipstick, a beige peacoat, and a burgundy-colored "Matti" fisherman velvet cap, seated in a vintage 1932 Chevrolet Cabriolet convertible with an autumnal background. Janessa Leoné designed the cap which quickly sold out on Leoné's website. The customized ring that Swift wears on the cover was designed by one of Swift's real-life friends. On August 5, 2021, Swift posted a video across her social media, teasing a word puzzle for the fans to solve; it spelled out "Chris Stapleton", "Phoebe Bridgers", "Babe", "Better Man", and "All Too Well Ten Minute Version". Concurrently, pre-orders for the album's CDs went up on Swift's website. She posted the official track listing on August 6.
On September 30, Swift announced Red (Taylor's Version) would be released on November 12, a week earlier than scheduled. She used social media to release snippets of several re-recorded songs prior to the album release: "22" and "I Knew You Were Trouble" via an Instagram story on August 5, "Red" via an Instagram video on October 24, and "Babe" via Tumblr on November 11. Via Republic Records, Red (Taylor's Version) was released for streaming, download, and physical formats of CD and vinyls, including limited editions with customized merchandise for the retailers Target Corporation, Walmart, and Urban Outfitters. In January 2022, five streaming "chapters" containing tracks from Red (Taylor's Version) were released: Could You Be the One Chapter, She Wrote a Song About Me Chapter, The Slow Motion Chapter, and From the Vault Chapter.