Album review - Taylor Swift, "Red"

It's no secret to anybody who knows me well that I am a big fan of Taylor Swift. Seriously, I've been crazy about her since I was 14. Anyway... "Red" is her fourth studio effort and while different stylistically to her previous album, true fans won't be disappointed. Released in October 2012, this album went triple platinum within two months of its release (http://www.disneydreaming.com/2012/12/12/taylor-swifts-red-album-goes-triple-platinum/). 

Photo taken from: http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2012/10/taylor-swift-red-liner-notes-jake-gyllenhaal-gets-off-easy-plus-a-song-for-ethel-kennedy.html 

As is typical of a 'TS' album, there are LOTS of tracks. There are 16 tracks on the standard edition, and another six on the deluxe (three songs not featured on the standard ed plus two demo versions and an acoustic version of songs already on the standard ed).

My personal favourites are: "Red", "Begin Again", "Holy Ground", "Starlight", "The Lucky One", "The Last Time" (With Gary Lightbody from 'Snow Patrol'), "Everything has Changed" (With Ed Sheeran) [I have a lot of favourites!!!]

I'd like to draw special attention to this last song - "Everything has Changed". The music video is absolutely darling and one of my all-time fave TS videos (not to mention hands down the best one from this album). It's simple but catchy and I simply LOVE Ed Sheeran! A musical match made in heaven in my humble opinion! You can view the video here: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1oM3kQpXRo

As is pretty standard for Miss Swift, the subject of 99.9% of the album is love. Because of this, much is made of Taylor Swift's "unlucky in love" status in the media. I think this is a bit unfair. I'll elaborate on this just briefly :)

1) Taylor herself has stated that more often than not, the "sightings" from the press have no basis. Plenty of the guys she has supposedly been linked to have never been romantically involved with her.
2) If Taylor was not famous, it is unlikely that someone like her would be judged. I am sure there are a lot of people out there who are "serial daters". I am not agreeing with this philosophy, but I'm simply stating that her celebrity status is affecting people's perception of her.

But I digress :) This album is a definite "onward and upwards" for Taylor, with her managing to keep current, with a techno track ("I knew you were trouble"), some pure pop ("22"), a quirky break-up song ("We are never ever getting back together") and more typical country/pop TS ("All Too Well", "State of Grace" etc.) 
The lyrics are contemplative and heartfelt. Many critics have described her as a "Poet Laureate" for the generation and I think this would be a fair analysis. Musically, I like her song-writing style, but they tend to have a bit of the "sameness" to them. All of her songs have a similar structure and chord progressions which can put people off. If you can stand a few repeated musical ideas (heck, Lloyd Webber's been doing it forever!), Taylor is an artist well worth listening to. One can at least appreciate her ability to be relatable without selling herself short with crude lyrics or swearing.

If you liked Taylor's previous albums, I would be surprised if you disliked this. However, I concede that she is not everyone's cup of tea, so like everything in life, my rating is purely subjective.

Three and a half stars. My comment would be above average but not brilliant. It's not quite in the league of "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"(!), but I would recommend to anyone who likes a catchy tune.