Speak Now was a turning point in Taylor Swift’s career when it came out in 2010, marking her transition from adolescence into adulthood. After a lot of anticipation, the re-recorded version of this album is finally here, and it sees the Grammy-winning star embracing this era of her career with even more maturity.
When it first came out in 2010, Speak Now was Swift’s first album without a single co-writing credit. She wrote every song on her own, proving to her critics she can really do it all on her own and that she was solely responsible for her success.
13 years later, Swift’s got nothing left to prove, yet she manages to push boundaries with each new re-recording of her old albums—the project she started working on in an attempt to take control of her masters. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is no exception to this rule, and it shows Swift embracing some of her highest highs and lowest lows with maturity and grace.
Her evolution as a vocalist shines through on the new version of the biggest hits from Speak Now, including “Mine”, “Back to December”, “Mean”, “The Story of Us”, “Sparks Fly”, “Ours”, “Enchanted”, and “Dear John”. The new version also allowed Swift to show her growth as a songwriter and change the problematic lyrics of “Better Than Revenge” with a more fitting alternative.
At the end of the day, Swift’s re-recordings are as good as their new tracks, and Speak Now has given us several worthy additions to her catalog. “I Can See You” stands out as the album’s best new track, and gives the album a slightly different tone. She also leaned into Speak Now’s rock influences even more with collaborations “Electric Touch” ft. Fall Out Boy and “Castles Crumbling” ft. Hayley Williams.
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is a mature walk down memory lane that shows Swift’s growth as a singer and songwriter over a decade later. Its “from the vault” tracks may not match the quality of the original lineup, but they’ll leave her diehard fans satisfied because they see the singer tackling themes and styles that set the stage for the rest of her career.
