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You know, I pretty much had my mind made up when I picked up the latest release by Taylor Swift titled Fearless. It’s easy for anyone to categorize Swift as an over-glamorized cross-over princess, hyped up and marketed by the big corporate machine. In fact, her record label is even called “Big Machine”. heh. And yes, she’s only nineteen and her vocals on the album are auto-tuned to death. So, as you can see there’s a lot going against her at least on the surface. But interestingly enough, it turned out that I really enjoyed listening to her album these last few weeks. Forget for a minute that the corporate big-wigs are running the show and that her heavily processed vocals make her sound like all the other female pop acts on the charts. Even with all that, there still remains some credibility since she writes her own songs, plays guitar (and you know how I have a soft spot for girls with guitars!!) and is even a co-producer on her latest album.

I do have to mention though that her lyrics are filled with cliches and “young love” angst that sort of limits the scope a bit on these songs but obviously they connect with millions of teenaged girls across the U.S. looking at her incredible sales figures in 2008. Having said all that, the girl knows how to write a big hook. The big choruses and the sing-a-long simplicity in her songs sink right into your skull and remain there for days on end. The whole album is pleasant to listen to with no obvious clunkers to mar the experience. Standouts include – “Hey Stephen”, “Fearless”, “Forever & Always” and “the Best Day”.

Lastly, if I did have to nitpick, I would have left things a bit more open-ended in the song “Love Story” instead of tacking on the happy ending in the last chorus. It feels a bit hokey especially since the tragic love stories “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Scarlet Letter” are referenced in the song. But it’s a moot point I suppose since the song is a number one hit.

retroGrade: B

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Fearless
artist: Taylor Swift
label: Big Machine
release date: November 11, 2008
produced by: Nathan Chapman and Taylor Swift

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trackList:
1 Fearless (Lindsey, Rose, Swift) 4:02
2 Fifteen (Swift) 4:55
3 Love Story (Swift) 3:56
4 Hey Stephen (Swift) 4:16
5 White Horse (Rose, Swift) 3:55
6 You Belong with Me (Rose, Swift) 3:52
7 Breathe (Caillat, Swift) 4:24
8 Tell Me Why (Rose, Swift) 3:21
9 You’re Not Sorry (Swift) 4:23
10 The Way I Loved You (Rich, Swift) 4:05
11 Forever & Always (Swift) 3:46
12 The Best Day (Swift) 4:06
13 Change (Swift) 7:12


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Watch the official “Love Story” music video on youtube:

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Filed under:
music, reviews by retroDan