Taylor.
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Post by Taylor. on Oct 22, 2010 17:06:26 GMT -5
On first listen:
Love: "Speak Now" "Mine" "Sparks Fly" "Back to December" "Dear John" "Mean" "Enchanted" "Haunted" "Long Live" "If This Was a Movie"
Really Like: "The Story of Us" "Innocent" "Better Than Revenge" "Last Kiss"
Like: "Never Grow Up" -- essentially the "The Best Day" of the album. "Superman" "Ours"
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Gravity.
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Post by Gravity. on Oct 22, 2010 17:14:53 GMT -5
I'm gonna hold out till Monday!
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Cody Wants Out...
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Post by Cody Wants Out... on Oct 22, 2010 17:32:18 GMT -5
^ Me, too! Stil loving the title track and Back to December though. :)
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Post by justlurkingaround on Oct 22, 2010 17:33:18 GMT -5
I'm listening to Sparks Fly for the first time as we speak.. I'm overly excited
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Post by Nic (Britney Spears) on Oct 22, 2010 17:41:08 GMT -5
I am completely fucking in love with this album. So amazing.
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Rεvôlvεr†
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Post by Rεvôlvεr† on Oct 22, 2010 17:44:39 GMT -5
'Back To December' is amazing.
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👑 Eloquent ™
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Post by 👑 Eloquent ™ on Oct 22, 2010 17:50:03 GMT -5
The New York Times calls Speak Now “the most musically diverse [album] of her career…. And it’s excellent too, possibly her best.”
“Brilliant. The stone-hearted among [the cynics] who listen to Speak Now will find it hard to complain that Swift somehow stole that Best Album Grammy for Fearless. Entirely self-penned, sans the collaborations of the previous albums, it’s an enormous breakthrough in songwriting maturity….It’ll be decades before she’s holding her peace.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“[“Dear John”] might be her masterpiece to date, or at least the most bracingly, joltingly honest song you've heard any major performer have the nerve to put on record in years.” – Yahoo Music
“Since the start of her major label career four years ago, Swift has proved an exemplary role model and a strong songwriter because she is able to tap into her emotions in an authentic way. She’s reached a new high watermark with ‘Mean.’” – The Beat Goes On (Inside Music with Melinda Newman)
“Taylor Swift has again achieved the near-impossible…with a third bundle of melodic, cathartic country-pop. Speak Now is another unrestrained grand-slam. 4 Stars” – Us Weekly
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Kyla
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Post by Kyla on Oct 22, 2010 17:50:29 GMT -5
Obsessed with "Enchanted" and "Haunted". "Never Grow Up" is the only one I don't really care for, but it picks up a little at the end.
And I think "Last Kiss" is just as personal as "Dear John", it just doesn't have a name in it. Curious to see what the hidden message in the lyrics are for that one.
"Possibly" her best?? EASILY her best album.
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CammyCan
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Post by CammyCan on Oct 22, 2010 18:01:00 GMT -5
Just got home and downloaded. Now...to listen or not to listen?
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Post by musicintervention on Oct 22, 2010 18:07:55 GMT -5
The leaked songs might be slightly different from the US CD because i believe this is the international version.
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Taylor.
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Post by Taylor. on Oct 22, 2010 18:08:47 GMT -5
The leaked songs might be slightly different from the US CD because i believe this is the international version. The album that leaked is the international version, yes. The domestic versions of the tracks are added as bonus tracks labeled as (US version).
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Kyla
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Post by Kyla on Oct 22, 2010 18:09:08 GMT -5
The leaked songs might be slightly different from the US CD because i believe this is the international version. The US versions of those 3 songs (Mine, BTD, Story of Us) are on there too. Those are the ones I've listened to.
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face
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Post by face on Oct 22, 2010 18:09:30 GMT -5
Probably my favorite Pop album of the year. It's great and I wouldn't be surprised about Grammy buzz for this one!
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Post by justlurkingaround on Oct 22, 2010 18:10:20 GMT -5
I have gotten to Enchanted. I'm SERIOUSLY LOVING this so far (it's caps lock day after all )
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Cerbius
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Post by Cerbius on Oct 22, 2010 18:27:46 GMT -5
There's not one song I dislike on this album. Outstanding effort by Ms. Swift.
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circadian
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Post by circadian on Oct 22, 2010 18:34:57 GMT -5
Are there lyrics to the whole album? I would like to read them while listening to the album for the first time
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👑 Eloquent ™
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Post by 👑 Eloquent ™ on Oct 22, 2010 18:35:00 GMT -5
REVIEW: The country-pop superstar stings with both words and sounds on her third album. By JON CARAMANICA, New York Times Last update: October 21, 2010 - 5:09 PM
For pure star-on-star revenge, "Dear John," from Taylor Swift's new album "Speak Now," will be tough to beat. Six-and-a-half minutes long and flagrantly provocative, it's a deeply uncomfortable song, its protagonist anguished and violated. "Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?" she asks. "The girl in the dress/ Cried the whole way home."
John Mayer has brought this out in Swift, awakening her pain, her ire and her creativity. Rather than write a song in her familiar country-pop mode, she's crafted an electric blues, its pealing guitar licks a hilarious and pointed reminder of Mayer, who's a master of the style. It is warfare on the level of Jay-Z versus Nas, Oasis versus Blur, Carly Simon versus whomever.
Of course, this being the coy, evasive Swift, the name John Mayer is never uttered on this song. (She has performed with him and tabloids reported that she was involved with him earlier this year.)
"Dear John" is by far the most scorching track on "Speak Now," which comes out on Monday, though plenty of the rest of the album stings. It's the most savage of her career, and also the most musically diverse. And it's excellent, too, possibly her best.
"Speak Now" is also a bravura work of nontransparent transparency. The album touches on many of the major public events in Swift's life the last two years -- her conflict with Kanye West at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards, the sprouting criticisms of her live singing voice, a romantic relationship with the actor Taylor Lautner, rumored dalliances with Mayer and others -- without naming names, relying on fans, critics and tabloids to fill in the blanks.
The great accomplishment of this album, though, is that Swift is at her most musically adventurous when she's most incensed. She may not be outgrowing the ethos of tit for tat -- righting wrongs is Swift's raison d'être -- but as an artist, she's finding new ways to fight back.
This may not have been an inevitability, but it was definitely a necessity. So much has happened in the two years since the release of "Fearless," Swift's blockbuster second album, that running in place wasn't an option. On her debut, "Taylor Swift," and, to a degree, on "Fearless," she had little more to do than share her adolescent imagination. Even her darker songs were about poking the hole in the ideal more than any actual trauma. But experience is gaining on her.
In these new songs, relationships are no longer fantasies, or neutered; they're lived-in places, where bodies share space.
"I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep," she tells an ex on "Last Kiss." Other beds are in play, too. "She's not a saint/ And she's not what you think," she spits out on "Better Than Revenge," seething over losing someone to a predatory woman. "She's an actress/ But she's better known for the things that she does on the mattress."
It's jarring to hear Swift, who turns 21 in December, talk like that, just like it's jarring to hear the overwhelming distress of "Dear John," or "Mean," a response to a vicious critic. "You have pointed out my flaws again/ As if I don't already see them," she sings, over a bluegrass-influenced acoustic track unlike anything else she's yet recorded. Like "Dear John" it takes real-world emotional pain and transforms it into clever art, her choice to go more or less unplugged a slap in the face of doubters.
"Speak Now" also heralds the full arrival of her longtime collaborator Nathan Chapman as a first-rate producer, and not just of the pop-country that's made Swift one of the most important new musicians of the decade. He sounds equally comfortable with the blues of "Dear John," the rootsy sound of "Mean," the pop-punk of "The Story of Us" and the bruised, anthemic arena-rock of "Haunted."
That range is likely to be Swift's new normal, or the jumping-off point for even more experimentation. The Nashville establishment needs Swift -- a multiplatinum superstar who was the first solo female country singer to win an album of the year Grammy -- far more than she needs it, which means there's no obstacle to her music becoming country in gesture only.
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Post by justlurkingaround on Oct 22, 2010 18:35:20 GMT -5
There's not one song I dislike on this album. Outstanding effort by Ms. Swift. ITA! Even the ones I hated from the reviews are really good!
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Post by Nic (Britney Spears) on Oct 22, 2010 18:57:30 GMT -5
she's not an amazing singer, but she sings amazing songs.
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tsharky
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Post by tsharky on Oct 22, 2010 19:00:34 GMT -5
This is pretty much a pop album. Mean is the only semi-country song on the album.
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Taylor.
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Post by Taylor. on Oct 22, 2010 19:03:47 GMT -5
This is pretty much a pop album. Mean is the only semi-country song on the album. I'm not going to bother arguing with you, since we obviously have differing opinions when it comes to Swift, but how can you call Mean only 'semi-country'?
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Post by Nic (Britney Spears) on Oct 22, 2010 19:10:00 GMT -5
No - this album is definitely country pop. Most of the songs are country pop. Some songs are a little more country ("Mean") while some songs are straight up pop rock with no country influences, but it's definitely still a country pop album, overall.
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Rεvôlvεr†
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Post by Rεvôlvεr† on Oct 22, 2010 19:19:32 GMT -5
This is pretty much a pop album. Mean is the only semi-country song on the album. LOL @ this being a pop album, and Mean only being semi-country.
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fridayteenage
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Post by fridayteenage on Oct 22, 2010 19:20:12 GMT -5
I'm not going to read the last few pages so I can make my own judgments, but do y'all think the varying versions of Story of Us, Back to December, Haunted implies that those have a good chance of being upcoming singles?
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applechic
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Post by applechic on Oct 22, 2010 19:30:40 GMT -5
Haunted, Innocent and Dear John= AMAZING. The critics review of Dear John set my expectations really high and the song lived up to it. I still don't understand why they chose Mine as the lead single.
I wouldn't be surprised if this album hit the million mark in the first week.
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Kyla
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Post by Kyla on Oct 22, 2010 19:34:00 GMT -5
Haunted, Innocent and Dear John= AMAZING. The critics review of Dear John set my expectations really high and the song lived up to it. I still don't understand why they chose Mine as the lead single.I wouldn't be surprised if this album hit the million mark in the first week. Because the best songs on the album aren't very radio-friendly.
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carrieidol1
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Post by carrieidol1 on Oct 22, 2010 19:50:02 GMT -5
After listening, I really like this album and Taylor's vocals have either improved immensely, or the studio affects were jacked up. Either way it sounds great. We'll see about her live vocals this awards season... Definitely more of a Pop sound to me, but the Country elements are there. The style is very similar to "Fearless." Overall, I give the album a "B." My individual song review will be done once the album is released, as not to spoil it for anyone who is holding out until the album's official release. This is definitely Taylor's best and most matured release. She's definitely proving to be leading Female in country music. As for Vocalist, we'll see.....
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Gravity.
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Post by Gravity. on Oct 22, 2010 19:58:39 GMT -5
She's already a leading vocalist in country music otherwise she wouldn't have won Female Vocalist of the Year. [sarcasm]
It's clear to see that her vocals have improved, she's been taking voice lessons.
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slw84
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Post by slw84 on Oct 22, 2010 20:00:56 GMT -5
I can't believe the album is almost 2 hours long when you count all the bonus tracks and remixes. Crazy. I'm on "Haunted" now-- I'll post my full thoughts when I'm done the album. Question: To be counted as a double album doesn't it have to surpass 100 minutes or something like that. If so, it will definitely help with her certifications to have an album be that long.
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carrieidol1
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Post by carrieidol1 on Oct 22, 2010 20:02:36 GMT -5
She's already a leading vocalist in country music otherwise she wouldn't have won Female Vocalist of the Year. [sarcasm] It's clear to see that her vocals have improved, she's been taking voice lessons. Haha, I thought you were serious at first But yes, it's definitely clear that her vocals are improving. Good for her, she's working on what needs the most work. I don't think it'll do much, but she may eventually start sounding decent on the majority of her live performances. That's where she lacks the most. Other than live vocals, she's really great and that's certainly reflected on this album! As a legit Carrie Underwood fan, I'm kinda excited to buy this on Monday.
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