Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift

Triple Marbled Orchid Vinyl LP

From Wikipedia:

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is the third re-recorded album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on July 7, 2023, by Republic Records. It is a re-recording of Swift’s third studio album, Speak Now (2010), part of Swift’s counteraction to a 2019 masters dispute regarding the ownership of her back catalog. The album was announced on May 5, 2023, at the first Nashville show of her Eras Tour.

Swift wrote all 22 tracks on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) by herself. The album contains re-recorded versions of the 16 songs from Speak Now‘s deluxe edition, produced by Swift and Christopher Rowe; and six previously unreleased “From the Vault” tracks, produced by Swift, Aaron Dessner, and Jack Antonoff. The American rock musicians Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams featured on two vault tracks. Strongly influenced by rock styles, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is an incorporation of country pop and pop rock, with styles of emo, pop-punk, and gothic rock. Its dynamic compositions consist of acoustic instruments alongside electric guitars, drums, and strings. Lyrically, it is a loose concept album about unspoken confessions that document the volatile emotions of Swift’s adolescence.

The album received acclaim from music critics, who complimented the vocals and emotionally engaging songwriting. Some critics nonetheless debated the lyrical change on the re-recording of “Better than Revenge” with mixed opinions. Commercially, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) reached number one on albums charts of Australia, Canada, Belgian Flanders, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it marked Swift’s 12th album to top the Billboard 200 chart, breaking Barbra Streisand‘s all-time record for the most number-one albums by a female artist. All 22 of its tracks debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, with “I Can See You” as its highest charting song at number five.