I Didn't Want Reputation (Taylor's Version)

I have to get something off my chest: I am incredibly relieved we are not getting Reputation (Taylor’s Version). After nearly five years of Swift’s album re-recordings—some good, some unlistenable, some even an improvement—the anxiety of a Reputation re-record crept in like a weighted blanket of impending doom.

Reputation differs slightly from its predecessors. The album is more complex in production, ambition, and diaristic lyricism. It’s a product of its time—a reaction to Swift’s cancellation in 2016, her relationship with then-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, and one of the few times in Swift’s career where everything came down to the music. In 2017, she even coined the phrase “there will be no explanation, just reputation” as she avoided all press and veered from her typical dense rollout.

The inherent challenge with re-recording this album is exactly rooted in its development: Reputation was a product of its time. Gone are the days of Taylor Swift fighting for relevance and hiding out of fear of public scrutiny. Even Joe Alwyn, her former muse, is no longer in her life.

So, it brings me immense relief that when Taylor announced the re-purchasing of her first six studio albums last Friday, she addressed Reputation: “To be perfectly honest, it's the one album in those first six that I thought couldn't be improved upon by redoing it. Not the music, or photos, or videos. So I kept putting it off.”

Tay-Selfawareness is still alive and well, and to that, I shout to the sky: thank you. Additionally, let me state the obvious regarding why a Reputation re-record would inevitably become AI-slop. Let’s start in 2021. When Swift initially set out to re-record Fearless, the production was meticulous. She pulled out every stop to elevate the quintessential coming-of-age album. Then came Red (Taylor’s Version) and the magnificence of “All Too Well (10 Minute Version).” Although a few tracks were butchered—“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” notably suffered—the vault tracks compensated generously.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is when the slope got slippery. While there were some general improvements, the grating voice of a very loud male background vocalist riddles half the album. The mixing is off and the title track is missing a prominent drum. It felt rushed—thrown together lazily. 

Then 1989 (Taylor’s Version): when Swift’s boredom in both production and vocal execution is painfully apparent. “New Romantics (TV)” is untouchable. “Clean (TV)” sounds robotic. “Style (TV)” is a crime against humanity. And the scariest part about this record's choppiness is Swift genuinely loves 1989. If this is the final product, imagine what Reputation (Taylor’s Version) would sound like…an album she doesn’t want to re-touch. 

Heed my words not as criticism, but as gratitude. Gratitude that she’s not going to attempt the impossible: improve an album that needs no improvement. It is a testament to Swift’s genius that Reputation cannot be replicated in its former glory. And while Swift brought back magic with her other re-recordings—for the most part—I don’t think she could ever improve upon Reputation.

Curious about what Spencer is into? Get real-time updates at shelf.im/byspencerthomas