Taylor Swift released 2012’s Red and grew up in a cross between country and pop, heartbreak and freedom. At 31, Swift has now released Red (Taylor’s Version), revisiting some of the unhealed wounds of nine years apart, freeing her from the anger she once refrained from venting. With this 10-minute version of the hit classic “All Too Well,” Swift extends compassion to her vulnerable young self through purposeful lyrics – “And I never good at telling jokes, but the bottom line is, ‘I’ll understand getting older, but your lovers are still my age’”- and the stark observations. The most powerful weapon in Swift’s arsenal is her ability to deploy the collective memory of her romantic life. When returning to a past relationship caused her extreme discomfort, she connects the sadness of her youth with a mature perspective.
Fresh, meticulous lyrical details show that from within, the overt and highly theorized relationship in question is unequal. The edited five-and-a-half-minute version is blameless and even nostalgic, but the 10-minute version of “All Too Well” is a simmering global tragedy when Swift, rightly, turns into a The passionate woman she was created to be all along. Even as critically acclaimed as in Swiftian’s fanlore, “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” proves itself to be Swift’s most authentic song, a considerable credit to her giant record, setting this record in succession once and for all. —LaTesha Harris
