Album Review: Taylor Swift - Fearless

I can’t believe you liked this pop album and yet you slammed Carrie Underwood’s amazing album.

I just lost all respect for you and this site.

This is a POP ALBUM! And she is already remixing Love Story and sent it to pop radio within weeks after it was released to country radio.

I respected you guys because I thought you were about traditional country music, and that you had some taste.

But instead- you worship this bubble gum pop star want to be, who has no vocal talent at all.. and is not country at all.

How can you possibly like a pop album and call it country— with vocals that make my dog howl? She has not improved her vocals and I think you should at least be honest about that.

Wow. I am so angry.

ok. I am not as angry as Miranda fan (lol), because this isn’t all that important, really. But I have to agree with everything she or he said.

Taylor is manipulating country music by remixing all her songs to pop radio– and there are no repercussions. I think that makes the country music industry look like hypocrites– with double standards- as they slammed Faith, Shania, and Leanne Rimes for remixing songs to pop. All 3 of those talented ladies sing circles around the off key horrid Swift, yet they got slammed- and Taylor gets a free pass.

something is rotten in denmark, for sure.

If this is Country music, then I may have to start listening to rap.

At least Carrie and Miranda both refuse to remix their songs to pop- and try to stay true to country, at the expense of less sales and hype.

Taylor is ALL HYPE- and NO SUBSTANCE!

Mike, I havent listened to this album yet, but you are using some strong language when you invoke the great “Failer” album here…

So, I just listened to this album all the way through. And I gotta say, it wasn’t nearly as painful as I thougth it would be. Granted, it won’t be in any kind of heavy rotation for me - these songs just aren’t my cup of tea. But overall, I’d say it is a pretty solid album. And Swift obviously shows growth as a songwriter and vocalist on some tracks. While at times, she reverts back to the very things I loathed about her debut, but those very things are likely what propelled it to multi-platinum status.

‘Hey Stephen’ is very reminiscent of K.T. Oslin’s ‘Hey Bobby’ in both lyric structre and sound. I kinda like it.

‘White Horse’ seems like it could be a direct sequel to ‘Love Story’. Likewise, ‘Tell Me Why’ ‘You’re Not Sorry’, and ‘Forever and Always’ are typical Taylor Swift fare that will satisfy her demographic beautifully.

Songs like ‘You Belong With Me’, ‘The Way I Loved You’, and ‘Fifteen’ all tell the stories of high school life, romance, drama; the whole package. But, they do it well. I guess somebody has to tell the stories of these teens. ‘The Best Day’ is pretty much a re-write of George Strait’s ‘The Best Day of My Life’, and it doesn’t bring anything new to the table.

“Breathe’ is a stand-out track to me. The vocal is not overblown and she conveys real emotion in her voice. Also, it takes on a maturity to a break-up that is a new concept for Swift as she sings “Never wanted this, never wanna see you hurt, Every little bump in the road I tried to swerve, But people are people, And sometimes it doesn’t work out”. Definitely my favorite track on the album.

So while I don’t think Swift has captured just the right groove yet, she shows enough growth on this release to justify thinking she could actually be around for a while, and make the oft-painful transistion from child star to adult star.

Mike - I totally see what you are saying. I know you werent suggesing that “Fearless” is the new “Failer”. The fact is the songs from “Failer” were written in Edwards’ very early 20’s and therefore not too far from where Swift is now age-wise. “Failer” devoted much space to heartbreak and moving on, which is obviously prime subject matter for Swift.

Miranda Fan said:

“How can you possibly like a pop album and call it country— with vocals that make my dog howl? She has not improved her vocals and I think you should at least be honest about that.”

Regarding the ‘liking’ part, I don’t think it’s written anywhere that all country fans must not like pop music (which I agree this album is). As to the ‘calling it country’ part, the review never did - in fact, I seem to recall Jim’s review of “Love Story” pointing out that it could only be considered ‘country’ under the biggest tent possible (or something).

And I don’t think it’s any music critic’s job - at the 9513 or elsewhere - to attack art because it doesn’t fit its marketing. This is a pop album being marketed as ‘country,’ but that doesn’t mean it’s actually a bad album (unless you consider pop inherently bad).

Mike Parker: I thought the same as Kelly when I read your comment. I haven’t listened to the album yet (just bought it loading onto my computer) so I’ll have to see where you see the similarities.

I loved this album. I thought the best songs were breathe, white horse, and forever and always. vocally i think she has really improved.

Really 3.5 stars. WOOOOOOW! Thats ridiculous in my opinion, the songs ive heard so far have been the same bubblegum highschool popgarbage shes been dong. I really think she has potential especially writing or singing ballads, (ex. Tim McGraw, Teardrops) but Fifteen..really in my opinion that right there is whats wrong with country music.

To “Miranda Fan” I would rather them HAVE to remix a song when they send it out to pop (if they so choose to do that) than to have it that pop to begin with.

Mirandafans… I think you have to look past the pop arrangements and get down to the lyrics here.

Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert aren’t a whole lot different when it comes to the lyrics. The arrangements are night and day- and I much prefer Miranda’s.

I downloaded two albums yesterday, both out of curiosity really- Taylor’s and David Archuletta. After listening to Archuletta’s, it’s easy to see why Swift falls in Pop Country instead of Pop. His is overproduced, trite, cliche garbage and hers is overproduced (in places), emotionally engaging, and for the most part fresh.

Try looking past the arrangement and even the setting, and you have some pretty solid country lyrics.

I am now a MIRANDA FAN fan! LOL!!

I have to say I am really pleasantly surprised with Taylor’s new album. Jim, you hit the nail on the head when you discussed Taylor’s ability to tell a story. When I was a teen and tried to write I always wanted to sound more grown up than I was…. I never would have had the balls to write a song like “Teardrops On My Guitar” or “White Horse” with the fear I’d sound too much like a teenager. But Taylor IS a teenager, and like all teens she doesn’t have the world figured out but she has this mature ability to accept that but still write it down, even if it sounds corny when she re-reads it in 10 years. She strikes me as this little Carole King (right down to the spiral hair) and I can only hope she takes the route of songwriter in her adult years, rather than trying to evolve into a Britney Spears.

As for “Fearless” specifically my automatic standouts are “Hey Stephen” (which has a beautiful breezey feeling to it), “White Horse,” “Breathe” and “The Best Day.” The major songwriting misstep for me is “Fearless” which comes across as sloppily written and rushed it.

Overall though I have to say this is a damn good record and I’ll be listening to it for a long time.

I like this album. I’m surprised that Mr. Malec gave it the review that he did. I thought that he would have slammed the pop aspects of it, but instead kind of glances over it. Taylor is one of my favourite newcomers to the genre, and she’s doing her part well. She is a teen titan in music, and her music shows that.

“I like this album. I’m surprised that Mr. Malec gave it the review that he did. I thought that he would have slammed the pop aspects of it…”

You don’t know Jim very well ;)

The insane Miranda Fan that left the first comment actually goes by tsharky on other websites and is actually an uber Carrie fan. She’s left comments on here and on the CMA prediction post under various names and has tried dragging The 9513 through the mud on other websites on various occasions, so don’t pay her no mind or think she’s a reflection on Miranda’s fans.

Brady: I don’t know anyone on this site very well. =p I kind of just lump everyone together as a pop-country disliking group. It’s a bad assumption, I guess.

Brody: The insane Miranda Fan that left the first comment actually goes by tsharky on other websites and is actually an uber Carrie fan. She’s left comments on here and on the CMA prediction post under various names and has tried dragging The 9513 through the mud on other websites on various occasions, so don’t pay her no mind or think she’s a reflection on Miranda’s fans.

Please don’t think she’s a representation of Carrie fans either. She a fanatic that gives all of us sane Carrie fans a bad name. Even Carrie fans can’t stand her.

This album is somewhat a disappointment when compared to the first album. This is a pop album claiming to be a country album cuz of the I-Have-Banjos-And-Violins-In-My-Songs-And-You-Don’t factor. Only several songs are good, namely White Horse, Breathe, You’re Not Sorry and Love Story. The rest are tolerable, but are mostly fillers for the album. Also its funny that people are thinking she will be the next country queen, while Miranda and Carrie sings circles around her…. but kudos to her songwriting…. she should write for Miley too

You might not know this… pop version of love story sounds worse than the “country” version L.S., so why doesn’t she sends the original version to pop stations instead, just like How Do I Live and Before he cheats?

“That’s a bit like the hen calling the kettle the pot, isn’t it?” Mix metaphors much?

Seriously, though, I know what you’re saying. When I listened to her first album, I was pleasantly surprised at some songs and unpleasantly surprised at others. I didn’t think that it had much of a country sound to it at all, save for the occasional fiddle, but it didn’t irk me because the songs were usually strong enough. I’m 21 and I still don’t know how to write as personally as Taylor does, but then again I’ve never been in a relationship…

WHY do people argue country/non-country anyway, and why can’t we just accept that a well-constructed song is a well-constructed song? Sure, Taylor’s production and senses are closer to pop than to neotraditionalism, but she has a sense for lyric and melody, concepts that existed way before there was such a thing as a musical genre.

I agree with the comments about Taylor’s growth as a writer (and maybe a vocalist?), but from a marketing perspective, I agree with Gerald. I’m a music director at “airhead” country radio, and every Taylor Swift single past “Teardrops” has me scratching my head. Taylor Swift’s core demographic is NOT the same as ours. We tailor (pardon the pun) to soccer moms who may or may not change the channel when Taylor comes on the radio, depending on whether or not their kids are with them. It’s very hit or miss. I haven’t been in the business long enough to know if artists who no longer fit the country mold leave the genre (like Matchbox 20 and Maroon 5 left rock). Does that happen? Is that what happened to Shania?

Wow you guys are tough here, I guess you have to be super critical to hang in. Well my thoughts are Taylor has an amazing talent for writing, but she needs to start writing more mature stuff to see if her career will sustain past the kids and teeny boppers. So I give her that talent, but really does every song have to be the about the same thing every time it get’s boring. Even the song Kellie performed last night co written by Taylor if I hadn’t of known that before hand I sure would have guessed it. Hopefully in the near future we will see some more material of substance.

Now why on every blog no matter what the topic about a certain female, do they always get compared to Carrie, and she gets dragged through the mud. It is good when someone succeeds at something I don’t know why people try to knock down someone who has not let stardom change her or her values, stays out of trouble and is good at what she does. Try just enjoying it, it is alot a waste of time to always being negative.

Isn’t comparing Taylor Swift to Emmylou Harris a hanging offense? If not, it ought to be!

You’re coming dangerously close to treading in shark-infested waters, Jim. ;-)

Are stealing my comment about trying just to enjoy it DUDE cause I think you tried to use some reverse phycology on me. Not gonna work. I did not insult TS, I complimented her whether I like her songs or not, and as for Carrie if you read correctly I just posed the question of why always the comparisons to her, don’t you think there is a reason why everyone is always compared to her, think about that one really think and see what you come up with.

Songs like “Tim McGraw” and “Our Song” are fine examples of the success of her writing skills, as well as her vocal skill. Those songs are truly enjoyable, but its just that I found none in Fearless that is as good as those two above

I hate to keep going back to this point, but does anyone else think it’s odd that all these Carrie Underwood fans are criticizing Taylor Swift for not being country?

Jim, most of them are the same delusional person.

And by the way for anyone interested, TexasFan is tsharky.

Brady– I am not tsharky and if you continue to call me that, you are lying. I like her though– so I am not offended. But stop trashing me. thank you.

Brady Vercher– how the heck do you know tsharky’s email address anyway? You don’t.lol And if you publicly disclose mine- you will be liable for breach of internet privacy. Thank you. Have a nice day.

Tsharky, you are so transparent. Please give up your crusade. It makes you look like a fool. I’ll bet you didn’t even listen to the Ts album did you? You just bash her incessantly just cause YOU hate her. Can someone ban her??

Oh, and “internet privacy” is an oxymoron.

Brady- yes I over-reacted in my first post and I apologize. But I was so sure you guys would have a problem with Taylor’s pop remixing, etc, and pop album, that I was shocked to read this review.

Can you guys at least answer my question: Why is country music not calling Taylor on the pop remixing, when they slammed Faith, shania, Leanne Rimes and others who remixed their songs and album to pop to manipulate sales? Is there a reason she is getting a free pass?

I am interested in your opinions on this. Please stop attacking, and I will do the same.

Aside– Mimi is a rabid delusional Taylor fan trashes carrie on many boards, and has a personal vendetta against Carrie fans. Mimi thinks the whole world is in love with Taylor– so anyone who dislikes her, is tsharky. lol classic.

Oh dear tsharky, you are sorely mistaken. I don’t even like Ts as I’m not a teenage girl. You, on the other hand, need to get a grip on reality like now. I actually think you need mental help as you say the same thing over and over again about TS on every Carrie/country board there is. Didn’t you just get banned from the biggest fan site? That should tell you something….

Can we like all 3- all for completely different reasons? Most of the TS bashing is because she can’t sing (which I agree with) but that doesn’t mean she can’t be a great singer/songwriter. CU has a great voice, and some good songs, but every time she opens her mouth I hear the sound of Nashville’s gears spinning. ML is the outsider with a decent voice and some really good songs. But she’s doesn’t seem quite comfortable in her own skin (at least on the occasions I’ve seen interviews and performances). They can all co-exist peacefully.

When I first heard this album my initial impression was similar to others here…this isn’t country. The voice is country, but the music…well, it’s missing something. It was then that I realized the album was a pop production and for whatever reason the producer chose to do this, and ignore Taylor’s totally awesome Country voice and roots. Now after saying that, as a Pop Production, it is more than adequate, in fact because of the strength that Taylor herself puts into the writing and her singing’ it should do quite well in the pop realm. In fact, if I was a true pop fan, I would rate this album quite high. Unfortunately I personally hate to see Taylor take this path; I miss the catchy tunes from the first album with their country charm. Listen to the country version and then the pop version of “Teardrops on My Guitar” and you will understand what I am saying.
From a country standpoint, country fans are simply disappointed in this album. That disappointment is not with Taylor, who wrote wonderful songs and sang her heart out, but with the horrible arrangements and musical choices that were made to accompany her fine lyrics. After “Love Story” I was encouraged that this album would top the first one, and I’m afraid it will not from a country standpoint unless it is remixed. “Beautiful Eyes” is another example of good arranging, and what country fans really wanted to see in this album. I really feel bad for Taylor because it’s simply not her fault. Her management team, producers, arrangers and all just didn’t deliver a beautiful country sound. Another example of what I’m trying to say is Shania’s “Forever and For Always,” I personally like the country mix better because it IS Shania. The same goes for Taylor. This album could have been mixed with more of a country feel and still crossed into the pop realm. I only hope that there is a learning curve, and that we will hear our Taylor singing sweet ballads with nice country overtones again. Thank you and God Bless.

Still AGGRAVATED AT MIRANDA FAN

“Taylor’s totally awesome Country voice and roots.”

Her what??? Taylor has never sounded like a country singer to me (or indeed an awesome singer of any genre). At most, she’s been a pop singer with a country label, even by the standards of modern radio-pop-country. Though I guess it says sommething when even fans of that pop-country are disappointed.

Angerfie Fan said, “Ya um MIRANDA FAN Taylor has a AMAZING voice way better than Carries (My Opinion) But dont talk that way about her that way!!! Geez CARRIE SOUNDS POP TAYLOR IS ALL THE WAY COUNTRY! TAYLOR WORKED HER WAY UP TO THIS AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!! CARRIE GOT FAMOUS ON AMERICAN IDOL.”

I think that was pure heresy in music. She never would have gotten thru Simon Cowell in the auditions with that voice. I, myself can sing definitely better than her.

As for the author of this review,it may seem redundant but how come Carrie got her cute butt kicked with Carnival Ride while Taylor got almost an adoration with those weak vocals and please…average songs. Fearless can’t even compare to Carnival Ride when it comes to quality of the songs. Let alone the vocals. Gosh! Perhaps you just praise with whose in with the teens now. I am almost expecting greater reviews for Miley Cyrus’ upcoming albums from you…Gosh!

“Simply, I think Underwood oversings every song on the album, and I thought the songs were very weak.”

My thoughts, exactly. That’s two things we agreed about today. Scary, isn’t it?

I really liked both carrie and taylor album.They very different types of voices. Carrie has great vocal talent and taylor has her way of singing where she emphasis certain words. I thought carrie vocals were fine but some of her songs became boring compared to her last cd like in i know you wont and I told you so sounded the same. I thought both album were really good but Taylor progress more on her second album then Carrie did.

Calm down people, just because this isn’t your cup of tea doesn’t mean you should bash on it non-stop. Carrie fans should stop commenting on how “bad” Taylor is, even if she is, as that makes Carrie fans look bad. The reviewers favor Fearless over Carnival Ride, period. So stop flaming.

I don’t get this notion that one has to be in the “Taylor camp” or the “Carrie camp.” Both of them have very destructive to country music.

And Taylor and Carrie are my two favorite country singers so its not because i don’t like Carrie.

FYI i still think the best female vocalists are Trisha Yearwood, Martine McBride, Lee Ann Womack and Miranda. Others that are better than half the crap out there that arent recognized are Julie Roberts, Ashley Monroe, Amy Dalley, Racheal Procter, and Cyndi Thompson.

ALJID–do you think Swift’s vocals are bad on the album, or do you think they are bad in general? Because, in this review, I am only taking into consideration her vocals on Fearless. Her live vocals may or may not be weak–that’s another discussion for another topic.

Swift’s vocals on Fearless, auto-tuned though they may be, are stronger than her vocals on Taylor Swift.

Did you actually read my review of “All American Girl?” Because I never used the word bubbly, and my main problem with that song relates to gender role issue and the presentation of women in music.

So I really don’t understand where you’re getting this whole “bubbly” thing from, nor where you’re going with it.

Great review! I really like this album (listened to it 10+ times), but your review really opened my eyes on things Swift should work on. Much appreciated!

What are you guys talking about? This review has nothing to do with Carrie Underwood.

Chris N. said, “Haven’t you heard, Jim? The rule is that you must be fiercely devoted to one young blonde female artist and vehemently denounce all others.”
That was really funny….

To Jim, if Taylor really has improved her vocals, then why does she need a lot of pitch-correction and auto-tuning in her songs just to sound in tune? It was very evident in the production of her songs. Her latest vocal performance at the AMA 2008 just proves my point.

I saw Taylor Swift in concert January and was amazed by how great she sang. I would say she was equally as strong as Carrie vocally. I was pleasantly surprised. But she was playing in a small theater rather than an arena. Still, she was not pitchy or flat like she is during Award Shows. Maybe its just nerves that get to her. I would recommend both Carrie and Taylor to see in concert…I think if I was trying to not be biased I would have liked Taylors concert, but I knew ALL carries songs…every word…so thats why its too close for me.

Just found this site and after reading a few reveiws came to this one…

My first and last post on this site….

Carrie Vs Taylor.. Differant!! both young and sexy and thats where the comparason ends.. I like both thier Music.. I like if for a diferant reason to why I like Garth or Toby or Strait…

Enjoy music for what it is, if the song makes ya feel good then its achived its goal.. All this pick aparting of the lyrics and the tunes reminds me opf english at high school… Waste of time.. Just enjoy the music!

DAMN!!! I hate people who hate the new music taylor has been putting out. Taylor is one of the best singer/songwriters who writes from the heart and barely lipsychs. Great songs from the album anyway. Plus, I DON’T GET IT!! WHY IN THE NAME OF GOD WOULD SOMEONE EVEN VIST A SITE FOR ARTIST THEY HATE!??

Master Luke, you make very valid points in your comment. Although I consider myself to be a Taylor Swift, it does sometimes bother me that her music is pretty much pop music disguisted as country. She is treading between the two genres, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your viewpoint. I consider her debut album a lot more country than ‘Fearless’…the title track itself, and songs such as Hey Stephen, You’re Not Sorry, The Way I Loved You, Change, and especially Forever & Always are blatantly pop songs. I really like her new album, but it is true that she is straying even further from the country genre.

However, I must say that it is not Taylor’s management or producers’ fault for the pop-sounding ‘Fearless’. Taylor was a co-producer herself for ‘Fearless’, and was every bit involved in arranging the songs. Judging from the fact that she is on an ‘indie’ label and has always been very connected with the songwriting process, I’m quite positive she had ample amount of input on her album. She even said before that she got even more say on how the songs sounded on her sophomore record, and there are videos that you can find on YouTube showing Taylor recording several songs in the studio for ‘Fearless’.

I think Taylor just makes music because she loves to do it and has a gift for songwriting. I don’t think she necessarily thinks “Oh, does this sound too pop or too country?” I’d say that she is influenced by country music but arranges her songs to her own personal liking.