“Since Speak Now was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most powerfully as a lyricist at that time”
Taylor Swift has released her album ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’, which features collaborations with Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams and Fall Out Boy – listen to them below.
The two tracks are part of Swift’s ‘From The Vault’ series made up of songs that were written at the same time that the original 2010 album was being recorded but didn’t make the cut. ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ features six ‘From The Vault’ tracks.
‘Castles Crumbling’ features Swift’s longtime friend Williams while ‘Electric Touch’ features Fall Out Boy. Swift previously performed with Fall Out Boy during the 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Swift announced the full track listing of ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ last month. She revealed the collaborations on social media, writing: “Since ‘Speak Now’ was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most powerfully as a lyricist at that time and ask them to sing on the album. They’re so cool and generous for agreeing to support my version of ‘Speak Now’.”
Along with ‘Castles Crumbling’ and ‘Electric Touch’, the album features four other ‘From The Vault’ songs: ‘Foolish One’, ‘Timeless’, ‘When Emma Falls In Love’ and ‘I Can See You’.
‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ marks her third rerecorded album, following 2021’s ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ and ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’.
The pop singer also took the time to rewrite one of her lyrics on this re-recorded LP due to its problematic nature.
On the track ‘Better Than Revenge (Taylor’s Version)’, the singer changed a line from the original song that had been interpreted by some as being “anti-feminist” and having a slut-shaming message.
“She’s an actress, whoa/ She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress, whoa,” Swift sings on the 2010 version of the song. However, the updated ‘Better Than Revenge’ lyric goes: “She’s an actress, whoa/ He was a moth to the flame, she was holding the matches.”
Earlier this week, Swift added further dates to the UK and Ireland leg of the ‘Eras’ tour – ruling her out of headlining Glastonbury 2024. Visit here for tickets and more information on the upcoming ‘Eras’ tour gigs.
Swift also revealed that Paramore will be opening support for the UK and EU run of her worldwide tour.
Taylor Swift released her 10th and latest studio album, ‘Midnights’, last October. In a four-star review, NME wrote: “After a foray into a different sonic world, on Swift’s return to pure pop she still shimmers.”
