Vault songs pack emotional punch on “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)”

There are few artists who would receive the same success as Taylor Swift for rerecording and rereleasing their old albums – but then again, there are few fanbases as extensive and powerful as hers (much to the eternal suffering of Swift’s ex-boyfriends).

“Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” the rerecorded version of Swift’s third studio album, was released Friday along with six new “vault” songs – tracks that were written then but didn’t make the release.

“It’s an album I wrote alone about the whims, fantasies, heartaches, dramas and tragedies I lived out as a young woman between the ages of 18 and 20,” she wrote in an instagram post just after the release.

The album is the third re-recording Swift has released since in August 2019 in an effort to take ownership over their master rights. “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” and “Red (Taylor’s Version)” were released in April and November of 2021, and both were met with more success than the originals. Fans celebrate the opportunity to revisit old favorites or discover new songs they hadn’t heard before – however, the most anticipated part of the rerecordings are the vault songs.

The albums’ six added songs include features from Fall Out Boy and Paramore’s Hayley Williams. Since these songs were written more than a decade ago, they don’t possess the same level of sophisticated lyricism that her newer albums do – but that doesn’t mean they don’t pack the same emotional punch.

Perhaps in anticipation of the release, on the second night at in Minneapolis during her Eras tour, Swift gave a not-so-subtle warning to her fans that she would not condone the online harassment of any of her ex-boyfriends … in this context, John Mayer.

“I was hoping to ask you that, as we lead up to this album coming out, I would love for that kindness and that gentleness to extend onto our internet activities,” she said.

“I’m 33 years old. I don’t care about anything that happened to me when I was 19 except the songs I wrote and the memories we made together. So what I’m trying to tell you is that I’m not putting this album out so that you can go and should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 million years ago.”

And though she did not mention Mayer by name, she followed up the speech by playing the nearly seven-minute song “Dear John,” in which she explores her struggles in the aftermath of their relationship.

Mayer was 13 years older than Swift when they dated . “Dear John” includes lines like “don’t you think 19 is too young to be messed with?” and “all the girls that you’ve run dry have tired lifeless eyes ‘cause you burned them out.’ ”

Ouch.

The speech is most likely a response to the hate that Swift’s ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal received during the release of “Red (Taylor’s Version)” and its subsequent vault track “All Too Well (The Ten Minute Version),” which details yet another disastrous, age-gapped relationship.

The wave of hate from Swift fans (Swifties) directed at Mayer has been expected, and oddly anticipated, since the announcement of the album. Taylor Lautner, another ex and subject of the single “Back to December,” has even posted a series of satirical videos on Tiktok with the hashtag #prayforjohn. Lautner is one of the few ex boyfriends that the Swifties embrace – he even appeared in the music video for “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” vault track “I Can See You.”

In any case, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” will no doubt make waves – Swift has yet to release an album in her musical career that hasn’t broken a multitude of records.

What the Speak Now re-recording lacks in youthful angst, it makes up for in Swift’s newly matured and conviction-filled voice, brought by 17 years of experience .

The rerecordings are generally faithful to the originals – all the way down to minutia – although there does include a lyric change in the song “Better Than Revenge” on a line that has been criticized for promoting misogynistic stereotypes.

The new version of the album also features updated production with louder baselines in songs like “Haunted,” more pop-sounding guitar in songs with stronger country roots and improved audio quality. While some fans gripe at the background instrumental changes, most will stream the Taylor’s Versions of the albums regardless of which version they like better – because at least they’re Swift’s to own.

Swift announced the rerecording of her first six albums in 2019 following the news that her old record label Big Machine Records, which she signed with at 14, sold the rights to the masters (original recordings) to Scooter Braun against her will and without her knowledge. Swift has repeatedly expressed her dislike of Braun, claiming he has bullied her throughout her career.

Braun also represents Kanye West, who has a long history of bashing Swift in songs, music videos and on live TV when he stormed the stage and interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Video by a Female Artist” at the 2009 VMA Awards to tell the crowd that Beyoncé should have won instead.

“This is my worst case scenario,” Swift wrote in a 2019 Tumblr post in which she also accused Braun of being an “incessant, manipulative bully.”

“Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it,” she wrote.

When the Taylor’s Version albums are streamed or purchased, Swift alone will profit.

Swift owns the rights to the compositions themselves, which is why she can rerecord the songs, but without owning the masters, Swift is unable to have full control over what songs are used in movies and commercials, and even says her old record label tried to prevent her from performing certain songs and medleys at award shows.

“I spent 10 years of my life trying rigorously to purchase my masters outright, and was then denied that opportunity, and I just don’t want that to happen to another artist if I can help it,” she said in a 2019 Billboard interview. She later added in a later public statement, “I feel very strongly that sharing what is happening to me could change the awareness level for other artists and potentially help them avoid a similar fate. The message being sent to me is very clear. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished. This is WRONG.”

Braun has since sold the masters to Shamrock Holdings, who would only agree to sell them back to Swift if she signed an NDA and promised to never speak negatively of Braun again, whilst he continued to profit off of her streams. Evidently, she declined.

While not owning the masters to an artist’s own work is common for new musicians (which Swift most certainly is not), it’s an industry dream to have total control over one’s complete portfolio – though few have the ability and power to make it happen.

“Artists should own their own work for so many reasons,” she wrote in a March 2021 Instagram post. “But the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who really knows that body of work.”

Like Taylor Swift, Prince also once threatened to re-record his albums when his own record label refused to sell him the rights to his masters. Unlike Swift, he was able to gain the rights to them before following through.

Industry standard or not, Swift’s rerecordings have been an unprecedented success, and they may still change the face of recording contracts for new and old artists alike.

Until then, Swift has three more albums to rerecord … and a whole new host of exboyfriends for her dedicated fan base to throw stones at (did you get the “Folklore” reference?).

As is Swift’s standard, keep an eye out for Easter eggs in her upcoming music videos and instagram posts – you may just figure out what rerecording is coming next before the rest of us.