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CRITIC REVIEWS
91
1989 would have been just as impressive thirty years ago, against much fiercer competition. It’s also proof that an expert songwriter, one who happens to sing and dance (somewhat less expertly), can rule our dreary charts.
90
Whether she’s poking fun at herself, touching on more risqué topics ..., or just going about her business singing about breakups because that’s what she wants to do, 1989 is an album that shows growth straight across the board.
90
By twisting free of the final touches of genre constraint clinging onto Red’s moments of twang, Swift sends her nearly unparalleled gift for melody soaring into the stratosphere.
85
There's evolution with purpose in every fibre of 1989, and far from jettisoning her integrity in this drastic lunge, she's proved in her bold, risky decision that she's got courage in her convictions to pull it off and faith in her fans to accept the new direction.
83
Swift’s never going to be as bleak as Del Rey or as sexually frank as Madonna, but, on 1989, she’s figured out how to be an adult once and for all.
80
Deeply weird, feverishly emotional, wildly enthusiastic, 1989 sounds exactly like Taylor Swift, even when it sounds like nothing she's ever tried before.
80
‘1989’ is less of a reinvention, more the sound of a winning formula being ruthlessly refined.
80
While not completely successful in showcasing in her transition into pure pop, 1989 is a great listen for those refuse to believe both the hype and the haters.
80
It's Swift's best work -- a sophisticated pop tour de force that deserves to be as popular commercially as with Robyn-worshipping blog--gers; an album that finds Swift meeting Katy and Miley and Pink on their home turf and staring them down.
80
On 1989 the reasons she’s afforded the kind of respect denied to her peers are abundantly obvious.
80
Swift’s fifth record is a bold, gossipy confection that plays to her strengths – strengths which pretty much define modern pop.
77
The big ol’ city was imaginary; but on 1989, Swift writes and inhabits a fully-realized fantasy of self-reliance, confidence, and ensuing pleasure. Her music was no longer just a diary entry. You can almost hear her winking on every track.
75
Her metropolitan butterflies aside, Swift’s songwriting is as consistently razor-sharp as it’s ever been.
75
Too often on 1989 she’s trying to win at somebody else’s game, whittling her words down to generic love stuff over flowy synthesizers.
70
A cold, somewhat distant celebration of all the transient transparencies of modern pop, undercut by its own desperate desire to be nothing but a sparkling soundtrack to an aspirational lifestyle.
70
‘1989’ is Taylor Swift’s radical reinvention: one to finally alienate her country audience and plant her flag firmly in pop soil.
70
Swift’s self-empowerment is so irrepressible that you can actually hear her kiss off the haters with the help of a brass backing section.
70
No longer writing love stories that naively set out to rival Romeo and Juliet, the Swift on 1989 is very aware of the transience and the fun of everything she’s writing about – but she’s also aware that that doesn’t mean it can’t sound larger than life.
70
1989’s standout tracks retain the narrative detail and clever metaphor-building that distinguished Swift’s early country songs, even amid the diversions wrought by the aggressive studio production on display throughout.
60
1989 is a testament to Swift's transition as a woman, and it's admirable to anyone embarking on the difficult journey of finding themselves.
60
It has moments of magic, passages that gleam so perfectly. But then it stalls. And it splutters. And it parks itself, enticing first impressions undermined by an unreliable core, as Just Another Pop Record.
60
The little personal details she inserts into otherwise fluffy songs are what make tracks like Out Of The Woods so resonant. If anything, 1989 proves that those skills, and not the marketing campaign, are the source of her success.
50
1989 is a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity.
with her first strictly pop album, i was not disappointed by taylor swift. she had some really strong hooks and catchy instrumentals. her lyrics stayed within the same range she has always had, not exactly shallow but not deep either. she had some really nice songs(wildest dreams) and some stupid ones(shake it off). i've liked swifts older albums even though im not much of a country fan. i get why this made swift the monumental figure she is today
fav tracks: wildest dreams, blank space, ... read more
fav tracks: wildest dreams, blank space, ... read more
Swift's stellar fifth record is undoubtedly my favorite pop album of all time. Her writing becomes more self-aware, unabashedly dramatic and dreamy, and concise. Swift showcases her immaculate ability to string together beautifully catchy narratives, all with the slightest hint of conceit. Every track is drenched in a springtime repose; a refraction of great urgency that both happened long ago and at this very moment.
Rating: Outstanding to Exceptional (90).
Rating: Outstanding to Exceptional (90).
Some generic poptronica beats slapped together by, I'm sure, some famous, but cut-rate producers, and Taylor adds her dumb-teen-girl-pandering pop songwriting much worst than Pharrell's misfire of similar intentions. She completely abandons country which at one time i think may have been her genre. I guess selling out is ok when your music is already as shallow as can be, knowingly dumbing down the population, chasing the next fleeting hit, copying whoever's charting at the time. Taylor lives ... read more
Undoubtedly one of the best pop albums of the 2010's. There isn't an ounce of filler in the tracklist, every single song slaps.
I would understand, depending on where you live, being exhausted over a lot of these tracks, as about half of 1989 successfully charted for a year or so after it's release. Imo the songs that did chart deserved it. This is just and excellent and concise collection of pop songs.
I would understand, depending on where you live, being exhausted over a lot of these tracks, as about half of 1989 successfully charted for a year or so after it's release. Imo the songs that did chart deserved it. This is just and excellent and concise collection of pop songs.
Weirdly enough, a Taylor Swift album means a lot to me.
Like Justin Bieber's Purpose, 1989 was all over the place. This album was everywhere for about two years when I was younger. There are so many modern classic pop cuts on here. Hating on it because it's famous isn't cool man, this is pop perfection.
This record has no form of experimentation, it's just everything done right. The production is pretty good, the music videos and aesthetic are really good too, while the lyricism is better ... read more
Like Justin Bieber's Purpose, 1989 was all over the place. This album was everywhere for about two years when I was younger. There are so many modern classic pop cuts on here. Hating on it because it's famous isn't cool man, this is pop perfection.
This record has no form of experimentation, it's just everything done right. The production is pretty good, the music videos and aesthetic are really good too, while the lyricism is better ... read more
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Year End Lists
| #1 | / | Billboard |
| #1 | / | Cosmopolitan |
| #2 | / | Digital Spy |
| #3 | / | Drowned in Sound |
| #4 | / | American Songwriter |
| #4 | / | TIME |
| #5 | / | The Telegraph |
| #7 | / | Pazz & Jop |
| #8 | / | Complex |
| #10 | / | Rolling Stone |
More Lists
Track List
- Welcome to New York
- Blank Space
- Style
- Out of the Woods
- All You Had to Do Was Stay
- Shake It Off
- I Wish You Would
- Bad Blood
- Wildest Dreams
- How You Get the Girl
- This Love
- I Know Places
- Clean
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Added on: August 18, 2014