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Critic Reviews
100
She's constructed something so precise that its success seems preordained, but underneath it all, Taylor is still twitchy, which makes Red not just catchy but compelling.
13y
90
Swift, like anyone, is a hostage to her own experience, but she’s also capable of being a witness to it, able to see a relationship—even as it shrinks further and further away in her vision—for what it was rather than what it couldn’t be.
6y
86
"Red" is her most interesting full-length to date, but it probably won't be when all is said and done in her career.
11y
83
Red should be required listening at the EDM Camp for Girls, if such a thing existed. (In Swift’s polka-dot world, it totally would.)
10y
83
Musically, it’s bigger and bolder than anything she’s ever done in the pop world.
13y
80
Swift's big international pop move for country-shy markets comprises a mere sprinkling of perky Max Martin productions, with the emphasis elsewhere being firmly on the songcraft.
7y
80
Whatever it is, this music is full of adult pleasures, even if the most explicit image Swift offers is of an ex-boyfriend sniffing her scarf because it smells like her.
13y
80
It's clear that Red is another chapter in one of the finest fantasies pop music has ever constructed.
10y
80
Swift is a full-fledged pop artist now and can no longer be claimed by the dark world of country music, no matter what CMT would have you believe.
11y
80
Red isn’t just a dramatic color—it’s one that carries ceremonial significance. Red the album makes official that Swift is the leading pop romantic of her generation.
12y
70
For all its manufactured essence, Red remains firmly grounded at the crossroads between innocence and experience.
13y
70
It’s no surprise she manages to make her fourth album both her Joni Mitchell-influenced maturity binge and her Max Martin-abetted pop move – and have it seem not just inevitable but natural.
11y
70
The great hook, the reason Swift’s new sounds and energies rarely if ever fall flat, is that the album’s biggest pop release may as also be its saddest song.
13y
70
It shows an artist who continues to gain in confidence and ability and excitingly suggests that Taylor Swift’s best work is yet to come.
13y
60
If Red is ultimately too uneven to be a truly great pop album, its highlights are career-best work for Swift.
11y
60
At 16 songs long, Red could use more editing and streamlining with a less-is-more mindset as a guiding principle, particularly since the quieter numbers—which also happen to be some of the album’s strongest moments—get lost in the sound and fury of Swift’s grand gestures.
13y
60
Too many of the songs on this bloated 16-track album revisit the gently strummed verses and characterless choruses of her previous work.
8y
60
The fourth album from country-pop superstar Taylor Swift is somewhat messy and curiously indulgent, but it also signifies the extension of her ambitions.
6y
60
If there’s a whiff of cynicism about Swift’s change in style, in her favour is her knack of penning nifty, insightful pen-portraits about emotions, romance and falling in (and out of) love.
5y
60
If Taylor Swift really has had as many rows and break-ups as she documents in her songs, she could write a misery memoir instead of this fourth inevitable hit album.
2y
Naquele que se tornou o meu álbum favorito da Taylor, e muito provavelmente o meu álbum favorito de todos os tempos, o seu quarto álbum de estúdio por assim dizer - "Red"-, lançado em 2012, foi, com toda certeza, uma das grandes viradas na sua carreira, algo que a lançaria de fato a uma nova direção, marcando uma nova faceta da cantora e compositora Taylor Swift na indústria da música.
Muita se fala disso, afinal, ... read more
I used to think Taylor Swift was SO cool when I was a kid. Of course, now I have found out about hundreds of artists better than her so her music usually means nothing to me. That might sound corny coming from any other user, but I'm Burt Lancaster and don't you forget it.
The first half of this album was so good, and then the rest of the album happens. I don't get the hate for 'Stay Stay Stay' and I don't get the love for 'The Last Time' which is where ... read more
I remember listening to this for the first time two years ago. Back then I was just getting into Taylor and it might sound lame but I never really listened to full albums before this one. It healed something in me. Hearing Holy Ground felt so heartwarming. Sad Beautiful Tragic and All Too Well destroyed me straight away. And I'm not even talking about State Of Grace and Treacherous. Timeless masterpieces. I obviously love all the songs (except Stay Stay Stay) in their original form, but ... read more
Beats: 85
Belts: 75
Bars: 80
Binge: 60
Bang: 75
The peak of breakup-albums, but why with some track inclusions ? Just remove stay stay stay, the lucky one, everything has changed and starlight. Then it would've been a near perfect album.
![あいみょん [Aimyon] - 憎まれっ子世に憚る](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/200x0/album/155956-.jpg)
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Track List
| 1 | State Of Grace 4:55 | 89 |
| 2 | Red 3:43 | 86 |
| 3 | Treacherous 4:02 | 81 |
| 4 | I Knew You Were Trouble 3:39 | 81 |
| 5 | All Too Well 5:29 | 90 |
| 6 | 22 3:52 | 80 |
| 7 | I Almost Do 4:04 | 77 |
| 8 | We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together 3:13 | 80 |
| 9 | Stay Stay Stay 3:25 | 56 |
| 10 | The Last Time 4:59 feat. Gary Lightbody | 80 |
| 11 | Holy Ground 3:22 | 81 |
| 12 | Sad Beautiful Tragic 4:44 | 79 |
| 13 | The Lucky One 4:00 | 77 |
| 14 | Everything Has Changed 4:05 feat. Ed Sheeran | 74 |
| 15 | Starlight 3:40 | 76 |
| 16 | Begin Again 3:57 | 84 |
Total Length: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Year End Lists
| #2 | / | Idolator |
| #16 | / | The Guardian |
| #17 | / | Pazz & Jop |
| #19 | / | Stereogum |
| #23 | / | PopMatters |
| #31 | / | Rolling Stone |
| #38 | / | SPIN |
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