Taylor Swift on creating “the same but better” version of ‘Fearless’

Taylor Swift has opened up about the process of re-recording ‘Fearless’, saying that she “tried to create a ‘same but better’ version” of the album.

The singer-songwriter released ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ last Friday (April 9) as the first step in her efforts to reclaim ownership of her first six studio records, spanning 2006’s self-titled up to ‘Reputation’ (2017).

It comes after Scooter Braun made a $300million acquisition of Swift’s former label Big Machine Label Group, with the sale including the recorded masters of the pop star’s earlier LPs.

Advertisement

During a recent conversation with People, Swift explained of recreating ‘Fearless’ (2008): “In terms of production, I really wanted to stay very loyal to the initial melodies that I had thought of for these songs.

“And so we really did go in and try to create a ‘the same but better’ version. We kept all the same parts that I initially dreamed up for these songs. But if there was any way that we could improve upon the sonic quality, we did.”

Swift once again teamed up with her collaborators Jack Antonoff and The National’s Aaron Dessner – who both worked on last year’s ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’ – for the project, while also bringing in the musicians involved in the original ‘Fearless’ as well as her touring band.

“But yeah, I did go in line by line and listen to every single vocal and think, you know, what are my inflections here,” Swift continued. “If I can improve upon it, I did. But I really did want this to be very true to what I initially thought of and what I had initially written. But better. Obviously.”






Advertisement

In a four-star review of ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’, NME wrote: “Swift never cringes away from her younger self. Instead, she revisits the songs with kindness and affection, celebrating the success of her teenage releases.”

Meanwhile, a Taylor Swift fan has recreated the aesthetic from each of the star’s eras so far on TikTok.