The maximalist pop epic 1989 was released into a very different time in Taylor Swiftlandia. It was 2014. Rumours were swirling that she and Katy Perry had become arch-rivals over a sabotaged tour. Spotify was the first international corporation to feel Swift’s wrath, as she pulled her catalogue from the service over its stance on music royalties. An incident in the woods with her then recent ex Harry Styles was the most A-list snow-related accident until Jeremy Renner ran himself over last winter. And 1989 itself – housing smash hits including “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off” – transformed Swift from a very good pop-country crossover artist into an industry unto herself.
The sheer reach of 1989, along with its exceptional production by Swedish pop savant Max Martin (of “... Baby One More Time” fame), means it was always going to be the trickiest Swift album to replicate. 1989 is the fourth of six early albums Swift is in the process of re-recording and re-releasing, following a dispute over the selling of her masters in 2019. Notably, however, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is missing Martin. Presumably even newfound billionaire Swift was unable to cough up the GDP of a small island required to get him back in the studio.
