So, Ryan Adams took Taylor Swift’s album 1989 and re-recorded the entire thing, which is either a testament to the pop star’s songwriting skills, Adams’ ear for them, or both.
The unlikely duo of pop's good girl and rock's bad boy is precisely what makes this project so damn great. Taylor Swift is often written off as a precocious youngster – despite her now being 25 years old – writing tracks laden with pop production, and it’s easy to lose sight of the universal elements of her work.
It's exactly this kind of heartbreakthat 40-year-old Adams has carved a career from. An undeniable knack for well-written words to so skillfully convey it all is the one thing they share; where Taylor is pissed, Ryan is just sad.
Reportedly, Adams set out to capture the feel of Springsteen's Nebraska and “Shake It Off”echoes the most stripped and intimate of some of Bruce's best. As Adams’ voice dusts the surface, one barely recalls its origins as a princess protest.
The arena pop-rock feel of “Style” in Adams' hands, is twisted into some kind of echo chamberready to fill a stadium, as he swaps muted riffs for the real thing.
“Wildest Dreams” blends Adams' penchant for alternative country so seamlessly it sounds like it could have been nestled somewhere between Jacksonville City Nights and Ryan Adams. “Blank Space” is laid bare, and sounds eerily like Simon & Garfunkel, with Art picking guitar.
When word of the project first broke, Swift took to Twitter saying, "Ryan's music helped shape my songwriting.” Though from Swift's pen, it's Adams you can trust to tell you “How You Get The Girl”.
Rating: ★★★★1/2
