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39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
~brilliant songwriter~, November 11, 2008
Taylor Swift is one talented teen! She had a hand again in every song on her highly anticipated sophomore CD - this time she wrote 7, and co-wrote 6. The first single, "Love Story" is a good example of how she can combine great lyrics with a catchy beat - and then produce a smash crossover hit. The most remarkable thing about the album is that it is incredibly balanced...and almost every song is so good that it could be released as a radio single. I think it is now safe to say that she is a rising star who will just keep on rising!
Taylor opens the album with the strong title track "Fearless", and ends the album with the powerful theme song of the summer Olympics, "Change". In the middle is a sure huge hit "The Way I Loved You" - a song that she wrote with John Rich. "Fifteen" is her most personal song, a bittersweet gem where she sings about her freshman year and her best friend for the past 5 years, Abigail. "White Horse" (which has already been featured on Grey's Anatomy) is a well written tearjerker - a heartfelt song that is just waiting to become her next blockbuster hit. A good example of her more acoustic side is "Breathe" - a simple song written with Colbie Caillat who also sings background vocals in the song. Taylor's writing seems to have matured and grown in the past 2 years. Take "The Best Day" for example - which is a completely different but awesome song, which is written about her family. She appeals to a wide audience, and executes this so well here on Fearless.
It's incredible how quickly Taylor crossed over and became not only a big country star, but a huge pop star also. It took only her second single - Teardrops On My Guitar - for her to become amazingly popular in mainstream music! Then she continued to release 3 more hits (two of them #1) off her debut album. Talk about a hard act to follow - but I can't see this trend stopping anytime soon with Fearless - this album is a major home run. She isn't the same country artist who sang "Tim Mcgraw", and I understand that some people will not be happy about that. If there are any flaws here, it would be that many of the songs are pop-country hits which are about the same subject - teens. You can't please everyone, but look for her to just become even bigger and more popular, with more #1's and crossover pop smash hits. Taylor's sophomore CD is very well done...filled with excellent, self-penned, radio-friendly top 40 hits! Overall ~ 9/10 ~
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written lyrics, songs that feature catchy melodies, elegant vocals and just overall, well-done!, November 19, 2008
Taylor Swift, the young Country vocalist/songwriter who has been topping the charts and a performer recognized for her talents and of course, most recently with the whole Joe Jonas breakup that seems to have become media fodder as of late.
But these type of experiences of love and breakups have been an instrumental part of Swift's life because she manages to take these good and bad experiences and like a painter who can grab the attention of the viewer through creativity, the same can be said about Taylor Swift's music.
I've listened to this album a good number of times already and I have to admit that I'm quite impressed by her ability to craft these lyrics and literally grab the listener because each track is almost told in a storytelling fashion.
In fact, there is not one song I didn't like. The theme of "Fearless" for the most part is about love and where Pink's "Funhouse" is a good example of an album that features emotions after a bitter breakup and thus her album is quite dark, Swift's "Fearless" is an album with tracks of those emotions that one would have when they are in love whether it's a teenage crush, in a relationship or after a breakup.
Swift's hit song "Love Story" is just an awesome track that showcases her songwriting skills but songs such as "Hey Stephen" is one of those songs that feature that storytelling style. In this song, Swift writes about a boy named Stephen that she has a crush on but other girls also like him. And it's almost like reading a page from Swift's diary about innocent feelings towards a person she likes.
Then there's a track like "Fifteen" in which she writes about starting the first day as a freshman in high school and getting in a relationship with someone at the young age at 15.
Or a song like "The Way I Loved You" which is another well-written song (which she co-wrote with John Rich) about the pain of love and loving someone but a love that is over and looking back at the relationship.
Then you have her musical side in which she performs the acoustic guitar driven track "Breathe" with another popular and talented young artist Colbie Caillat.
And then there is the track "Forever & Always" which Swift wrote about her then boyfriend Joe Jonas (Jonas Brothers) and with their somewhat breakup that has been featured recently in the media, it will be interesting to see what kind of song Swift will pen for that.
"Fearless" is just a fantastic album! Taylor Swift, she definitely stands out among the many young music artists out there and also, for the Country music genre, the ability to crossover and become a Country/Pop star in America.
Although we have seen someone like Carrie Underwood, Faith Evans and Shania Twain to do this, for someone as young as Taylor Swift to really come out so strong and able to attract listeners who typically may not have listened to Country music. Also, Swift is just not the average artist with good looks and a great voice, she's also a talented songwriter and musician. Definitely a true talent and you can only wonder how this young woman will develop over the years.
The songwriting skills and the creativity behind the lyrics and her ability to take those lyrics and sing them sweetly and convincingly in a storytelling fashion is what I have enjoyed about "Fearless". Beautifully written lyrics, songs that feature catchy melodies, elegant vocals and just overall, well-done!
Again, "Fearless" is simply, fantastic!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not a letdown!, April 1, 2009
I find that sometimes a musician will have an awesome first album, then the next album comes out and just doesn't quite have it... This is so not the case here. It has that Taylor Swift sound that you love, but is new and fresh. Her sound has definitely evolved without becoming unrecognizable.
Stand out songs I think are:
*Fearless, the title track, that has those awesome lyrics that are so simple that Taylor Swift always seems to come up with. Sweet message about loving a boy that makes her feel fearless. Makes you feel good.
*White Horse - Ballad about being treated badly by a guy and all the feelings that go along with that. This is a song that definitely sounded different to me initally (when I heard it on Grey's). It's not as country as some of her other songs. Love, love, love the lyrics.
*Breathe feat. Colbie Caillat - Slow song with lyrics about a separation from someone you love and how hard that is. Simple beat. Love the sound of Taylor and Colbie singing together on the chorus. I love singing along to this in my car. It has so much emotion.
*You're Not Sorry - Slower song about a guy who treats a girl badly, leads her on, lies, apologizes when he doesn't really mean it (hence the title). It's about finally waking up and realizing you're too good for that guy (haven't we all been there?). Catchy chorus. Nice beat.
*The Best Day - This song reminds me a little of Colbie Caillat's style of music as well. It doesn't necessarily have to be considered country, especially if you don't know Taylor Swift. Just a sweet, simple song about her mom. I love it. Plus, my mom is awesome, and I always think of her when I listen to it. Really a sweet thing to write a song for your mom I think (and it's not cheesy like you might think it could be).
*Change - This song is upbeat. It's about being the one to believe in change when not everyone does and some even want to stop you and keep things the same. And how good it feels when that much needed change comes along. Very feel good song and passionate.
I have lots of favorites on here as you can see, but these are the ones that really stick out to me. I like every song on the album, but these are the best (I think). I also have to say that I'm not a huge country music fan. I like Taylor Swift because she has a good voice, simple songs that are fun and catchy with good lyrics. She doesn't sound super country when she sings, and there aren't a bunch of country-style instruments. It's just about the music. It sometimes doesn't even sound like country.
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