Swift's maturation is deliberate and careful, styled after the crossover country-pop of Shania Twain and Faith Hill before they turned into divas. Like many country-pop albums of the 2000s, the pop heavily outweighs the country, there aren't fiddles here, there are violins, yet Fearless never feels garish, a crass attempt at a crossover success.
A button-cute blond teen with a pocket full of hits — sounds like the early laughts all over again, no? On Fearless, Swift is once again a storyteller; her songs are narratives set to music, albeit mostly ones that concern love. Some boys are dreamy (see: ''Fearless,'' ''Love Story''), some are dolts (''White Horse,'' ''Tell Me Why''), and others just very hard to catch (''Hey Stephen,'' ''You Belong With Me''). Her supple, lightly twangy vocals fit the album's lilting melodies (most of the slick, radio-friendly instrumentation here is purely functional), and her sentiments, though sometimes naive, are refreshingly age-appropriate.
"Love Story" really is something that all little girls dream about. This song is just like a daydream set to beautiful music. "White Horse" was used in an episode of Grey's Anatomy, and wasn't originally scheduled to be included on Fearless. It was co-written by Taylor and Liz Rose. "White Horse" is almost like the anti-"Love Story." Another Taylor/Liz Rose song is "You Belong With Me," which finds a girl thinking about how she's the perfect match for the guy who is being yelled at over the phone by his girlfriend. The third and final Taylor/Liz Rose writing duo is the upbeat "Tell Me Why," which has a rolling banjo to move along the background music. "Forever And For Always" is a great reminder that sweet and reflective Taylor also has a side uncompromising when it comes to showing off songs with some attitude. This song gives me the same feeling as "Picture To Burn," from her self-titled debut album.
Swift's maturation is deliberate and careful, styled after the crossover country-pop of Shania Twain and Faith Hill before they turned into divas. Like many country-pop albums of the 2000s, the pop heavily outweighs the country, there aren't fiddles here, there are violins, yet Fearless never feels garish, a crass attempt at a crossover success.
ReplyDeleteA button-cute blond teen with a pocket full of hits — sounds like the early laughts all over again, no? On Fearless, Swift is once again a storyteller; her songs are narratives set to music, albeit mostly ones that concern love. Some boys are dreamy (see: ''Fearless,'' ''Love Story''), some are dolts (''White Horse,'' ''Tell Me Why''), and others just very hard to catch (''Hey Stephen,'' ''You Belong With Me''). Her supple, lightly twangy vocals fit the album's lilting melodies (most of the slick, radio-friendly instrumentation here is purely functional), and her sentiments, though sometimes naive, are refreshingly age-appropriate.
ReplyDelete"Love Story" really is something that all little girls dream about. This song is just like a daydream set to beautiful music.
ReplyDelete"White Horse" was used in an episode of Grey's Anatomy, and wasn't originally scheduled to be included on Fearless. It was co-written by Taylor and Liz Rose. "White Horse" is almost like the anti-"Love Story."
Another Taylor/Liz Rose song is "You Belong With Me," which finds a girl thinking about how she's the perfect match for the guy who is being yelled at over the phone by his girlfriend.
The third and final Taylor/Liz Rose writing duo is the upbeat "Tell Me Why," which has a rolling banjo to move along the background music.
"Forever And For Always" is a great reminder that sweet and reflective Taylor also has a side uncompromising when it comes to showing off songs with some attitude. This song gives me the same feeling as "Picture To Burn," from her self-titled debut album.