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Posted by: Liаm 13th September 2017, 01:17 AM

Rather than a countdown, I thought I'd indulge my writing side and in the lead up to Reputation look back at how I felt about eah of them, and how critics viewed them too as well as you guys giving your views!

Self titled era review coming tomorrow, might not be as exciting as the rest of this so good to get it done first

Posted by: Josh! 13th September 2017, 01:46 AM

Excited for this, Liam!!

Been trying to listen to some of her older album tracks and singles recently and I've found myself loving a lot of her country stuff but still haven't listened to much from her debut so hopefully I'll be able to get some recommendations throughout this thread

Posted by: SamJudd 13th September 2017, 02:42 PM

Me too I've been listening to a lot of her older stuff and do love the singles from her debut album (Picture To Burn & Our Song) are my personal faves, and very excited to see your reviews.

Also what do u think of my USA chart runs thread.

Posted by: Liаm 13th September 2017, 02:49 PM

QUOTE(SamJudd @ Sep 13 2017, 03:42 PM)

Posted by: Liаm 13th September 2017, 03:38 PM

Metacritic score: N/A (but generally positive reviews)

The good...
a fresh, still girlish voice, full of hope and naïveté, but it's also a confident and mature one - AllMusic
Swift has no trouble overcoming any blandness taking place around her - AllMusic
deftly handles lyrics and subjects in that shadowy area between teenager and womanhood - Toledo Blade

The bad...
there's a gloss that not all songs really require, and in some cases would do better to shed - AllMusic

There weren't many reviews for this as the subsequent albums, but generally reaction was positive. Reviewers praised Taylor's vocals, delivery and songwriting as being a talent beyond her tender 16 years at the time of recording this album. They felt that her confident yet innocuous vocal and simple but perfectly put lyrics could appeal to the target young audience as well as the wider audience of country radio listeners, while conceding that the overall sound and finish of the album could be better.

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My review:

Bak in 2006 when Taylor Swift hit the scene, Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert were emerging as the next generation of country stars, but they both had something to worry about when this innocent 16 year old sweetheart with bags of pop sensibility burst onto the charts. Armed with an album where she co-wrote every track, and new producer Nathn Chapman, her self titled debut was unleashed.

Looking back from the point we're at now, about to receive Taylor's 2nd pop album, it has to be said this isn't the most exciting or innovative record that has ever been released. The country pop presented is quite identikit in sound, but that could be down to Nathan Chapman only producing demos prior to this album, and I agree with the comment that Taylor manages to avoid falling down with it with her lyrics and vocal delivery, always perfect for each song. Lyrically, the album is very solid, especially when you look at the fact that Taylor wrote most of it. There's a wonderful simplicity that's characteristic of country music, explaining complex feelings of growing up, falling in love, being cheated on and break-ups with everyday imagery that can relate to pretty much teen who vaguely been involved in any of these things. It's course all a bit dramatic and OTT for small teen feelings that might not mean much in 10 years time, but when you're sixteen this stuff can consume your whole life, and this album was the soundtrack to many a teen's summer flings and high school dramas.

The strength here in the music is the pop sensibilities of the bigger hits from the album. My personal highlight, Should've Said No, embodies the simplistic but perfect description f pent up teen feelings, this time referring to a cheating boyfriend, but is among the best on this album at showing Taylor has an ear for a pop hit. I'm sure nobody would have expected her to emerge as the biggest star on the planet 10 years later, but this certainly led us to believe she had even more crossover potential than her peers. It has a huge chorus that lets out all the built up anger from the song and elevates the song, I can hardly help myself from singing along as if whoever it was written about has cheated on me Picture To Burn is similar, it has the banjos and twang to sound country but has a huge singalong chorus. It's these little flourishes that make you realise even then Taylor was destined for big things on the pop chart. The singles do a brilliant job of letting us know who Taylor is, if I'm honest you wouldn't miss much if you didn't listen to all of this but surel we all want to consume al lthe Taylor possible right?

All in all this is still a solid album, about expected for a 16 year old's debut in a genre that limits experimentation and innovation, definitely worth a listen if you like the singles (Tim McGraw, Teardrops On My Guitar, Our Song, Picture To Burn and Should've Said No).