Not even Ryan Adams, a veteran songwriter, could escape Taylor Swift-mania after last October’s release of the pop star’s “1989.” While fans’ normal response to Swift is screaming, crying and poorly mimicking lyrics in the shower, Adams responded with a thoughtfully crafted, track by track cover of “1989” instead.
Released this past week, Adams’s interpretation has everyone talking — and for good reason. Adams preserves the lyrics and structure of Swift’s original release, while making it completely his own. Therefore, this is not an album for Taylor Swift diehards — gone are the uncontrollable urges to dance and roll your windows down. Rather, Adams brings a certain musicianship and composition to the table that will perk up the ears of not only his fans, but also everyday aesthetes.
The first three tracks — “Welcome to New York,” “Blank Space” and “Style” — see Adams diving into a pool of creativity and splashing around, trying to see how far he can push the limits of this album. The opener, one of the standout songs, features a one-minute outro of drool-worthy instrumentation, leading directly into Swift’s megahit, “Blank Space.” Adams takes the original — a minimalistic, synth-driven anthem — and brings it down even further to a haunting whisper. The electric guitars of “Style” arrive like a punch to the face. Adams covers the whole of his musical abilities on this album, and particularly so in “Style.”
Adams continues with his implementation of sonic diversity on pop radio’s kingpin, “Shake It Off.” The song takes on a completely different and emotional tone and leads into the most artistically appealing and sophisticated use of the word “haters” to date.
“All You Had To Do Was Stay” and “This Love” are the peaks of Adams’s success. From the start, the former is unmistakably a Ryan Adams song, as vintage sounding guitars and his echoing voice leave nothing to be desired. “This Love” is driven by a rich piano, which joins with the intoxicating crescendo of Adams’s voice midway through the song and sends a shiver down the spine. These tracks are where the work officially becomes a Ryan Adams album — rather than a Taylor Swift album — as he takes deeper cuts from Swift’s album and gives them new life.
Unfortunately, this does not happen in all 13 songs. The album has its lulls, and many of Swift’s non-radio songs were equally forgettable out of Adams’s mouth. Songs like “I Wish You Would” and “Clean” might as well be on one of Adams’s 14 other albums. The artist has released so much material in his 15-year career that he has established what a textbook Ryan Adams album sounds like. The challenge with his “1989” project was to create something that would truly stand out in his discography, while also working within the boundaries of a pre-existing album. In the end, Adams succeeded for the most part — where Swift’s “1989” is a collection of singles, Adams’s take is truly an album with flow and purpose.
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