Lyrically, the songs about relationships are here but what did we expect from Taylor Swift? Did people really expect a singer who has buttered her bread with relationship-centric songs to change into some ambassador for world peace and "Change The World" style songs? But this doesn't mean that Redisn't an evolution in themes as the record isn't as outright 'he did me wrong' or 'he did me right but I let him go anyway' songs. Instead, we get a nice slice of relationships surprising Swift on "State of Grace," a grandiose progressive melody with moody snares and soaring electric guitars, "22" a surefire pop radio hit co-written with "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together collaborators, producers Max Martin and Shellback.
"The Lucky One," "Sad Beautiful Tragic" and "I Almost Do" are joined by "Begin Again" as the softer, emotive tracks on the record and they're all songs that could do quite well on mainstream country radio. "Begin Again" is already doing nicely on radio. "All Too Well," "Red" and "Stay, Stay, Stay" are also contenders to hit radio, particularly "Red," which isn't too 'outlandish' for airplay after the success of Carrie Underwood's similar sounding (but completely different lyrically) song "Blown Away." "Starlight" fits as a potential country radio smash, should Swift and company deem it worthy of country's attention.
There are a couple notable guests on Red both "The Last Time" and "Everything Has Changed." Both are duets with collaborators Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol and Ed Sheeran, respectively. The former features more of that epic, atmospheric melodic tapestry that is the cohesive glue to Red while exploring a sound also visited on "Safe And Sound" from The Hunger Games earlier this year. The latter song finds Sheeran showcasing his hugely popular style with Swift on a steady acoustic pop track that could give them a massive worldwide radio hit. Their voices meld well together and Butch Walker's production on the track is steady. Lightbody even provides harmonies on the track.
Featuring just acoustic guitars, bass and drums, "I Almost Do" is about as close to a Taylor Swift demo as we're likely to hear on a full-on album of 16 tracks. A solo write from Taylor, "I Almost Do" features a nice lilting melody backing honest lyrics about a failed relationship. Her biggest critics may think Taylor needs to stop writing about the romantic relationships of her life but then it wouldn't be as honest and direct as people have come to expect. If she suddenly started writing about politics or worldly issues, many would consider it 'fake' and that finds her in a darned if you do, damned if you don't set of circumstances. So, with Red, Taylor just wrote about what she knows best, brought in some new, outside collaborators, spread her wings a big and for the most part, She succeeds in delivering a consistent collection of songs that will serve multiple sets of fans, from the more older, country/pop core to her newer, pop-leaning fans.
Note About Review Ratings: The reviews of Roughstock are rated by the individual writer on a 0-5 star scale. The review rating is for the album itself, not as it relates to country music or other stars or even the artist's past work.
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