Fearless

by Taylor Swift

Overview

Taylor Swift abandons any pretense that she's a teen on her second album, Fearless -- which isn't to say that she suddenly tarts herself up, running away from her youth in a manner that's all too familiar to many teen stars. Swift's maturation is deliberate and careful, styled after the crossover country-pop of Shania Twain and Faith Hill before they turned into divas. Despite the success of her self-titled 2006 debut, there's nothing at all diva-like about Swift on 2008's Fearless: she's soft-spoken and considerate, a big sister instead of a big star. Nowhere is this truer than on "Fifteen," a kind warning for a teen to watch her heart sung from the perspective of a woman who's perhaps twice that age -- a sly trick for the 18-year-old Swift. There may be a hint of youthfulness to her singing but that's the only hint of girlishness here; her writing -- and she had a hand in penning all 13 tracks here, with six of them bearing her solitary credit -- is sharply, subtly crafted and the music is softly assured, never pushing its hooks too hard and settling into a warm bed of guitars and keyboards. 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. It's small-scale and sweetly tuneful, always seeming humble even when the power ballads build to a big close. Swift's gentle touch is as enduring as her songcraft, and this musical maturity may not quite jibe with her age but it does help make Fearless one of the best mainstream pop albums of 2008. [Fearless was also released on LP.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	05/06/2016
Label:	Big Machine Records
UPC:	0843930021147

Tracks

1. Jump Then Fall
2. Untouchable
3. Forever & Always [Piano Version]
4. Come In with the Rain
5. SuperStar
6. The Other Side of the Door
7. Fearless
8. Fifteen
9. Love Story
10. Hey Stephen
11. White Horse
12. You Belong with Me
13. Breathe
14. Tell Me Why
15. You're Not Sorry
16. The Way I Loved You
17. Forever & Always
18. The Best Day
19. Change

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Taylor Swift   Primary Artist,Vocal Harmony,Guitar,Vocals,Lead Vocals
Tim Lauer   Piano,Keyboards,Organ (Hammond)
Tim VanDerKuil   Guitar
Claire Indie   Cello
John Keefe   Drums
T-Pain   Featured Artist
Tim Marks   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Colbie Caillat   Vocals,Finger Snaps,Vocal Harmony,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Nathan Chapman   Piano,Mandolin,Keyboards,Percussion,Vocal Harmony,Guitar (Steel),Organ (Hammond),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Caitlin Evanson   Vocal Harmony
Tony Harrell   Piano,Keyboards,Organ (Hammond)
Kenny Greenberg   Guitar (Electric)
Eric Darken   Percussion,Vibraphone
Bryan Sutton   Mandolin,Guitar (Acoustic)
Julian Emery   Guitar
Alan Wilson   Percussion
Nathan Yudkin   Strings
Ilya Toshinskiy   Banjo
Rob Hajacos   Fiddle
Amos Heller   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Nick Buda   Drums
Grant Mickelson   Guitar (Electric)
Andrew Bowers   Finger Snaps
Nicholas Brown   Finger Snaps
Emma McBride   Finger Snaps
Carolyn Cooper   Finger Snaps
Delaney McBride   Finger Snaps
Burrus Cox   Finger Snaps
Lauren Elcan   Finger Snaps

Technical Credits

Jeremy Wheatley   Mixing
John Rich   Composer
Justin Niebank   Mixing
Liz Rose   Composer
Taylor Swift   Booklet Design,Audio Production,Composer,Producer
Tommy Lee James   Composer
Colbie Caillat   Composer
Nathan Chapman   Mixing,Producer,Audio Production
Kenzi Butler   Audio Engineer
Drew Bollman   Mixing Assistant
Hillary Lindsey   Composer
Chad Carlson   Mixing,Engineer,Audio Engineer
Mark Petaccia   Engineer,Audio Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Cary Barlowe   Composer
Jonathan Yudkin   Arranger
Steve Blackmon   Mixing,Mixing Assistant
Kyle Ginther   Engineer,Audio Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Nathan Barlowe   Composer
Shawn Daughtry   Mixing Assistant
Whitney Sutton   Production Coordination
Lori Turk   Make-Up
Trey Fanjoy   Video Director
Jason Campbell   Production Coordination
Todd Cassetty   Enhanced Recording
Justin McIntosh   Cover Design
Nathan Yudkin   Composer,String Arrangements
Anthony Joseph Baker   Photography
Hank Williams   Mastering
Shawn Daugherty   Mixing Assistant
Hillary Lindsay   Composer
Becca Walls   Interviewer
Kyle Ford   Engineer,Audio Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Todd Tidwell   Engineer,Audio Engineer,Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Scott Borchetta   Audio Production,Executive Producer
Matt Legge   Engineer,Audio Engineer,Assistant Engineer