Speak Now

by Taylor Swift

Overview

When Kanye West bum-rushed Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 VMAs, the world rallied around Swift not because Kanye was a "jackass," as President Obama so succinctly summarized, but because the singer/songwriter conveyed the fragility of adolescence on her 2008 breakthrough, Fearless, so successfully that she inspired instinctive protectiveness even among those who never spent much time with the record. Not timid or a tart, Swift seemed like a genuine girl on Fearless, perhaps treating her songs a little too much like diaries, but that only made them more affecting. If anything, Swift ramps up the confessions on her 2010 sequel, Speak Now, but circumstances have changed: few listeners, if any, would have a clue about the identity of the boy who belongs with Taylor, but now that she's a superstar, anybody with a passing familiarity with pop culture can discern which songs are about Kanye, Taylor Lautner (her ex), or Camilla Belle (the actress girl who stole Joe Jonas out from under our heroine). Not that Swift takes great pains to disguise who she's writing about -- not when she's writing "Dear John," an elegant evisceration of lecherous lothario John Mayer. Such gossip mongering is titillating but fleeting, suggesting that the charms of Speak Now are insubstantial, but Swift's gift is that she sets the troubled mind of an awkward age in stone. She writes from the perspective of the moment yet has the skill of a songwriter beyond her years, articulating contradictions and confessions with keen detail and strong melody. Tellingly, underneath all her girlishness -- and Taylor makes no apologies for being girly as she baits mean girls, dreamily thinks of stolen kisses on a sidewalk, or fantasizes about stealing away her ex-lover at the altar -- there's a steely strength. She walks away proudly from breakups and never dwells on mistakes; she moves forward. The same could be said about the sound of Speak Now itself, which is no great progression from Fearless but rather a subtle shift toward pure pop with the country accents, such as the Dixie Chicks foundation of "Mean," used as flavoring. But that blend of pop and country, while certainly radio-friendly, is nearly as distinctive to Taylor Swift as her songwriting voice. She may be not a girl, and not yet a woman, but on Speak Now she captures that transition with a personal grace and skill that few singer/songwriters have. [An LP version was also released.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	11/22/2010
Label:	Big Machine Records
UPC:	0843930004003

Tracks

1. Mine
2. Sparks Fly
3. Back to December
4. Speak Now
5. Dear John
6. Mean
7. The Story of Us
8. Never Grow Up
9. Enchanted
10. Better Than Revenge
11. Innocent
12. Haunted
13. Last Kiss
14. Long Live

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Taylor Swift   Primary Artist,Guitar (Acoustic),Director,Handclapping,Vocal Harmony
Al Wilson   Percussion,Handclapping
Tim Marks   Bass
Nathan Chapman   Bass,Banjo,Organ,Piano,Mandolin,Synthesizer,Handclapping,Fender Rhodes,Vocal Harmony,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Guitar (12 String Electric)
Tom Bukovac   Guitar (Electric)
Liz Huett   Vocal Harmony
Roman White   Director
Rob Hajacos   Fiddle
John Gardner   Drums
Amos Heller   Bass
Shannon Forrest   Drums
Smith Curry   Lap Steel Guitar
Caitlin Evanson   Vocal Harmony
Tommy Sims   Bass
Eric Darken   Percussion
Michael Rhodes   Bass
Paul Sidoti   Guitar (Electric)
Bryan Sutton   Ukulele,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (12 String)
Nick Buda   Drums
Grant Mickelson   Guitar (Electric)
Mike Meadows   Handclapping,Guitar (Electric)
Paul Buckmaster   Ensemble,Conductor,Orchestra
Tim Lauer   Piano
Chris Carmichael   Strings

Technical Credits

Joseph Anthony Baker   Photography
Lorrie Turk   Make-Up
Mike Rooney   Assistant Engineer
Matt Rausch   Assistant
Brian David Willis   Engineer
David Bryant   Assistant Engineer
Jed Hackett   Engineer
Bethany Newman   Design,Illustrations
Todd Cassetty   Producer
Austin K. Swift   Photography
Tristan Brock-Jones   Assistant Engineer
Hank Williams   Mastering
Nathan Yarborough   Assistant
Chris Carmichael   String Arrangements,Composer
Tom Bukovac   Instrumentation
Justin Niebank   Mixing,Engineer
Jeremy Hunter   Engineer
Jason Campbell   Production Coordination
Emily Mueller   Production Assistant
Jemma Muradian   Hair Stylist
Aubrey Hyde   Wardrobe
Mark Crew   Instrumentation,Mixing Engineer
Becca Walls   Interviewer
Todd Tidwell   Assistant Engineer,Engineer
Taylor Swift   Composer,Producer,Liner Notes,Art Direction
Nathan Chapman   Engineer,Producer,Programming
Lowell Reynolds   Engineer
Drew Bollman   Engineer,Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Martin Johnson   Composer
Chad Carlson   Engineer
Mark Petaccia   Assistant Engineer
Suzie Katayama   Orchestra Contractor
Steve Churchyard   Engineer
Steve Marcantonio   Engineer
Matt Ward   Mixing,Producer,Instrumentation,Additional Production
Steve Blackmon   Assistant
Joel Quillen   Engineer
Seth Morton   Assistant Engineer
John Netti   Assistant Engineer
Joseph Cassell   Stylist
Dean Gillard   Mixing,Producer,Instrumentation,Additional Production
Josh Newman   Design,Illustrations
Paul Buckmaster   Arranger,Orchestral Arrangements
Chuck Ainlay   Engineer