Taylor Swift - Red (Throwback Album Review)

Going back to 2012 five years ago today, to look at Taylor Swift's first "pop" record, featuring some of her best, and some of her worst. Some of her most mature, and simultaneously, least.

Release date: 22 October 2012
Record Label: Big Machine
Genre: Pop, country, rock
Best songs: "All Too Well", "22", "Begin Again", "State Of Grace", "Come Back... Be Here" (Deluxe Edition only)
Worst songs: "I Knew You Were Trouble.", "The Lucky One", "The Last Time" (ft. Gary Lightbody), "Everything Has Changed" (ft. Ed Sheeran)
Rating: 6/10

Well, first off, my sincerest apologies for procrastinating this review for so long. But since the fifth anniversary of this album is the day of posting, I figured, why not today? Let's just right into it, shall we?

The album opens up with "State Of Grace", an... alternative rock song. Interesting. The song reminded me a lot of Muse interestingly enough. With the melody being largely driven by electric guitar. I also hear a bit of U2 on this song too. Swift delivers from very powerful vocals to this track, and in my opinion, one of her best vocal performances to date. And then we get "Red", and look, the lyrics are fine. But this song is the same problem I have with a lot of Ed Sheeran material. It sounds like filler for Adult Contemporary radio, and despite this being in a lot of ways, a country song, some of these vocal effects... just no. If she went for less generic production here, I would have loved this, the guitar solo is good, and it has this feeling of intense love that I do like.

Further down, we get "22", a fun single about being young and just having fun. It's funny how she says "dress like hipsters", when she wears a fedora on this record (the kinda hats I like by the way). It's really catchy, and as someone who didn't have a lot of fun throughout my young life, it's a nice little song that just is fun to sing and (probably) to dance to. I also want to talk about the two collaborations. First, "The Last Time". I don't like Snow Patrol really unless it's "Chasing Cars", so I'm already biased. I'm not too fond of his vocals. Gary Lightbody's upper range is weak, and I feel they probably should have harmonized lower. The chemistry just doesn't seem there, and both singers sound like it's a typical day in the studio. The second one is with Ed Sheeran in "Everything Has Changed", and look. It's emotional, they have some nice chemistry, but it's too cute, and taking this as a relationship... no. I could never see Taylor dating Sheeran. It's unconvincing. It's pretty generic in its composition too, a basic acoustic melody. Get this crap outta here!

Now, I want to talk about the single, "I Knew You Were Trouble.". While "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" was annoying for a bit, it was pretty fun, and didn't have irritating pseudo dub-step breakdowns. I get hating the guy who's a bad boy, and that you're nothing but a "notch in his belt", he's a douchebag, I get it. But, looking at your relationship history, a lot of who you've dated are these guys who like to fuck and run. Remember John Mayer? The lyrical content itself is fine, but when you're jumping from bad boy to bad boy... girl, it's hard to have sympathy for you. But ironically, after this comes the heartbreaking "All Too Well". Why was this never released as a single? At least in my Top 10 of Taylor Swift songs, possibly my #1. Here, she acknowledges she's not over this guy, reminiscing on the experience, and hey, I can't relate to that because I'm probably going to die alone, but putting myself in your shoes... yeah, I definitely can understand it. Another great vocal performance, with an emotional delivery, and amazing writing. I'm not much a crier, but this song... it's amazing.

Look, this album was better than I remember, but it's showing two sides to Taylor that clash. The mature, understanding Taylor, and the immature teenage Taylor, which doesn't work when you're 22, especially if you're trying to be more mature on other songs. 6/10, there's still some pretty good songs, but the immaturity turns me off a lot of the time, and some of it is just generic and uninteresting. But it also features some of her best songs, and a lot of it's honest. So, if you're a fan, you'll probably like it. If not... I'd say go for "All Too Well", "22", and from the deluxe "Come Back.. Be Here".

Thomas Rhett dethrones Taylor Swift with "Marry Me"; MAX and Marilyn Manson enter Top 10

Pop country singer Thomas Rhett goes to #1 with "Marry Me".

Yes, Thomas Rhett gives the chart its first #1 country single "Marry Me". Rhett earns his second #1 following "Unforgettable". After a month of leading the chart, "Look What You Made Me Do" by Taylor Swift falls to #2. But it could go back to #1, given the fact the chart gives priority to songs that are official singles, while "Marry Me" is just an album track. "Cut to the Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen holds on to #3, despite a pretty heavy loss during the week. "...Ready For It?" by Taylor Swift rises to #4, a new peak, as it is the second single from 'reputation'. Rounding out the Top 5 is "Too Much to Ask" by Niall Horan, which takes a slight slip.

Now, the rest of the Top 10 is far more exciting. "Unforgettable" by Thomas Rhett picks back up to #6, off of the weakness of his other song "Craving You", falling to #7. Now, we get three new Top 10 entries. "Lights Down Low" by MAX rises 20-8, "KILL4ME" by Marilyn Manson shoots up 20-9, and for the biggest gain of the week, "All Too Well" by Taylor Swift leapfrogs 46-10, off of my analysis of parent album 'Red'.

Two newer songs near the Top 10 as, "Reggaeton Lento" by CNCO and Little Mix rises 15-12 and "hold on" by flor rises 30-15.

Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" tops Top 50 for fourth week, Echosmith enters Top 10

Taylor Swift once again rules the chart with "Look What You Made Me Do". Also, Echosmith enters the Top 10.

"Look What You Made Me Do" leads for a fourth week, but it could be facing competition down the road. And that'll likely come from "Marry Me" by Thomas Rhett. Still holding on to #2, its small gains with Swift's small loss could give it just enough to overtake "Look What You Made Me Do". "Cut to the Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen holds on to #3, and it looks to be in the running for #1 as well. Another big gain for "Too Much to Ask" by Niall Horan, as it rises 9-4. He recently was #1 for one week with "Slow Hands", and "This Town" was #1 on the year-end list for 2016. "...Ready For It?" by Taylor Swift, makes another healthy gain, from 7-5. As it's announced to be the next single from 'reputation', it could make a big boost in the future.

Somehow, "Craving You" by Thomas Rhett featuring Maren Morris takes only a light fall, from 5-6. Like I said, Top 10 mainstay. But it could fall out to healthier competition. "Bring It On Down" by Rhymeberry looks to be that, rising 10-7. "Unforgettable" by Thomas Rhett, holds on to #8. It will not be lasting much longer. "Hey Guapo" by Play-n-Skillz and kirstin collapses 5-9, getting a major loss in points this week... and finally, at #10, "Future Me" by Echosmith, rising from No. 17. I don't think it'll last long past the album, but it's a pretty good song, so who knows?

Now, two songs are making major rises below the Top 10. "Country Song (Pandering)" by Bo Burnham goes 40-11, and "Reggaeton Lento" by CNCO and Little Mix makes another big gain, rising 30-15. Both could be making plays for the top 10 in the future.

Looking early to next week, "Marry Me" and "Look What You Made Me Do" will be fighting for the #1 spot. 

Drake Bell - 'It's Only Time (Throwback Album Review)

For this review, we'll be going back to a stellar album of Beatleseque goodness that 'Drake & Josh' star Drake Bell released in 2006.
Release date: 5 December 2006
Record label: Universal Motown
Genre: Power pop, pop rock
Best songs: "Makes Me Happy", "I Know", "Fallen For You", "Fool The World", "Do What You Want", "Rusted Silhouette"
Worst songs: "End It Good"
Rating: 10/10
NOTE: Skip to second paragraph to skip background info.

Ah, Drake Bell. Most of reading this will know who he is... because of me. But I don't praise someone without good reason, and this album is a very good example of that. Drake Bell's an amazing musician, showing prowess on several instruments. While he's mainly a guitarist, he's a pretty good pianist as well. And his range is really good, especially in his later works. Now, for those who don't know, Drake Bell's an actor/musician who got his start at the age of 5 in several commercials, notably one memorable one for the video game 'Pokemon Red & Blue', and a nice little role in Tim Allen's 'Home Improvement'. He later, when filming the 2001 film 'Chasing Destiny', got his initial guitar lessons from The Who's Roger Daltery. And Daltery clearly had an influence, as he went on to take guitar as his primary instrument, and his music from 2005-2014, encompassing three studio albums, got major influences from the 1950s and 1960s, and a bit of 1980s as well. He later went on to star on Nickelodeon's 'The Amanda Show', and 'Drake & Josh', where he had his breakthrough roles. Now, to music. Bell's most successful record, it shot him to super stardom in Latin America. While it only debuted at #81 on the Billboard 200, with 23,000 copies sold (it later went on to sell 200,000 copies in the US), and he only had a song reach the Bubbling Under chart, in Mexico, the album was a Top 5 success, and yielded the #1 single "I Know". Which led to him to selling out Auditorio Nacional, a venue with over 10,000 people, and performing to 50,000-60,000 people on several occasions... and that record was 'It's Only Time'.

I didn't understand it at the time, but if this came out from a current Nickelodeon star, I'd be astonished. Most artists from Nick are putting cookie-cutter pop... and here we get Beatles harmonies, references to Norma Jean, Mildred Davis, and Harold Lloyd, and production that sounds like it was largely influenced by Abbey Road Studio. Colour me intrigued. Now let's get to the tracks themselves. "Up Periscope" is a breezy jam that could've fit well in the summer, with obvious references to sex. It opens up with a monologue of a... submarine captain? This guy has been listening to 'Yellow Submarine' or something? And while there are some cheesy lines like "Don't you want to be the captain of your submarine?", which sounds like he wants to ride her, not the other way around, Bell's charisma pays off. The second track, the lead single "I Know", which was promoted at TRL, became huge in Mexico, and reached over 20 million views on YouTube. Opening up with really good instrumentation, the piano diddly is clearly very 60s influenced. It's clear the girl's despreate for love, and she'll take anyone who will fulfill her fantasy. This track's surprisingly accusatory despite it's more upbeat sound. Calling her out as "the pride of every fake that comes around". She's just a groupie who isn't in any way talented and just hangs out with celebrities all the time. But he does acknowledge they're both in the wrong, and that he's in love with her, something not a lot of people can do... I'll give him some credit.

Then we get the track "Do What You Want". Another piano driven song, the relationship doesn't appear to work out after the break-up, as they're pretty angry. He does censor out the cursing, but Bell tells her to just do what she wants, be free, live how you want, if that's what you want. It's clear she doesn't want this anymore. And he just wants to be done with it. The anger really shows here, and it's a pretty damn good song. Now, the title track, has a bigger gear towards guitar on this song. Oddly enough, the lyrics seem to tell that he's cheating, and "It's Only Time till you find out", and it's because she wasn't appreciative enough. Hmm... okay. Not going to typical route of saying "sorry". "Found a Way" is next, of course the 'Drake & Josh' theme song. I'm not too fond on the acoustic version of track, his delivery doesn't fit the acoustic backing. Still decent though. The second single, "Makes Me Happy", reminds me largely of "Baby's Coming Back" by 80s power pop band Jellyfish (believe me, hear the guitar line in both songs), and it's a pretty upbeat love song about how this girl makes him happy, and it's basic, but effective all the same. Damn catchy too. Now I don't even know what "Fool the World" means, but it's piano line sounds so 60s, I just couldn't not love it. "Everyone would love me if I could fool the world", hmm... what I got from this, is Drake doesn't have to be honest about who he is, and if he fooled the world, everyone would love him. Pretty interesting I guess. Now, what followed was a interesting medley.

"Fallen For You" starts it with references to Jelly Shoes of the 80s and 90s... okay. And he name drops Buddy Holly, Betty Page, and Norma Jean. Seriously, I'm just thinking this kid was really born in the wrong era. He likes classic girls, I guess. I do wonder why he should lie about his age, though. Is she older? I mean, he was dating Stevie Ryan at the time, and she was a bit older, so maybe it was her? Sounds sweet. "Rusted Silhouette", once again, loving the 60s feel. Sounds like something I could see Paul McCartney putting out. Drake here, appears to have been friend-zoned, after "Falling For You". He gets cocky, calling her a "lucky one" that he's coming over, but she wouldn't have it. It's a very dreary track for just being rejected, saying he likes her company more than a "sympathy symphony". Now, "Break Me Down" is a medley of both songs, where he takes about him wanting to get his "78s and 45s" back after a break-up... seriously, man. Retro references all over. And finally, we get "End It Good", which goes even more retro and sounds like a ragtime song from the 1910s. And it's pretty good, albeit, short, and really goofy and cheesy, with again, another retro reference, to B.B. Daniels. It also features vocals from the late Stevie Ryan, and does end the album "good", I guess.

All in all, this was a really amazing record that I'd recommend for any Beatles fan, especially of their weirder stuff or records like 'Yellow Submarine' or 'Abbey Road' or 'Rubber Soul'. 10/10, I'll take this over whatever kid pop star's putting out a record now. So, thanks for reading, I will be reviewing Taylor Swift's 'Red' next, so stay tuned for that.