naval23 Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 (edited) I have to say, Red has some of the highest highs of her albums ever Metacritic: Red (Taylor's Version) - 91 folklore - 88 midnights - 85 evermore - 85 Fearless (TV) - 82 Lover - 79 Speak Now - 77 Red - 77 1989 - 76 Fearless - 73 Reputation - 71 Taylor Swift - 67 Imagine having a holy trinity as iconic as State of Grace, All Too Well (10 Minute Version) and amazing singles like "I Knew You Were Trouble" which had the world shook and become one of her most global singles at the time She came for charts and art at the same time and the critics loved it Did it deserve to outrank folklore, evermore, 1989? Edited June 21, 2023 by naval23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deal dough Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 not even top 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M!X Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Hard disagree and the list becomes even more pointless when you see lover above original red, 1989 and speak now the red score is recency bias, the original is better, same with fearless Folklore should be #1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burninredhot Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 folklore and evermore are obviously better but Red just has this timeless touch to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorNation Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 no, the album is an uneven mess and I hate how it’s so overrated. yes it’s really good but it’s not her best anyways, Speak Now TV is coming for that rightful title Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Monday Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 (edited) If we're talking about the original Red, then yes (if you ask me on a different day though I may answer folklore, but I think its significance of it to her career accounts for a lot) The pop songs on Red TV are some of the worst things I've ever heard Edited June 21, 2023 by Blue Monday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WEEKND Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 I don’t get it how can the new Red be at 91 while the original is at 77 Message in a bottle couldn’t have possibly taken it this far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat1867 Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Just now, WEEKND said: I don’t get it how can the new Red be at 91 while the original is at 77 Critics have become friendly to pop artists since Red came out. Lover had her best metacritic score ever when it came out lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor fanboy Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 (L)overRatED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solaria Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Not deserved. It doesn't have her best song Call It What Grammys Want Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popboi. Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Should be folklore, but Red TV is a must in her catalogue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yonsé Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 20 minutes ago, WEEKND said: I don’t get it how can the new Red be at 91 while the original is at 77 Message in a bottle couldn’t have possibly taken it this far her voice has changed, for one. no more fake country twang. this is her quintessential album in retrospect. after this she went exclusively pop and then folk (and then pop again), but red will forever be her "transitional" album from her country-pop days and contains some of her best songwriting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klein Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 It's a top 4 in her discography after evermore, Speak Now and folklore. Still deserves its score. It's the other three that were snubbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Johnson Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 9 minutes ago, Love Again said: Not deserved. It doesn't have her best song Call It What Grammys Want Cardigan is on folklore hun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruel Summer Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 It's absolutely deserved, but Evermore should at least be tied with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achilles. Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 It makes sense that Red would be her highest album, as it represents the bridge between her country and pop phases, while also showcasing the singer-songwriter pop of Speak Now as well as the indie-pop-rock that she eventually revisited with folklore and evermore. It really is the perfect meeting point of all the different sounds and styles she’s worked in, and critics appreciate it as such. Frankly, it’s kinda amazing that critics are willing to give this album the high appraisal it deserves in spite of the fact that Taylor consistently emphasizes the least acclaimed part of it (the Max Martin pop material). But folklore and evermore are better albums. And Red TV in particular is overly bloated with more than 2 hours’ worth of material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solaria Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 5 minutes ago, Steve Johnson said: Cardigan is on folklore hun. Folklore is for the Swifties I'm a pop Taylor stan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Not deserved, it doesn't even have her best song Sparks Fly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfonso12 Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 It's the album that includes All too well, Treacherous and State of Grace so yes, it deserves it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATRL Moderator Bloo Posted June 21, 2023 ATRL Moderator Share Posted June 21, 2023 It has All Too Well (10 Minute Version) so yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonicap Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 No, but in recent years music critics just do fan service for the most part. Albums that in 2014 would have had 70/100 now have 85/100 easily. For a lot of years pop artists have been vilified by old male music critics and now it's the opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATRL Moderator Ampersand13 Posted June 21, 2023 ATRL Moderator Share Posted June 21, 2023 I do find it slightly amusing that people pull the 'critics are nicer to pop artists now than they were back then' as a means to discredit current scores when the shift happened in large part because consumers/fans grew wise to the blatant misogyny running rampant amongst numerous publications. I don't disagree that certain outlets go out of their way to praise current pop artists and throw around acclaim like ATRL members throw shade but still the explanation has more variables than some have shared. Of course not every pop artist deserves to have immense retroactive acclaim but in this case Red (Taylor's Version) has some of the finest pop musicianship out there between State of Grace, Treacherous, All Too Well (both versions), Begin Again to name just a few plus self-written masterpieces like Better Man. It's a pop juggernaut that deserves high 80s. That being said I think Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights are stronger. I also think that while reputation and 1989 don't have quite the same highs that Red do, they are more consistent. I mean there are songs on Red that I personally can't stand (even though I recognize their validity.) So while I can respect Red (TV) as her most 'acclaimed' I wouldn't personally rank it as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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