Taylor Swift: Reputation review ahead of stadium tour

Now Reputation has been out for three weeks and the initial hype after it's record breaking release - it sold 1.29 million copies in its first week in the US - has calmed down it's a good time to reflect on 2017's biggest pop release.

Especially considering her fans, known as Swifties are going to be trying to get tickets to her upcoming Reputation Stadium Tour this Friday (December 1).

It's been three years since the dreamy, 80s influenced, synth-pop '1989' was released, a record that went on break records and win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, so the anticipation for its follow up was mighty, enough to exhaust your ordinary popstar.

Is the old Taylor dead? (Image: Adam Sorenson)

But since her early days Taylor Swift has so far come back stronger and better than ever, with each album being released in the fourth quarter of the year, full to the brim with personal lyrics and plenty of media attention.

So does Reuptation live up to the hype? We've broken it down track-by-track below.

...Ready For It?

The perfect opener to Swift's comeback record. It may be a far cry from the guitar-playing country singer of early noughties but she's ready to fulfil her role as one of world's biggest popstars, and she wants you to know it as she clears her throat in the first second of the song.

'...Ready For It?' is a colossal pop track which sees Swift almost rap each verse alongside EDM, industrial sounds ahead of the dreamy pop chorus giving a disjointed finish to the song, but one that works. She goes on to compare herself to Elizabeth Taylor who also received huge amounts of press coverage about her relationships, before asking the listener, or a new partner, or even herself if they're 'ready for it?' on the last line.

End Game

This marks the first time a Swift album has featured a collaboration since 2012's 'Red', which also featured pal Ed Sheeran.

However this time around we see the pair move into rap/R&B territory alongside Future, as Taylor sings 'ooh, you and me, we got big reputations', a reference to the constant media attention around her personal relationships. This will make for a great singalong at the upcoming live tours as her Swifties often unite to support the singer against media think pieces and the like.

Although it features killer lines like 'so here's the truth from my red lips', Taylor has often proved on albums '1989' and 'Speak Now', that she doesn't need to collaborate with other artists. And as she's pushed an image of being a 'lone wolf' during this Reputation era it would be even better if she didn't have a helping hand throughout this album, and was doing it alone.

I Did Something Bad

This song starts slow, as Taylor opens with references to narcissists and how she 'plays em like a violin' - as the media lets us believe - over a building bass line as if she's a fighter jumping side to side ready for battle, whether that's with the press or a past relationship it's up for interpretation. Her red lipstick is now 'red paint' as the track storms into the battle-like chorus featuring gun shots amongst an EDM breakdown making for a thrilling and empowering anthem.

The best part of the song is the bridge where she sings, 'they're burning all the witches even if you aren't one, they got their pitchforks and proof, their receipts and reasons', which coincidentally rhymes with Kanye West's infamous verse 'I made that b***h famous', and references the witch hunt celebrities are often a part of on social media.

Don't Blame Me

The catchy chorus is the highlight of this song as Swift sings about the addiction that comes with a new relationship 'don't blame me, love made me crazy, if it doesn't, you ain't doin' it right'. Although over all the track is more a filler than killer on Reputation.

The best line comes in the second verse 'I was once poison ivy, but now I'm your daisy', showing two sides to Taylor, a poisonous plant but also a delicate flower. This could be one of many references to the 'old' and 'new' Taylor's as she flips the narrative letting us know it was actually the 'old Taylor' we all knew who wasn't so innocent.

Delicate

This stunning track would have suited being on the second half of the tracklist, instead it's sandwiched between two EDM-influenced tracks. On Delicate she shows her vulnerable side for the first time on the record, but that's perhaps why it's been placed amongst the artillery-heavy Look What You Made Me Do and Don't Blame Me.

She opens with 'this ain't for the best, my reputation's never been worse, so you must like me for me', referencing events of 2016 when the '#TaylorSwiftisoverparty' trended on Twitter, and people rejoiced that her career was 'over', enough to knock the strongest of people. The songs continues with a cool production from Martin and Shellback, and whispered lyrics from Taylor that hark back to the early days when she created an entire romantic movie in one song or even lyric.

Look What You Made Me Do

The song that kicked off the Reputation era with a bang. Perhaps not the most radio-friendly track, which ironically reached number one in 14 countries, so it was interesting that this Right Said Fred sampler was picked as the lead single.

The 'new' Taylor talks about a 'titled stage', which Kanye famously used on his Saint Pablo Tour, she quips 'I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined' using her favourite colour as a lyric in a much more sinister way, before telling the listeners, the media, her enemies or even herself 'look what you made me do' over and over in the chorus.

After three years away she's back with a bang and rising 'from the dead' ready to take back her throne and she wants everyone to know it with this track and accompanying video full of Swift easter eggs referencing her Kimye feud, her girl squad and open letter to Apple Music.

So It Goes...

This track has the makings of being a Swift classic in years to come. It hasn't had as much attention as the other songs on social media in the first few weeks of the album's release, but it's references of 'lipstick on your face' and 'wear you like a necklace', are motifs fans have come to associate with the singer.

In the chorus she notes 'and all our pieces fall, right into place' indicating the coming together of a relationship, mirroring 'All Too Well', one of Swift's most-widely acclaimed ballads. On that track she sings 'autumn leaves falling down, like pieces into place', but there she's discussing the break down of a relationship, perhaps this serves a sequel to the heartbreaking 'Red' track, and tell us Swift is now unashamedly in control of her sexuality as she sings 'you know I'm not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you', against the thumping beats.

Meanwhile the ellipsis in the title refers back to the opening track, suggesting it's the end of 'part one' of the album as it then switches into a more lyrically romantic themed record, harking back to the 'old Taylor', letting us know that she's alive and thriving.

Come back in three years time when this will be up there on lists of underrated songs by Swift.

Gorgeous

'Guess I'll just stumble on home to my cats. Alone', Swift quips alongside the bubblegum pop track, returning to her light and fuzzy tongue-in-cheek style, a move away from the heavy and armoured earlier tracks of the album, producing the most catchy and radio-friendly track of the album.

It sees Swift be self-deprecating as she gushes over a love interest who she can't have because she 'can't say anything to your face', and of course it's been interpreted that she's playing along with yet another rumour about her love life that she cheated on a former boyfriend as she sings 'I got a boyfriend, he's older than us'.

Getaway Car

Jack Antonoff's production shines on this soaring pop track which is very similar to his band Bleachers' Rollercoaster song from 2014.

The pairing of Swift and Antonoff is pop gold here as she refers to black ties and white lies, alluding to the Met Gala and her fling with Tom Hiddleston, compares her relationship to the tumultuous Bonnie & Clyde, epically sings the similar line 'we never had a shotgun shot in the dark' from Rollercoaster and makes the listener feel as if they're driving through the American desert in the night with their best friend or lover even if you're from a village in the countryside in the UK, which is the magic of Swift's songwriting.

King of My Heart

This track sees Swift discuss her Kingdom again which has been taken way from her, and now she retreats to the kingdom 'inside my room'. It's a love song devoted to her boyfriend who loves her for authentic self and not materialistic things as she says 'you fancy me, not fancy stuff' as they drink from 'plastic cups'.

There are also plenty of King of My Heart references spotted in the ...Ready For It? video by fans including lyrics like 'this is enough' and a grafitti crown on top of a heart, proving that Swift is once again the Queen of easter eggs in her lyrics and videos.

Dancing With Our Hands Tied

A fast paced version of a classic Taylor Swift song, Dancing With Our Hands Tied is a fun, dreamy piece of music marking a welcome change in the album's pace.

She sings about carrying a 'picture of your face in an invisible locket', another motif from Swift's back catalogue, and another romantic cliché that the singer just always seems to twist in her own way and make it relatable, which is inevitably her power proven again on this brilliantly catchy track.

Dress

As opposed to previous albums Taylor discusses her sexuality much more openly on Reputation, as she sings on the breathy pop ballad 'cause I don't want you like a best friend, only bought this dress so you could take it off', contrasting it with high school romance-like lyrics such as 'carve your name into my bedpost'.

And she also tells of her boyfriend's support again despite her 'reputation' singing 'even in my worst light, you saw the truth in me'. The track is one of the stand outs on the album and sees her vocals reach similar heights to her collaboration with Zayn for the 50 Shades soundtrack in early 2017, which was also produced by Antonoff.

Taylor Swift Reputation Tour

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Earlier on we suggested the album was split into two halves, the 'new' and 'old' Taylor, however this track would have suited being in the first half of Reputation. But that doesn't mean it isn't a great song that's full to the brim of references ready for people to pick apart and analyse.

She notes her 'big parties', which were widely documented by the press and included guest lists featuring Beyonce and Jay-Z, Lorde, Justin Timberlake, Cara Delevigne and Ed Sheeran. Later her phonecall with Kanye West over the Famous lyric is referenced as she sings 'friends don't try to trick you, get you on the phone and mind-twist you', and later talks about forgiveness of this person or people before stopping the track to laugh and say 'I can't even say it with a straight face'.

The song borders on a cheesiness, but it's also fun and shouldn't be taken too seriously. It will make for a great singalong at the stadium tours, with thousands of Swifties singing the chorus and bridge where she thanks her friends, baby and momma for sticking by her side through all the 'drama'.

Call It What You Want

Upon its release ahead of the album listeners noted the return of the 'old' Taylor who was missing from Look What You Made Me Do and ...Ready For It?.

She talks of daydreams, crumbling castles, boyfriend's chains and kings and queens as Swift openly talks about retreating from the public eye following a number of highly publicised 'feuds'. There are also references to her relationship with Brit boyfriend Joe Alwyn who she calls 'fit' and who loves her like she's 'brand new'. It's a heartbreaking track from a woman who feels defeated but finds someone who likes her regardless of other opinions.

New Year's Day

As the album comes to a close it seems the 'old' Taylor is alive and well. Accompanied by her guitar and piano she's looking back at the parties and drama from earlier tracks and now moving on to the future.

She talks about 'Polaroids' on the floor, and tells her lover 'don't read the last page'. Swift often compares her relationships to a book, for example in Story of Us and Enchanted. In the latter she sings 'please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting on you', which is paralleled here as she sings 'please don't ever become a stranger, whose laugh I could recognize anywhere'.

This a nice finish to the loud and aggressive Reputation, and suggests she's ready to move on and on album number seven we might see even more of the 'old' Taylor.