Fearless
Taylor Swift
Big Machine, 2008
Genre: Country/Pop
Listen if: You like songs about new love, young love, and betrayed love
Best for: teens who like sweet, sugary mainstream country
If you like it, try: Carnival Ride - Carrie Underwood
Rating: 2.5/5
Fearless is nineteen year old Taylor Swift's second album. In 2006, Swift released her first, self-titled album to good acclaim in country music circles. It is Fearless however, that has made her into a mainstream teen queen. Released in November of 2008, the album went #1 on the Billboard charts and broke several records.
Fearless is full of slow love ballads and mid-tempo songs about romance. Swift writes her own lyrics (she works occasionally with a collaborator), and most of her songs are about her personal relationships. Songs like "Fifteen", "White Horse" and "Breathe" speak wistfully about past experiences. The more feisty tracks, like "Your Not Sorry", "Love Story" and "Forever and Always" are break-up tunes that question romantic ideals: "Romeo save me/I've been feeling so alone/ I keep waiting for you/but you never come". There's been lots of talk in the press lately about how the angry "Forever and Always" was written for Swift's famous ex, Joe Jonas. Swift's public airing of her breakup with the famous boy band brother probably has something to do with her recent extreme popularity.
The album itself is fine, although its nothing special. After listening to it a few times, the songs melted together, so that I had difficulty distinguishing one from the other. There's also not a lot that is truly "country" about this album. Swift has a little twang, but it doesn't fit into the traditional country music mold. This is definitely "new country", much more pop than anything else.
The lyrics are very simplistic, but they are also honest, and they deal with subjects on most teens' mind: love and breakups. This is probably Swift's main appeal. She is a teen herself, writing straightforwardly about her teen life. These songs aren't clever or particularly original, but they are genuine, and I think a lot of teens connect with that. This is very mainstream music, but its focus on emotions rather than exhibitionism makes it less crassly commercial than some of the popular music of today.
Fearless is extremely popular, and so it is probably an item that would be in demand in a libraries young adult music collection. It wouldn't be appropriate for a specialized or indie collection, but as a popular item it will probably be much used. Fearless will appeal to a wide age range, from junior high to high school students who like easy listening, light, poppy country.
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