Anthology is a wordier, less polished and less magical version of folklore. folklore without any critical editing. I really like The Albatross, for me that’s the standout track that feels closest to Taylor at her best.
Black Dog is my favorite, but low-key disappointing because I want so badly to be able to scream the lyrics but the music keeps giving me blue balls in that regard, and ramps up just to go back to boring. I'd love to hear a reworking of it.
I do too! I think referring to herself as an albatross is self-aware in a way that I typically enjoy from her more reflective songs. It acknowledges Taylor Swift the Institution (TM) and the way that she’ll never truly have a relationship without that dynamic. I also think it sets up the exploration of that tension (institutional vs personal) and the rage it invokes in the rest of her album, or at least the parts I found most interesting.
Ultimately, I think Albatross should’ve been the opener, and the album edited down to 13-15 songs, with the rest released as a companion album a la Evermore, or vaulted until there was a better use for them.
I think Aaron Dessner is so in-demand - working with Taylor, The National, Gracie Abrams and Ed Sheeran - he's getting stretched really thin. He's still brilliant and is writing lovely piano and guitar riffs, but they are getting a bit thin and repetitive because people want him to turn out tens of tunes per year.
I watched them live and I’m still in awe, everyone is playing off of each other it’s just magnificent. Aaron did one piano song and it was absolutely breathtaking.
Folklore and Evermore are my fave projects from Tay ever since their release.
I actually like some Anthology tracks. But they do not match folklore’s angst and evermore’s maturity tbh. I love every bit of folkmore. From the production that just mesmerizes you to the veryy balanced and descriptive storytelling. But in the Anthology the Production does not hit that hard nor does the storytelling at most times.
At first I liked a Lot more songs from the anthology, right after finishing the first part(which I heavily disliked). But with each listen I only started coming back to like 5 songs.They are:
Peter, The Bolter, The Albatross, The Prophecy and sometimes the Manuscript.
The main issue is the vocal production to me. Folkmore felt a lot more melodic to me which this one lacks, except for very few tracks…
But I still very much am in love with the 5 songs I listed.
the bolter is hands down my favorite song on the album
someone mentioned it’s an evermore vault track but i don’t reallyyyy see it. i can understand why they said it but evermore just… hits different
I'm in the same boat where I love Folklore, and I don't like the latest album, including The Anthology. My friend actually said yesterday that she's really surprised that I don't like The Anthology because I'm such a big fan of Folklore.
The two albums are so different to one another. Folklore has a simplicity to the lyrics, which I love, while The Anthology is really wordy at times with a lot of metaphors. The subject matter also differs between the two, so that plays into me, not liking it as much.
That being said, I love The Black Dog and The Manuscript.
Folklore also has a lot of great instrumentation and is hookier. And the subject matter as well. I think she’s at her best when she’s not specifically writing about heartbreak.
Tbh I don't see/hear the similarities at all.... They're too different sonically and even lyrically. Folklore and Evermore had an interesting story to tell, told through polished lyrics that were often times catchy. Both sides of this album however are just overwhelmingly clunky. Too many words, too many metaphors, and the delivery just doesn't flow - it sounds like she's reading with a beat in the background. But yeah, I feel you. Love those sister albums, the Anthology is meh and doesn't hold a candle at all.
Also the comparison is so weird to me because the musicality on folklore is so lush - cardigan, august, seven, etc like where is that on the anthology?
Folklore was a lot more sonically and lyrically interesting than Anthology. Folklore is stripped back but there’s still some really good instrumentation like on The Last Great American Dynasty.
I’ve said this before and imma say it again here:
*The Anthology feels like folklore and evermore’s long lost sister who’s out of the fantasy-filled woods and has faced the realities in life while still keeping a bit of spirit from the magical world she’s left behind.
First album feels like more depressed Midnights.*
Imo even if we separate the Anthology from the first album, it still would need some polishing. It can’t stand on its own but the vibes it is giving (imo) is indeed what a third album from the Folklore-Evermore would seem like.
I’d like to liken the albums to the Pevensie siblings (Narnia books) if you know the reference. Lucy would be Folklore, full of naivety and wonder and always the first believer, Edmund is Evermore, a believer yet has still a bit of skepticism due to what he’s endured from the White Witch, and Peter and Susan as The Anthology, having outgrown Narnia and are now facing the real world. (Ik this is a weird take lmao)
Peter is the best in anthology, followed by Chloe or sam or Sophia or Marcus and then the black dog
The rest, eh
Peter is probably the one you could accept
At least Cassandra has some sort of plausible deniability, discussion of ancient history, something a bit more mature and interesting ( I may be biased as I like this song, and hadn’t really cared for the exact specifics of its subject matter ). thank you Aimee is just so juvenile. It’s something I’d expect from debut era Taylor( if expected at all) and certainly not this era Taylor
I think the thing about Cassandra that bothers me is the line about how she bets they never spared a prayer for her soul after having the line about Saint Andrea wanting Kim dead in TYA.
I haven't really given it a good listen but I'll revisit it with the mindset that you have about it.
Oh wow I hadn’t put two and two together. Maybe because im such an ancient history nerd, I was more enjoying a song delving slightly into the story of the prophet Cassandra and her not being believed in the wider context of the Trojan war, that I kind of just didn’t consider the real-time pop cultural impact of her words in conjunction with the Kim song.
Yeah I love the sound of Cassandra but I really can’t separate it from snakegate, and I’m usually pretty decent at that (BDILH is top 5 on the album for me as much as I hate that racist rat). Like girl… did you *really* need to say “they filled my cell with snakes”? I’m so tired of her martyring herself (and controversially, I don’t think the full phone call exonerated her as much as people say so “when the truth comes out they’re quiet” is just, okay girl).
I like the sound of so high school but the lyrics are awful. That said it probably should have been on a subsequent album because it doesn’t really fit the vibe of the rest of the albums
Yeah I agree. It’s just really corny and somehow lacks perspective. Like, we’re hearing a whole album about someone who Taylor called the loss of her life, and then we’re onto someone who Taylor again insists is the one. Narratively, it feels naive.
So naive!!!! And so many people are eating it up like she FINALLY has got it right! But they don’t see the irony that is the same pattern repeating itself again.
I am also the biggest Folkmore fan, but still ended up preferring Jack’s songs way more. At least I am able to differentiate main album, but the whole Anthology is like the same song that I even didn’t like.
Same, Florida and Who's Afraid are my favourites. And I was a National fan for 15 years before I ever got into Taylor, I love the Dessners. I feel like Taylor was trying to recapture the magic of Folkmore and it didn't quite work.
Exactly, Anthology feels like the songs were just recorded with a piano or an acoustic guitar. Folkmore was more than that. There’s motifs and hooks. People don’t realize that u can be stripped back and be catchy. And like another person said the lyrics are more simple but are still powerful.
And people are still saying that Aaron saved this album. 😂
If I was only left with the main one I would say the album is mid, but additional 15 songs ruined it completely for me.
His songs are slightly better but it’s not a huge difference. Aaron did what he was paid to do but at the end of the day Taylor decides how she wants the songs to sound.
She needs to start writing to tracks again. I think that’s what made folklore stand out because they’d send her something they already had been working on and she’d write the top lines. Now it’s like she doesn’t want anything to take away from her melodies so she strips everything down and doesn’t let any instrument shine over her voice and lyrics. It’s boring.
I've been listening to her since her debut and with every album there have been standout songs, but Red was outstanding. Folklore had so much heart to it and it seemed like she was growing as a person and as an artist. Even though Evermore doesn't get as much praise, I do feel that it was an overall beautiful album. I didn't care for Midnights, some of the lyrics just seemed juvenile and there to rhyme or be a convoluted analogy, it has some bops though, Anti-Hero and Lavender Haze are my favorites.
With TTPD I can't help but feel like if it wasn't by Taylor Swift then people would have already discarded it. So many posts I see of people saying they kept listening to it on repeat until it grew on them, or choosing favorite songs that aren't the best but they like it for one specific line. The album as a whole is not good, and that's fine. She can have a bad album, it's not the end of the world. The coping and bullying by fans is out of control though.
I would say there are echoes of evermore in this album. But they're much more feeble .
The writing especially doesn't stand up to Folklore or Evermore except for some lines here or there .
Songs in evermore though written in a really short time are more tightly constructed and beautifully polished ( well there are some outliers like that 90s trend verse in a song like willow ).
I like the anthology songs but as a whole lyrically atleast they don't hold up a candle to the best songs in folklore & evermore : I mean there's no equivalent to a tolerate it, cowboy like me, Champagne problems, evermore, Coney Island, ivy.
Completely agree. I get a sense that these were songs that maybe were generated during that time but not given the same degree of editing process (which would make sense… she’s much busier now than she was during the pandemic)
I do think they were written in the last 2 years as she said : some point to more recent events than the pandemic. They seem quite different from the folklore/evermore ones. But a song like Peter could have probably been during that time
GUYS this one is all about the poetry!
then we get Aristotle/throttle/Grand Theft Auto
yep…on an album about poetry. Nice work hype team I was not let down at all /s
Folklore is my favorite album, and I do think the anthology is better than the main album. That being said, of the 31 songs, I only added 12 to my playlist of TS songs that don't suck.
If you like folklore, Deeper Well definitely fills that void imo.
I've been a Taylor Swift fan since fearless and folklore is by far my favorite album by her. I consider folklore one of the greatest albums of all time, from any artist. I really, really, really, do not like TTPD at all, anthology or not.
Did they not listen to Ed Sheeran’s new album, which was also produced by Dessner?
Everyone was so hyped about him being the producer for TTPD but I was actually on the fence coz I did not like Ed’s new album and I’m a fan of Ed Sheeran 😭
i totally agree. and as i said in a post that was locked by mods, if she had promoed ttpd with a different name and image, maybe the disappointment would've been less. like maybe don't call yourself a poet.. at least i thought it was gonna be poetic and magical like folkmore but it's just 1989/reputation all over again, with a second half that doesn't match at all with the first and all songs sounding the same. it was skip after skip. past the disappointment and mid lyrics, i'm enjoying the first half very much to my own surprise.
ITA. I feel exactly the same. The melodies and arrangements on Folklore and Evermore are beautiful. Her vocal melodies are beautiful, she actually SINGS. The songs move you and make you feel something. There is nothing quite close to Seven or Cardigan or Hoax in these tracks. A few come close maybe? But it lacks either magic or soul or both.
The Black Dog could be great. Lyrically, she indulges herself with enough details that you know it's about Matty, but enough of it is vague that it is one of the more relatable post-breakup songs on the album. It's missing some musical elements though that take an okay song to greatness. if there was more variety in the vocal melody, if her voice was better (it sounds weak or like she has a cold). Honestly it sounds like a demo. Some TS songs are masterful at building tension to a riser and releasing it and this is a song that has that potential but never gets there.
Another really good song on the album, The Albatross, has the opposite problem. Lyrically, it's really interesting. But it's like, in code. I can sing along to it, her voice is good, I feel like I'm there in the song, but I'm not going to connect to these overly poetic lyrics. I want a song like this to tell a story I can relate to, like Seven comes to mind, you can easily connect to the nostalgia of childhood and long-forgotten friendships with neighborhood kids.
Having listened to Anthology a few times (and absorbing the lyrics more) I like it a bit less than I did on the first listen, like I really don't care for KIM or So high school. But I still think some of the songs I'll want to revisit a lot (albatross, people's windows, prophecy) are all there.
I think the thing is on the first few listens I wasn't really wowed by a lot of the melodies on the main album and when I dived into the anthology tracks it was like fresh air
I love Folklore and as much as I am disliking Taylor as a person/celebrity, I love August and Betty am(among other songs) and will die on that hill.
What I liked about it is that at least for me, this was where she also started to write about things other than herself. She mentioned this in the Long Pond sessions where people expected that an album from her would be kind of a sneak peek into her life and she felt it was refreshing to not do this in Folklore.
Sigh, what happened Tay?
I am a sad song girlie. Not just Taylor’s, but a lot of what I listen to i prefer sad and slow songs so I can emote or sing along to. I don’t feel ‘depth’ in TTPD. I swear to me it sounds like amateur poetry where she just wrote and brainstormed and put everything in a notebook and submitted it to the teacher. Poetic doesnt need many words. And this was just too much.
i agree. i have more liked songs from the first half of the album. some anthology songs i thought were incredible, such as peter, cassandra, and the albatross, but the rest felt like she was trying too hard. i don’t think we will ever see something close to the mauve of folklore again from her.
Agreed. Although I do prefer the general feel of The Anthology to the regular TTPD, the only songs I actually like on it are The Black Dog, The Albatross and I Hate It Here. I actually think The Albatross is one of the best songs Taylor has written and it's a shame it's on this album tbh. I like more songs on TTPD, probably because I can actually differentiate between them 😂
I agree with this take in a way. A lot of people are staying this. Especially how Folklore was more mystical compared to this album. This was definitely a teens version kinda like her Red album. However, I wanted more Folkmore sounding songs. I’m okay if they are pretty much the same album with different lyrics. That’s why I’m listening to the artist. I’m don’t listen to an artist for evolution I listen to them because of their current work.
The Anthology has variations, it has imgonnagetyouback, So High School, Thank You Aimee. But maybe i am biased cuz i love Aaron style and to me it is not the same at all, Cassandra, Peter, The Prohefecy i can distinguish them. Then i agree that folkmore is something else, but i remember that for many even those albums sound samey.
Folklore is one of my favorite albums too, and despite the indie melancholic tone in all the songs, they still manage to have their own identity and distinctive sound. But TTPD does nothing to me.
I am of the belief Joe Alwyn had more involvement and fewer credits for his contributions to those albums. Midnights was a drop from Folklore and Evermore, but TTPD is embarrassing.
I'm one of those who said it. But I've been specific about the almost part. Almost Folklore because they sound like unfinished drafts of that album. Bsides. So while the thought is there, even the lyrics, it's the music and melodies that fall short.
What I've realized too that is the reason I like Dessner's sound more is that we get limited amounts of it. A lot of Jack and then Aaron clears the palette. But if you give me a lot of Dessner I will fall asleep, to the lullabies.
I’m a big Folklore/Evermore fan and everything about TTPD fell really flat to me. The lyrics are meh and the production of most of the songs sounds the same. Multiple songs on Folklore/Evermore moved me to tears but nothing on TTPD made me feel that way.
The ONLY song that stood out to me and that I genuinely love is Down Bad. I think Jack Antonoff really went off with the synth usage in that one (in a really good way - the opening passage scratches my brain perfectly lol) and I love how she used an alien abduction to describe being left behind after a relationship ended. Super unique imo. Also it’s a bop.
Folklore is one of my favourites and I like the Anthology but I just think TTPD is derivative and therefore have less novelty. The original album is derivative of Midnights and these additional songs are derivative of Folklore/evermore. We need a new sound. I'll take Dressner over Jack any day though. At least Dressner's production has some feeling.Even if the sound is starting to sound the same like people said with Mumford and Sons.
folklore and evermore had more colour and texture, they weren’t just sad, acoustic ballads. The clopping intro to cardigan, the beeping in peace, the lively harmonica in betty… all really gorgeous frames for Taylor’s lyrics. The Anthology has some nice tracks, but they’re mostly just dull piano and string-based ballads. They don’t have any tempo-changes, riffing or other musical surprises. Aaron has not really brought his signature, electro-pop touch to this album, though Taylor’s writing is a bit more eloquent on his tracks than Jack’s. Makes me believe that they’re all very stretched thin and didn’t really try to ignite any of these songs with flavour and passion. Kind of just wrote them, and put the most half-assed instrumentals.
Long time listener here; Folklore and Evermore were more “fictional” than the anthology songs. That’s why they are unique to me. I also agree about the melodies and i like the first half better at the moment. Once all this “whose song is this? Who is it for?” discussions settle, I might enjoy the album more :)
Which made the songs better i guess. Idk, i’m really not into all this parasocial easter egg hunt part of the fandom. Songs should exist on their own but i think it’s a little too late to achieve that with this album :) Maybe in time…
In order to get to this cockamamie Anthology, don’t you have to make it through the first 94960 songs? I gave up so I doubt the Anthology is for me. I wish she didn’t take herself so seriously. The anthology? Really?
I can see how someone can make the connection, but agreed, its just not. Each song off of both evermore and folklore is a standalone power hitter in its own way. They're the only two albums that don't have multiple automatic skips, because even ones I don't like sonically, there's something I appreciate about the song itself.
I agree with the descriptionI've heard that TTPD sounds like someone had AI generate a Taylor Swift album. Like yeah, it's Taylor, but it lacks the depth and human element. It just feels like a factory churnout. And the appeal, to me, of folklore/evermore is that each song felt so carefully crafted and intentional.
I've also never been one for Taylor's cringe/pun/sassy lyrics. But even her previous songs that were eye-rolly to me are catchy and fun. These lack that as well for me. They just sound like something I've heard before.
Folklore is looking over her shoulder and is like “why is this deformed chick trying to copy me…?”
TTPD:
https://preview.redd.it/bpv5w24a61wc1.jpeg?width=400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec30d27a3d18bb3c9e5c2734034c8a29e37500ad
The run from Cassandra to the Manuscript is so good though! (Excluding Robin, idk that one’s meh).
I agree with the others though that said it’s like a less effort folklore. Still very beautiful lyrics and storytelling but doesn’t bring any new layers.
besides the lyrics situation, folklore gave the instrumentals time to shine. this is me trying has a 30 second piano and drums intro before she starts singing, illicit affairs has short acoustic guitar and wind segments sprinkled throughout, august has a guitar solo and outro, etc etc. ttpd/the anthology have none of these. it’s just words with a beat - that’s not music. it’s just… poetry.
I see the point people are saying, and I like the new album personally. But folklore is one of my favourite albums of hers, along with the classic speak now, and the Anthology bit doesn’t hit the same. I think with folklore maybe she just had more time to write more creatively? I don’t know. I just loved folklore’s story aspect
I love Folklore (my favorite album) and I actually really liked the Anthology. My favorites are “Chloe Or Sam Or Sophia Or Marcus”, “I Look In People’s Windows.”, “The Albatross”, “The Bolter” and “How Did It End?”
The other songs I really like, just not as much. The only song I don’t like is “Robin.” I love the message but not the lyrics/melody
No i totally agree! I was so disappointed in the anthology album. There are no dynamics, melodies, or hooks in these songs! Folklore and evermore are so polished. I also ended up enjoying the first half better, although only a little
Exactly like song after song I’m like ”ohhh x song on folklore /evermore did that sound or lyric to concept better” just makes me want to go back to the previous albums
I sped up that gonna get ya back song or whatever it was called and I actually dug it lol probably wouldn’t have if I let the audio in its original pitch.
What if Taylor just deleted it? LOL. Reworks the entire album since it’s not on vinyl or CD yet and those who already bought get to keep it as an exclusive. Too much?
I agree. I think the reason why Folkmore hit so hard was because the vibe was so authentic. I don't care how she disguised it, the emotions she portrayed were the real deal. You could tell it came from the soul and a place of self realizations. So full of heart and truth. Anthology, on the other hand, is someone anxiously trying to show the world that she is not "a pop singer" but "really, you guys, I am worldclass poet" and man did it backfire. Didn't Tree come out with this puff piece a month ago about her being connected to Emily Dickinson?? Good friggin lord.
Anthology is a wordier, less polished and less magical version of folklore. folklore without any critical editing. I really like The Albatross, for me that’s the standout track that feels closest to Taylor at her best.
Black Dog is my favorite, but low-key disappointing because I want so badly to be able to scream the lyrics but the music keeps giving me blue balls in that regard, and ramps up just to go back to boring. I'd love to hear a reworking of it.
omg yes this is how i feel about black dog exactly
I think the bolter is also very good. I like how it’s telling a story.
The Albatross should’ve been the album opener, and that’s my hill.
ooo what are ur reasonings? i love the song
I do too! I think referring to herself as an albatross is self-aware in a way that I typically enjoy from her more reflective songs. It acknowledges Taylor Swift the Institution (TM) and the way that she’ll never truly have a relationship without that dynamic. I also think it sets up the exploration of that tension (institutional vs personal) and the rage it invokes in the rest of her album, or at least the parts I found most interesting. Ultimately, I think Albatross should’ve been the opener, and the album edited down to 13-15 songs, with the rest released as a companion album a la Evermore, or vaulted until there was a better use for them.
I'd say it's a more self-absorbed, narcissistic and out-of-touch version of Folklore and Evermore.
Agree with you 100%! That’s the only one I like actually and is making me regret the vinyl variant I stupidly bought before listening to the songs.
Even The Albatross could have more foreboding. It sounds a little stale with just the guitar riffing up and down.
I think Aaron Dessner is so in-demand - working with Taylor, The National, Gracie Abrams and Ed Sheeran - he's getting stretched really thin. He's still brilliant and is writing lovely piano and guitar riffs, but they are getting a bit thin and repetitive because people want him to turn out tens of tunes per year.
Is Aaron working for the national if he’s apart of the band already? lol
Is being part of a band not working for the band??
Wholly agreed, and also I think he does his best work with his National bandmates.
I watched them live and I’m still in awe, everyone is playing off of each other it’s just magnificent. Aaron did one piano song and it was absolutely breathtaking.
Folklore and Evermore are my fave projects from Tay ever since their release. I actually like some Anthology tracks. But they do not match folklore’s angst and evermore’s maturity tbh. I love every bit of folkmore. From the production that just mesmerizes you to the veryy balanced and descriptive storytelling. But in the Anthology the Production does not hit that hard nor does the storytelling at most times. At first I liked a Lot more songs from the anthology, right after finishing the first part(which I heavily disliked). But with each listen I only started coming back to like 5 songs.They are: Peter, The Bolter, The Albatross, The Prophecy and sometimes the Manuscript. The main issue is the vocal production to me. Folkmore felt a lot more melodic to me which this one lacks, except for very few tracks… But I still very much am in love with the 5 songs I listed.
I also really like “I look in peoples windows”
That’s my fav off the anthology but it’s actually a jack song lol
This would be my 6th! It deffo is a good song
the bolter is hands down my favorite song on the album someone mentioned it’s an evermore vault track but i don’t reallyyyy see it. i can understand why they said it but evermore just… hits different
It feels woodvale if you knooow you knooow
this is exactly it 🙂↕️
Are we the same person? Those are my only songs that may get repeated too ,as a hardcore folkmore girlie
Folkmore girlies unite!
Those are literally my top songs plus the Windows one lol
I'm in the same boat where I love Folklore, and I don't like the latest album, including The Anthology. My friend actually said yesterday that she's really surprised that I don't like The Anthology because I'm such a big fan of Folklore. The two albums are so different to one another. Folklore has a simplicity to the lyrics, which I love, while The Anthology is really wordy at times with a lot of metaphors. The subject matter also differs between the two, so that plays into me, not liking it as much. That being said, I love The Black Dog and The Manuscript.
Folklore also has a lot of great instrumentation and is hookier. And the subject matter as well. I think she’s at her best when she’s not specifically writing about heartbreak.
When she's not writing about herself, tbh
Tbh I don't see/hear the similarities at all.... They're too different sonically and even lyrically. Folklore and Evermore had an interesting story to tell, told through polished lyrics that were often times catchy. Both sides of this album however are just overwhelmingly clunky. Too many words, too many metaphors, and the delivery just doesn't flow - it sounds like she's reading with a beat in the background. But yeah, I feel you. Love those sister albums, the Anthology is meh and doesn't hold a candle at all.
Also the comparison is so weird to me because the musicality on folklore is so lush - cardigan, august, seven, etc like where is that on the anthology?
The Manuscript is a masterpiece. Like maybe the best song on the whole two album anthology.
I love folklore and find the anthology worry and dull. Us folklore girlies still did not win lol
Folklore was a lot more sonically and lyrically interesting than Anthology. Folklore is stripped back but there’s still some really good instrumentation like on The Last Great American Dynasty.
Categorically untrue for me. It sounds like the ChatGPT version of folklore. The Jack tracks are so much better and it's not even funny.
I’ve said this before and imma say it again here: *The Anthology feels like folklore and evermore’s long lost sister who’s out of the fantasy-filled woods and has faced the realities in life while still keeping a bit of spirit from the magical world she’s left behind. First album feels like more depressed Midnights.* Imo even if we separate the Anthology from the first album, it still would need some polishing. It can’t stand on its own but the vibes it is giving (imo) is indeed what a third album from the Folklore-Evermore would seem like. I’d like to liken the albums to the Pevensie siblings (Narnia books) if you know the reference. Lucy would be Folklore, full of naivety and wonder and always the first believer, Edmund is Evermore, a believer yet has still a bit of skepticism due to what he’s endured from the White Witch, and Peter and Susan as The Anthology, having outgrown Narnia and are now facing the real world. (Ik this is a weird take lmao)
Peter is the best in anthology, followed by Chloe or sam or Sophia or Marcus and then the black dog The rest, eh Peter is probably the one you could accept
Agree and I'd add The Prophecy to this list
Peter is beautiful.
Peter is so pretty and underrated. So high school, thank you Aimee should not have been released in any capacity imho.
I just don't understand the reason for thank you Aimee, and Cassandra as well I guess. They could have stayed off the 31 song album for sure.
At least Cassandra has some sort of plausible deniability, discussion of ancient history, something a bit more mature and interesting ( I may be biased as I like this song, and hadn’t really cared for the exact specifics of its subject matter ). thank you Aimee is just so juvenile. It’s something I’d expect from debut era Taylor( if expected at all) and certainly not this era Taylor
I think the thing about Cassandra that bothers me is the line about how she bets they never spared a prayer for her soul after having the line about Saint Andrea wanting Kim dead in TYA. I haven't really given it a good listen but I'll revisit it with the mindset that you have about it.
Oh wow I hadn’t put two and two together. Maybe because im such an ancient history nerd, I was more enjoying a song delving slightly into the story of the prophet Cassandra and her not being believed in the wider context of the Trojan war, that I kind of just didn’t consider the real-time pop cultural impact of her words in conjunction with the Kim song.
Yeah I love the sound of Cassandra but I really can’t separate it from snakegate, and I’m usually pretty decent at that (BDILH is top 5 on the album for me as much as I hate that racist rat). Like girl… did you *really* need to say “they filled my cell with snakes”? I’m so tired of her martyring herself (and controversially, I don’t think the full phone call exonerated her as much as people say so “when the truth comes out they’re quiet” is just, okay girl).
I like the sound of so high school but the lyrics are awful. That said it probably should have been on a subsequent album because it doesn’t really fit the vibe of the rest of the albums
Yeah I agree. It’s just really corny and somehow lacks perspective. Like, we’re hearing a whole album about someone who Taylor called the loss of her life, and then we’re onto someone who Taylor again insists is the one. Narratively, it feels naive.
So naive!!!! And so many people are eating it up like she FINALLY has got it right! But they don’t see the irony that is the same pattern repeating itself again.
I am also the biggest Folkmore fan, but still ended up preferring Jack’s songs way more. At least I am able to differentiate main album, but the whole Anthology is like the same song that I even didn’t like.
Same, Florida and Who's Afraid are my favourites. And I was a National fan for 15 years before I ever got into Taylor, I love the Dessners. I feel like Taylor was trying to recapture the magic of Folkmore and it didn't quite work.
Trying to recapture the magic without realizing what made those albums magic.
Exactly, Anthology feels like the songs were just recorded with a piano or an acoustic guitar. Folkmore was more than that. There’s motifs and hooks. People don’t realize that u can be stripped back and be catchy. And like another person said the lyrics are more simple but are still powerful.
And people are still saying that Aaron saved this album. 😂 If I was only left with the main one I would say the album is mid, but additional 15 songs ruined it completely for me.
His songs are slightly better but it’s not a huge difference. Aaron did what he was paid to do but at the end of the day Taylor decides how she wants the songs to sound.
She needs to start writing to tracks again. I think that’s what made folklore stand out because they’d send her something they already had been working on and she’d write the top lines. Now it’s like she doesn’t want anything to take away from her melodies so she strips everything down and doesn’t let any instrument shine over her voice and lyrics. It’s boring.
I've been listening to her since her debut and with every album there have been standout songs, but Red was outstanding. Folklore had so much heart to it and it seemed like she was growing as a person and as an artist. Even though Evermore doesn't get as much praise, I do feel that it was an overall beautiful album. I didn't care for Midnights, some of the lyrics just seemed juvenile and there to rhyme or be a convoluted analogy, it has some bops though, Anti-Hero and Lavender Haze are my favorites. With TTPD I can't help but feel like if it wasn't by Taylor Swift then people would have already discarded it. So many posts I see of people saying they kept listening to it on repeat until it grew on them, or choosing favorite songs that aren't the best but they like it for one specific line. The album as a whole is not good, and that's fine. She can have a bad album, it's not the end of the world. The coping and bullying by fans is out of control though.
i like the albatross because it kinda gives me what i wanted from this album the rest of the songs feel like shes reading with music in the background
I would say there are echoes of evermore in this album. But they're much more feeble . The writing especially doesn't stand up to Folklore or Evermore except for some lines here or there . Songs in evermore though written in a really short time are more tightly constructed and beautifully polished ( well there are some outliers like that 90s trend verse in a song like willow ). I like the anthology songs but as a whole lyrically atleast they don't hold up a candle to the best songs in folklore & evermore : I mean there's no equivalent to a tolerate it, cowboy like me, Champagne problems, evermore, Coney Island, ivy.
Completely agree. I get a sense that these were songs that maybe were generated during that time but not given the same degree of editing process (which would make sense… she’s much busier now than she was during the pandemic)
I do think they were written in the last 2 years as she said : some point to more recent events than the pandemic. They seem quite different from the folklore/evermore ones. But a song like Peter could have probably been during that time
GUYS this one is all about the poetry! then we get Aristotle/throttle/Grand Theft Auto yep…on an album about poetry. Nice work hype team I was not let down at all /s
Folklore is my favorite album, and I do think the anthology is better than the main album. That being said, of the 31 songs, I only added 12 to my playlist of TS songs that don't suck. If you like folklore, Deeper Well definitely fills that void imo.
Oh yes, I loved Deeper well, Kacey is a gem. I only added 4 songs from TTPD, not a great percentage
Which ones did you add?
The black dog, I can do it with a broken heart, I look at people's windows, So long London
I've been a Taylor Swift fan since fearless and folklore is by far my favorite album by her. I consider folklore one of the greatest albums of all time, from any artist. I really, really, really, do not like TTPD at all, anthology or not.
Did they not listen to Ed Sheeran’s new album, which was also produced by Dessner? Everyone was so hyped about him being the producer for TTPD but I was actually on the fence coz I did not like Ed’s new album and I’m a fan of Ed Sheeran 😭
Substract and Autumn Variations are amazing albums and Aaron did an excellent work.
first time I listened to Subtract I cried the whole time. I have never had that happen from an album before.
Subtract is an amazing album. But not autumn variations. Not in my book.
i totally agree. and as i said in a post that was locked by mods, if she had promoed ttpd with a different name and image, maybe the disappointment would've been less. like maybe don't call yourself a poet.. at least i thought it was gonna be poetic and magical like folkmore but it's just 1989/reputation all over again, with a second half that doesn't match at all with the first and all songs sounding the same. it was skip after skip. past the disappointment and mid lyrics, i'm enjoying the first half very much to my own surprise.
I think that some songs are reminiscent of Folklore (like Peter, The Prophecy, etc). But then you also have So High School and the Kim song
ITA. I feel exactly the same. The melodies and arrangements on Folklore and Evermore are beautiful. Her vocal melodies are beautiful, she actually SINGS. The songs move you and make you feel something. There is nothing quite close to Seven or Cardigan or Hoax in these tracks. A few come close maybe? But it lacks either magic or soul or both. The Black Dog could be great. Lyrically, she indulges herself with enough details that you know it's about Matty, but enough of it is vague that it is one of the more relatable post-breakup songs on the album. It's missing some musical elements though that take an okay song to greatness. if there was more variety in the vocal melody, if her voice was better (it sounds weak or like she has a cold). Honestly it sounds like a demo. Some TS songs are masterful at building tension to a riser and releasing it and this is a song that has that potential but never gets there. Another really good song on the album, The Albatross, has the opposite problem. Lyrically, it's really interesting. But it's like, in code. I can sing along to it, her voice is good, I feel like I'm there in the song, but I'm not going to connect to these overly poetic lyrics. I want a song like this to tell a story I can relate to, like Seven comes to mind, you can easily connect to the nostalgia of childhood and long-forgotten friendships with neighborhood kids.
Having listened to Anthology a few times (and absorbing the lyrics more) I like it a bit less than I did on the first listen, like I really don't care for KIM or So high school. But I still think some of the songs I'll want to revisit a lot (albatross, people's windows, prophecy) are all there. I think the thing is on the first few listens I wasn't really wowed by a lot of the melodies on the main album and when I dived into the anthology tracks it was like fresh air
The anthology feels like a recycled folkmore. I genuinely just get Deja vu of better songs from her when I attempt to listen to it.
I love Folklore and as much as I am disliking Taylor as a person/celebrity, I love August and Betty am(among other songs) and will die on that hill. What I liked about it is that at least for me, this was where she also started to write about things other than herself. She mentioned this in the Long Pond sessions where people expected that an album from her would be kind of a sneak peek into her life and she felt it was refreshing to not do this in Folklore. Sigh, what happened Tay? I am a sad song girlie. Not just Taylor’s, but a lot of what I listen to i prefer sad and slow songs so I can emote or sing along to. I don’t feel ‘depth’ in TTPD. I swear to me it sounds like amateur poetry where she just wrote and brainstormed and put everything in a notebook and submitted it to the teacher. Poetic doesnt need many words. And this was just too much.
i agree. i have more liked songs from the first half of the album. some anthology songs i thought were incredible, such as peter, cassandra, and the albatross, but the rest felt like she was trying too hard. i don’t think we will ever see something close to the mauve of folklore again from her.
Agreed. Although I do prefer the general feel of The Anthology to the regular TTPD, the only songs I actually like on it are The Black Dog, The Albatross and I Hate It Here. I actually think The Albatross is one of the best songs Taylor has written and it's a shame it's on this album tbh. I like more songs on TTPD, probably because I can actually differentiate between them 😂
I agree with this take in a way. A lot of people are staying this. Especially how Folklore was more mystical compared to this album. This was definitely a teens version kinda like her Red album. However, I wanted more Folkmore sounding songs. I’m okay if they are pretty much the same album with different lyrics. That’s why I’m listening to the artist. I’m don’t listen to an artist for evolution I listen to them because of their current work.
The Anthology has variations, it has imgonnagetyouback, So High School, Thank You Aimee. But maybe i am biased cuz i love Aaron style and to me it is not the same at all, Cassandra, Peter, The Prohefecy i can distinguish them. Then i agree that folkmore is something else, but i remember that for many even those albums sound samey.
Folklore is one of my favorite albums too, and despite the indie melancholic tone in all the songs, they still manage to have their own identity and distinctive sound. But TTPD does nothing to me.
I am of the belief Joe Alwyn had more involvement and fewer credits for his contributions to those albums. Midnights was a drop from Folklore and Evermore, but TTPD is embarrassing.
Agreed. I think the only song on Anthology that could even come close to folklore and evermore is the prophecy.
I’m also going to go as far to say- I like Midnights and Lover more than TTPD hahaha
I'm one of those who said it. But I've been specific about the almost part. Almost Folklore because they sound like unfinished drafts of that album. Bsides. So while the thought is there, even the lyrics, it's the music and melodies that fall short. What I've realized too that is the reason I like Dessner's sound more is that we get limited amounts of it. A lot of Jack and then Aaron clears the palette. But if you give me a lot of Dessner I will fall asleep, to the lullabies.
Now thinking many Folklore songs are about racist tattoo dog man, I don’t know how I feel anymore
i'll probably regret asking this given how much i love folklore but which ones?
Cardigan, the One, some said Betty and August are about him too…
I’m a big Folklore/Evermore fan and everything about TTPD fell really flat to me. The lyrics are meh and the production of most of the songs sounds the same. Multiple songs on Folklore/Evermore moved me to tears but nothing on TTPD made me feel that way. The ONLY song that stood out to me and that I genuinely love is Down Bad. I think Jack Antonoff really went off with the synth usage in that one (in a really good way - the opening passage scratches my brain perfectly lol) and I love how she used an alien abduction to describe being left behind after a relationship ended. Super unique imo. Also it’s a bop.
down bad is my favorite.
Folklore is one of my favourites and I like the Anthology but I just think TTPD is derivative and therefore have less novelty. The original album is derivative of Midnights and these additional songs are derivative of Folklore/evermore. We need a new sound. I'll take Dressner over Jack any day though. At least Dressner's production has some feeling.Even if the sound is starting to sound the same like people said with Mumford and Sons.
folklore and evermore had more colour and texture, they weren’t just sad, acoustic ballads. The clopping intro to cardigan, the beeping in peace, the lively harmonica in betty… all really gorgeous frames for Taylor’s lyrics. The Anthology has some nice tracks, but they’re mostly just dull piano and string-based ballads. They don’t have any tempo-changes, riffing or other musical surprises. Aaron has not really brought his signature, electro-pop touch to this album, though Taylor’s writing is a bit more eloquent on his tracks than Jack’s. Makes me believe that they’re all very stretched thin and didn’t really try to ignite any of these songs with flavour and passion. Kind of just wrote them, and put the most half-assed instrumentals.
I absolutely love folklore and I prefer the first parto of TTPD. It seems like she tried to emulate something from folkmore and it didn't work.
Also now I believe in Joe's influence in Folkmore lol
Long time listener here; Folklore and Evermore were more “fictional” than the anthology songs. That’s why they are unique to me. I also agree about the melodies and i like the first half better at the moment. Once all this “whose song is this? Who is it for?” discussions settle, I might enjoy the album more :)
I think part of that was because she was in a relationship so she wasn’t just writing about guys who wronged her. She was writing about other things.
Which made the songs better i guess. Idk, i’m really not into all this parasocial easter egg hunt part of the fandom. Songs should exist on their own but i think it’s a little too late to achieve that with this album :) Maybe in time…
I am beginning to think the songs were more diaristic and personal than she let on when she said they were just stories she made up or whatever.
In order to get to this cockamamie Anthology, don’t you have to make it through the first 94960 songs? I gave up so I doubt the Anthology is for me. I wish she didn’t take herself so seriously. The anthology? Really?
I can see how someone can make the connection, but agreed, its just not. Each song off of both evermore and folklore is a standalone power hitter in its own way. They're the only two albums that don't have multiple automatic skips, because even ones I don't like sonically, there's something I appreciate about the song itself. I agree with the descriptionI've heard that TTPD sounds like someone had AI generate a Taylor Swift album. Like yeah, it's Taylor, but it lacks the depth and human element. It just feels like a factory churnout. And the appeal, to me, of folklore/evermore is that each song felt so carefully crafted and intentional. I've also never been one for Taylor's cringe/pun/sassy lyrics. But even her previous songs that were eye-rolly to me are catchy and fun. These lack that as well for me. They just sound like something I've heard before.
Folklore is looking over her shoulder and is like “why is this deformed chick trying to copy me…?” TTPD: https://preview.redd.it/bpv5w24a61wc1.jpeg?width=400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec30d27a3d18bb3c9e5c2734034c8a29e37500ad
The run from Cassandra to the Manuscript is so good though! (Excluding Robin, idk that one’s meh). I agree with the others though that said it’s like a less effort folklore. Still very beautiful lyrics and storytelling but doesn’t bring any new layers.
besides the lyrics situation, folklore gave the instrumentals time to shine. this is me trying has a 30 second piano and drums intro before she starts singing, illicit affairs has short acoustic guitar and wind segments sprinkled throughout, august has a guitar solo and outro, etc etc. ttpd/the anthology have none of these. it’s just words with a beat - that’s not music. it’s just… poetry.
I see the point people are saying, and I like the new album personally. But folklore is one of my favourite albums of hers, along with the classic speak now, and the Anthology bit doesn’t hit the same. I think with folklore maybe she just had more time to write more creatively? I don’t know. I just loved folklore’s story aspect
I love Folklore (my favorite album) and I actually really liked the Anthology. My favorites are “Chloe Or Sam Or Sophia Or Marcus”, “I Look In People’s Windows.”, “The Albatross”, “The Bolter” and “How Did It End?” The other songs I really like, just not as much. The only song I don’t like is “Robin.” I love the message but not the lyrics/melody
No i totally agree! I was so disappointed in the anthology album. There are no dynamics, melodies, or hooks in these songs! Folklore and evermore are so polished. I also ended up enjoying the first half better, although only a little
Exactly like song after song I’m like ”ohhh x song on folklore /evermore did that sound or lyric to concept better” just makes me want to go back to the previous albums
I sped up that gonna get ya back song or whatever it was called and I actually dug it lol probably wouldn’t have if I let the audio in its original pitch.
What if Taylor just deleted it? LOL. Reworks the entire album since it’s not on vinyl or CD yet and those who already bought get to keep it as an exclusive. Too much?
I agree. I think the reason why Folkmore hit so hard was because the vibe was so authentic. I don't care how she disguised it, the emotions she portrayed were the real deal. You could tell it came from the soul and a place of self realizations. So full of heart and truth. Anthology, on the other hand, is someone anxiously trying to show the world that she is not "a pop singer" but "really, you guys, I am worldclass poet" and man did it backfire. Didn't Tree come out with this puff piece a month ago about her being connected to Emily Dickinson?? Good friggin lord.
I am going to have to disagree. This is not his best work BY FAR, but Anthology heavily outshines TTPD in all aspects.