With Spatial Audio, Taylor’s reimagined 2008 LP sounds even more intimate

In 2019, Taylor Swift announced plans to re-record her entire catalogue to that point, an ambitious move sparked by the sale of her original label, Big Machine Label Group, along with all of her masters. Swift’s first entry into this reimagined canon is a new take on her landmark 2008 sophomore LP Fearless, which, among many other accolades, took home the coveted Album of the Year trophy at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Swift first teased the “Taylor’s Version” of Fearless with the release of a new recording of one of her biggest hits, the ode to youthful romance “Love Story”. That version stays remarkably true to the original track, though it’s hard not to notice how Swift’s voice has strengthened and matured in the 13 years since. (But in this updated version mixed in Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, the difference is clear: more warmth, more intimacy, more clarity with which to appreciate the deceptive ease of Swift’s songwriting.) Elsewhere, she revisits other juggernauts like “Fifteen”, “Forever & Always” and, of course, “You Belong With Me”, another of her biggest-selling songs.