Speak Now
| Taylor Swift
Speak Now
Speak Now is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on October 25, 2010, by Big Machine Records. Production for the album took place during 2009 to 2010 at several recording studios, and was handled by Swift and Nathan Chapman. Written entirely by Swift as the follow-up to Fearless, Speak Now expands on the country pop style of her previous work, and features lyrical themes including love, romance, and heartbreak. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Ezine
All in all, "Speak Now" should undoubtedly be another major success in only the early stages of the career of such a talented young woman. I would recommend it to anyone from devoted to casual country and pop fans to those who might like to take a chance on an outstanding young talent.
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Rolling Stone
In a mere four years, the 20-year-old Nashville firecracker has put her name on three dozen or so of the smartest songs released by anyone in pop, rock or country.
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Billboard
Speak Now was and remains her most complete artistic statement, and also the clearest portrait of who Swift is and what she cares about.
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Hollywood Reporter
Entirely self-penned, sans the collaborations of the previous albums, it’s an enormous breakthrough in songwriting maturity, while hardly forsaking the childlike lack of pretense that made earlier efforts such guilt-free ear candy.
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Pretty Much Amazing
The impressive popcraft of these fourteen songs could have been created by a small army of career songwriters. Well done, Ms. Swift.
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Slant Magazine
Speak Now is no pop masterpiece, though it’s sure to be hailed as such in some circles.
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A.V. Club Music
Taylor Swift has the face of an angel and the heart of an assassin; just look at the bevy of . . . songs from her third album Speak Now.
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The Guardian
At times the self-consciousness of an artist forcing herself into new modes shows – but mostly, Speak Now is a triumph.
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Paste Magazine
Speak Now solidifies Swift as a pop star in her own right.
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SPIN
It’s trickier to find the Kanye content in bubblier tunes “Sparks Fly” and “Long Live.” But note also that those are the album’s dullest, most forgettable moments, while Swift taps into something nervy and intense when she goes nasty.
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Cassidy Robinson
Taylor Swift, already renown for her amazing songwriting ability, shows up big time; taking the sole writing credit for every song on the 14-track album.
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PopMatters
All of Speak Now engages in the act of making our story hers, and her story ours, which is what pop stars do well.
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Vulture
Amid the chiming melodies and Swift’s sugar-spun vocals are hints of what would happen seven years later — only instead of being left deliberately by Swift, they’re inadvertent clues that point toward her eventual lashing out at those who denied her the peace that she felt was rightfully hers.
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BBC Music
A sparky and affecting record, moving Swift on at a stately and assured pace.
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Sputnik Music
Swift isn’t able to even legally buy a drink in her home country yet, but I’ll be damned if she isn’t already shaping up as the voice of her generation.
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NJ
The truth is that aggression is an enormous part of Swift’s appeal, and throwing punches while remaining a good good girl is a tough skill to cultivate.
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Ranting About Music
Speak Now is a hard one to call. While it had the potential to be great, the album trips over itself too many times to be anything other than surprisingly good.
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American Songwriter
Speak Now is Taylor Swift’s best record yet, all in her voice with no co-writers. It’s a powerful statement from someone who has proven that she knows who she is, and, whether Nashville likes it or not, is here to stay.
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L.A. Times
Swift’s ability to articulate her vision is growing beautifully.
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Saving Country Music
Taylor is the biggest thing in music in the last decade, which speaks a lot about who we are, and what we’ve become.
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Student Life
The best way to describe Taylor Swift’s music might be “a chick-flick in three minutes or less.” Not much in “Speak Now” has changed, except now the songs are about twice as long.
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NZ Herald
Less gingham more bling.
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All Music
She may be not a girl, and not yet a woman, but on Speak Now she captures that transition with a personal grace and skill that few singer/songwriters have.
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Popfection
Speak Now is a rich bravura body of work, that with it’s songwriting captures the essence of a 2-hour-long Academy Award winning flick. Unarguably her best.
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Country Music Project
As a country artist, this is an incredible reward amongst the usual pop or hip-hop albums recognized on the chart.
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Uproxx
Taylor Swift’s ‘Speak Now’ has a lot to say.
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uDiscover Music
Based around the concept of letting out her feelings, ‘Speak Now’ found Taylor Swift writing arguably her most personal songs to date.
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The Banner
This album displays great music and creativity.
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Music Feeds
Dear Speak Now . . . Eight years have gone by and I still return to you once in a while. Time doesn’t leave scratches on a great song. Thank you for teaching me to speak up. Both now and then.
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The Unaware
I really think her "Speak Now" album will be nominated or even win the Album of the Year for 2010 just like last year.
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Contact Music
She has a fine velvety, expressive voice which she uses to great effect. Giving a passionate performance of her well written and equally well produced tunes further emphasises her talent as both a writer and performer.
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Aphoristic Album Reviews
It needs some editing, but there are plenty of great songs on Speak Now. Some of the best material is the least country-oriented, and it’s not surprising that Swift moved towards pop on her next record.
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Hartford Courant
It's provided great fodder as devotees of celebrity gossip speculate on who, exactly, she's singing about, but with Swift's endearing appeal as a singer and ever-growing skill as a songwriter, "Speak Now" makes for great listening, too.
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Reagan Recorder
For those who actually bought the CD, there is a secret message for each and every song.
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An Ocean of Noise
Taylor Swift’s Speak Now is far and away an improvement over her previous two albums. It’s not the game-changer I was expecting, but it is probably the best pop album of 2010.
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Edge of the Plank
I would highly recommend this album as it definitely shows a new side to Taylor Swift, and even if you just get these "rockier" tracks it would be worth it.
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Beaumont Enterprise
More determinedly than ever, her songs concede that the real world may cast clouds on these fantasies, but she's not giving in to cynicism or pessimism yet.
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Herald Sun
Swift remains an anomaly: a country star who crashed pop radio and sells millions of self-penned, old-school story-telling tunes to the illegal download generation. And half a star extra for putting John Mayer in his place.
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Las Vegas Weekly
Speak Now is a big, slick pop production that finds its greatest strength in being intensely personal.
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Beat
Country pop may not be the favoured genre of this writer, but Swift is the mistress of the muse with an album selling more than a million copies on debut in a depressed market place.
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The Young Folks
Finally, this is a must have. An album everyone is talking about and that you should start jamming to now!
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The Young Folks
As I said before, girls, from tweens to moms, can sit back and enjoy this album. I can officially say that I’m a Taylor Swift fan.
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Common Sense Media
. . . there's a simple, pure quality to her voice that lends itself well to her many innocent songs about having her heart broken. She also continues to deserve props for writing all of her own songs -- an accomplishment that few of her peers can claim. And while they may not be the most musically complex tunes ever composed, those songs are actually good, lingering in your mind long after they're over.
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AssignmentX
At 20-years-old, Swift chews through boyfriends like nobody’s business, but her art certainly benefits from all that emotional turmoil on her strong third disc.
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SPIN
Before you’ve even heard Taylor Swift’s new album, it’s hard to resist imagining that the 20-year-old Queen of Tween is secretly addressing these songs to Kanye West, her onetime awards-show tormentor. . . . Swift taps into something nervy and intense when she goes nasty.
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Taylor Swift Switzerland
While "Speak Now" does have a couple missteps, it's also the most complete rendering of golden-age Taylor, with the kind of earnest introspection and refreshing vulnerability. The old Taylor may not be able to come to the phone right now, but the voice on the other end of "Speak Now" never rang louder or truer.
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POPSUGAR
Hear Me Out: Speak Now Is Taylor Swift's Best Album
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Teen Ink
Swift doesn't disappoint. “Speak Now” is not only a natural progression of maturity in her life, but it manages to keep the essence of her vulnerability that made audiences fall in love with her.
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Robert Christgau
The 14 songs last upwards of 67 minutes, some 4:45 apiece; they're overlong and overworked. . . . . Even in their overwork, however, they evince an effort that bears a remarkable resemblance to care--that is, to caring in the best, broadest, and most emotional sense.
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Country Standard Time
Taylor Swift has made the best CD of her young career with her fourth CD. The biggest difference is that Swift's singing, spotty on previous releases and live performances, is far far superior here.
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The Digital Fix
With the transition from cowgirl to rock chick complete, this unerringly commercial record stands ready to take on all-comers. Okay, so the country influence was hardly writ large but it's gradually been erased in favour of a bigger, ballsier pop-rock sound. Largely, despite some unavoidable reservations, Speak Now is sparky and likeable.
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uInterview
The record deserves a little more attention than your average pop fare, but the strength of the record ultimately lies in how accurately Swift hits her target demographic—very young females with bright dreams and likely several (less famous) John Mayers in their future.
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nj.com
April 1, 2019. The good good girl’s search for a good bad boy is what “Speak Now” is all about, and if that sounds a little predictable, well, pal, it is. But you don’t come to Swift for novelty — you come for the iconography. And because she is a cagey lyricist, she’s greased her narrative machinery with enough juicy specifics to keep it running without undue friction.
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Seattle pi
Swift’s third studio album, a refreshing and appealing collection, completely imbued with lyrical grace, transparency and the anticipated confessional songwriting. Even so, Swift’s music remains youthful and vividly expressive and retains the appeal that consistently enraptures her broad, loyal audience.
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Washington Post
Taylor Swift's ridiculously entertaining new album, "Speak Now," is a lengthy, captivating exercise in woo pitching, flame tending and score settling -- with a heavy emphasis on the latter.
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Hollywood Life
A very grownup Taylor is taking revenge on all the jerks that did her wrong on her new album and she sounds better than ever!
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BBC
Speak Now has taken two years to make, and you can tell Taylor's put a lot of effort into it. It's really top stuff! It has everything, from love and romance to heartache and memories. Taylor really shows off her song-writing skills with this coming of age album and it looks set to be another huge success!
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Ultimate Guitar
On the whole Speak Now is an enjoyable listen, but you have to be open-minded to pop, country, and a time when things were just a little simpler if love ever was in life.
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The Stanford Daily
. . . her third album, “Speak Now,” is nothing more than a phenomenal flop that comes across as little more than a rework of her freshman and sophomore albums. Although “Speak Now” takes a small but noticeable step towards her evolution of musical style, Swift has a long way to go to transition from little girl to adult woman.
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Review Stream
First and foremost, Taylor has proved that she is not just someone who will sing what she is told. Every track on this CD was written and composed by her. Because of this, they resonate raw emotion that anyone can relate to on some level. . . . I have found the lyrics genuine, and from the heart. She speak to her audience with honesty. This is a characteristic I have found makes Taylor so memorable.
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Lehigh Valley Music
“Speak Now” is a pleasant album, though one that sounds better upon first listen than it really is. But the truth is, it’s nowhere near as good as Swift’s last disc, 2008’s “Fearless,” and not even as good as her 2006 self-titled debut.
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Pitchfork
8/19/2019. It’s an album focused on growing up, something she was learning would often be confusing, sad, and uncomfortable. It’s her most unabashedly transitional work: between adolescence and adulthood, innocence and understanding, country and pop. She was at a crossroads, and she was feeling lucky.
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Rolling Stone
Swift’s third album, Speak Now, is roughly twice as good as 2008’s Fearless, which was roughly twice as good as her 2006 debut. These 14 tunes chronicle the hopes and dreams of boy-crazy small-town Everygirls, and Swift wrote them all by herself.
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Get Latest News
Taylor Swift’s ridiculously entertaining new album, “Speak Now,” is a lengthy, captivating exercise in woo-pitching, flame tending and score-settling — with a heavy emphasis on the latter.
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Today's Music from ww_adh
From the beginning it was apparent that crossover success has been her goal, ever since "Teardrops on My Guitar" became a minor pop hit. Speak Now drives the point even harder, sending up 14 tracks of rock-leaning pop that has far more in common with Kelly Clarkson than it does Miranda Lambert.
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auburnpub.com
"Speak Now" expands Swift's palette. . . . Musically, she also maintains a wide sweep, from lush strings to acoustic balladry to crunching rockers, sounding most comfortable on the tender songs, straining a bit the harder she rocks.
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The Oklahoman
. . . "Speak Now" might be swaddled in the cuddly country tones and spit-polished '80s rock sheen expected from a 20-year-old Pennsylvanian raised on Faith Hill and Def Leppard, but Swift possesses the lyrical bent of a brawler.
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INSIDER
"Speak Now" comes in at number one as it best represents the evolution of Swift and her music. Some songs lean more country . . . whereas others hint at the musical experimentation that would follow in subsequent albums . . . and, yet, the album is a mix of styles that seamlessly blend together.
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Apple Music
On Speak Now, Taylor Swift's growth and assertiveness shines through.
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