1989
by Ryan Adams
  • Record Label: Pax Am
  • Release Date: Sep 21, 2015
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
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  1. The Telegraph (UK)
    Sep 22, 2015
    100
    By re-recording the whole of Taylor Swift's 1989, the maverick alt country star has turned a world beating chart smash album into a tender masterpiece of bruised Americana, in the process emphasising the perfect songcraft and exposing the dark heart of emotion beating beneath Swift's gleaming surfaces.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Sep 21, 2015
    91
    If turning the biggest, shiniest pop record of the past year into a survey course in classic rock economy sounds like a novelty, it is. But it’s also the best kind--one that brings two divergent artists together in smart, unexpected ways, and somehow manages to reveal the best of both of them.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Sep 21, 2015
    91
    What his version of 1989 does best is illustrate the strength of the source material. With the radio-ready gloss stripped away, these songs compare to the best moments in Swift’s back catalog.
  5. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Sep 22, 2015
    85
    Taylor's original 1989 is made even more interesting and worthy of discussion by Ryan's overtly classic rock-ified version, while Ryan's version is intriguing as both a personal expression and a reaction to one of the biggest albums we're likely to see come along in our lifetimes.
  6. Consequence
    Sep 28, 2015
    83
    The refusal to stick to one gender only adds to 1989‘s ubiquitous strength, making it less an album applicable to specific male/female relationships and more about relationships in general.
  7. Pretty Much Amazing
    Sep 23, 2015
    83
    Ryan Adams unearths new emotional riches, mostly sad ones, from his source material. And his 1989 transcends mere tribute.
  8. The Independent (UK)
    Sep 25, 2015
    80
    What’s most impressive about Adams’ 1989 is the experienced troubadour’s eye and ear with which he brings out the material’s underlying strengths, finding melancholy currents lurking beneath supposedly upbeat, celebratory songs.
  9. Boston Globe
    Sep 22, 2015
    80
    If you didn’t already, it even makes you appreciate Swift’s stealth songwriting, particularly when scaled to its essence.
  10. Los Angeles Times
    Sep 21, 2015
    80
    The crafty alt-country singer reimagines Swift’s blockbuster pop album as a polished roots-rock disc.
  11. American Songwriter
    Sep 21, 2015
    80
    It is 1989 reimagined, with often startling results.
  12. Sputnikmusic
    Sep 22, 2015
    78
    As gorgeous a Ryan Adams record as anything in his own catalog.
  13. Drowned In Sound
    Nov 4, 2015
    70
    This 1989 may work wonderfully on its own terms (if Adams had written this himself it would be his best album) but its real strength is in highlighting Swift’s immaculate writing for those of us whose relationship to the original is intellectual rather than instinctive.
  14. Billboard.com
    Sep 24, 2015
    70
    He can sound awkward navigating Swift’s vernacular of haters and mad love, but when he plays up his strengths--the fingerpicking and strings on “Blank Space,” or changing the “Style” lyric “James Dean daydream” to “Daydream Nation,” a nod to Sonic Youth--the universality of great songwriting shines through.
  15. Exclaim
    Sep 22, 2015
    70
    At its best, Adams' version of 1989 is an adoring homage to Swift's overlooked talent as a storyteller, though there are also a few key moments that fall flat without the high-gloss bombast that the originals were treated to.

Awards & Rankings

57
#57 Most Discussed Album of 2015
76
#76 Most Shared Album of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
6.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 122 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 122
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 122
  3. Negative: 30 out of 122
  1. R1TC
    Sep 22, 2015
    5
    Some of the songs (Shake it Off, Out of the Woods to name two) are quite beautifully interpreted and manage to work well outside of just beingSome of the songs (Shake it Off, Out of the Woods to name two) are quite beautifully interpreted and manage to work well outside of just being novelty items, but the most of the tunes on here are extremely boring, and being based on Taylor Swift lyrics, there isn't much in the way of creative lyricism to support the wannabe indie-country schlock that underpins most of Ryan Adams' often unintelligible vocals. As a homage to Taylor Swift, this album does a fairly good job, but her carefree and creatively barren source material doesn't work in the context of Ryan Adams' oftentimes pretentious musical styles.… Full Review »
  2. anitquity
    Sep 26, 2015
    4
    I am really quite shocked by the high marks this album is getting. Most fans of Taylor Swift, such as my daughters and wife, and absolutelyI am really quite shocked by the high marks this album is getting. Most fans of Taylor Swift, such as my daughters and wife, and absolutely no interest in hearing a reinterpretation of their favorite songs done in a Springsteen-esque fashion by a guy they've never heard of. From comments I have read elsewhere, it almost seems that middle aged guys into the Ryan Adams and his style of music are so happy their guy can take contemporary chart toppers and take the melody and lyrics and play it with a guitar-driven and. (Full disclosure: I am a certainly a fan of most of Ryan Adams' work, and similar artists). Songs such as Badblood sound like it's done by bar band you might hear covering Taylor Swift, where you would quickly exit and find another bar.

    I can't imagine this being anything other than a novelty and those giving this 9's and 10's won't be listening to this in near future. Seriously, it's kind of embarrassing guys that you're singing rock versions of your 10 year old daughter's tunes.    … Full Review »
  3. Nedloh94
    Sep 22, 2015
    10
    A record of this nature has no right, or even reason to be this real, this pristine, or this spellbinding. And yet, it is all of this andA record of this nature has no right, or even reason to be this real, this pristine, or this spellbinding. And yet, it is all of this and more. Ryan Adams lovingly strips down the source material, and builds a spacious, rapturous, soul-piercing shell around Taylor Swift's songwriting, elevating 1989 into something magnificent.… Full Review »
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