The second installment of Taylor Swift‘s re-recording project has arrived: Her new version of her hit 2012 album, Red. Coming in at an impressive 30 tracks, Red (Taylor’s Version) includes every song that Taylor wrote for the original version of the album, including the ones that didn’t make the final cut.
Among the 30 tracks are “Better Man,” which became a hit for the country group Little Big Town in 2016; “Babe,” which was a hit for the country duo Sugarland in 2018; “Ronan,” which Taylor originally released to iTunes as a charity single; and three new duets — one with Ed Sheeran, one with Chris Stapleton and one with Phoebe Bridgers. Also included: the near-mythological 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” which gets its own short film that premieres tonight at 7 p.m ET.
Looking back on Red now, Taylor says of the project, “Musically and lyrically, Red resembled a heartbroken person. It was all over the place, a fractured mosaic of feelings that somehow all fit together in the end.”
Upon releasing the album Friday, the singer took to Instagram to pen a sincere thank-you to her fans. “Just a friendly reminder that I would never have thought it was possible to go back and remake my previous work, uncovering lost art and forgotten gems along the way, if you hadn’t emboldened me,” Taylor shared. “Red is about to be mine again, but it has always been ours. Tonight we begin again.”
Taylor kicked off her promotional TV blitz for the album by stopping by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers, both on Thursday night. During her appearance on Fallon, the singer shared the true story of how the extended version of “All Too Well” came to be. Taylor, who believes she was about 21 at the time, said she was “going through a bit of a sad time” when rehearsing for her upcoming Speak Now tour.
“I just was really upset and sad and everybody could tell. It was really not fun to be around me that day,” she admitted, so she picked up her guitar and began playing “the same four chords over and over again.”
Taylor said the song that became “All Too Well” flowed from her organically as she “started ad-libbing what I was going through and what I was feeling.” As she vented through her music, the band joined in “and the song kept building and building and building in intensity.”
“The song just went on for 10 to 15 minutes,” Taylor explained, and credited her mother for checking at the end of rehearsal if “my sound guy” managed to capture the profound moment on tape.
“He was like, ‘Yep!’ and handed her a CD,” Taylor grinned. “The ten-minute version of ‘All too Well’ is what was originally written for the song before I had to cut it down to a normal-length song.”
Taylor revealed that releasing the original version of “All Too Well” is “the thing I’m the most excited about.”
During her interview, Taylor also discussed how she mastered the art of hiding Easter eggs, and encouraged fans to keep their eyes peeled when watching the short film version of “All Too Well,” starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien, which premieres tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Taylor also revealed that she’ll premiere the short film at the AMC 13 Theater in New York City’s Lincoln Square on Friday afternoon.
Taylor’s late-night tour will continue tomorrow, when she serves as musical guest on Saturday Night Live — and hints that she may perform the 10-minute version of “All Too Well” in its entirety.
Here’s the full track listing for Red (Taylor’s Version):
“State of Grace (Taylor’s Version)”
“Red (Taylor’s Version)”
“Treacherous (Taylor’s Version)”
“I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor’s Version)”
“All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”
“22 (Taylor’s Version)”
“I Almost Do (Taylor’s Version)”
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor’s Version)”
“Stay Stay Stay (Taylor’s Version)”
“The Last Time (Taylor’s Version)”
“Holy Ground (Taylor’s Version)”
“Sad Beautiful Tragic (Taylor’s Version)”
“The Lucky One (Taylor’s Version)”
“Everything Has Changed (feat. Ed Sheeran) (Taylor’s Version)”
“Starlight (Taylor’s Version)”
“Begin Again (Taylor’s Version)”
“The Moment I Knew (Taylor’s Version)”
“Come Back…Be Here (Taylor’s Version)”
“Girl at Home (Taylor’s Version)”
“State of Grace (Acoustic Version) (Taylor’s Version)”
“Ronan (Taylor’s Version)”
“Better Man (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
“Nothing New (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
“Babe (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
“Message in a Bottle (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
“I Bet You Think About Me (feat. Chris Stapleton) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
“Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
“Run (feat. Ed Sheeran) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
“The Very First Night (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
“All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)”
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