If you’re one of the millions of folks out there who have been loving Red (Taylor’s Edition), then spare a thought for the Taylor Swift fans who have been perplexed by the record’s vinyl edition.
It was only last week that Taylor Swift released the re-recorded version of her 2012 album, Red, and already folks have been sharing just how much they’ve been enjoying the new collection of songs. Not only has it got Taylor’s new vocals on the original record, but it’s got a bunch of ‘From The Vault’ tracks, including the fabled ten minute version of ‘All Too Well’.
As such, a record this good deserves to be heard on vinyl, right? Well that’s what countless Swifties thought when they picked up the 4xLP edition of the album recently. However, a few folks felt as though they might have gotten more than they bargained for with their purchase.
If you head over to websites such as Amazon or the US version of Target (who have an exclusive red edition of the album available) and read through the comments, you’ll quickly find a bunch of consumers who have been confused about the record’s pressing – with many wondering why Taylor Swift sounds like “a man”.
“Vinyl look ok and the color, is beautiful, but the sound is really scary, it’s like a Taylor’s voice from beyond the grave,” writes on user. “Is this a disgusting joke about halloween? Not sure.”
“The pressing is bad it sounds like a man,” writes another.
So what’s the issue? Well, due to the two-hour length of the record, it was pressed onto four separate vinyl discs, and once the songs had all been distributed evenly across the eight sides, the only way for it to be played normally was for the album to be cut at 45rpm rather than the usual 33rpm.
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As such, playing the record on the 33rpm speed you would play almost any other record means that it spins slower than intended, thereby making Taylor’s luscious voice sounding deeper and “creepier” than usual.
Of course, this isn’t exactly the fault of the fans, either, given that the large majority records play at 33rpm and usually 45rpm records have the unusual speed listed on the vinyl itself. In their defence, the different speed is not mentioned specifically, but surely they would’ve thought to switch up the speed if it sounded a bit weird… right?
This isn’t the first time that there’s been some issues with vinyl records and speed, either. Famously, the Butthole Surfers’ 1988 album Hairway To Steven was shipped without any song titles or helpful information when it was originally released. This led to anecdotal stories of fans listening to the experimental record – which utilises varying tempos and genres across its runtime – on the wrong speed without realising there was an issue.
On the flipside (no pun intended), it’s completely worth pointing out that if you play Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ at 33rpm instead of the usual 45rpm that singles would be played at, you get a rather gorgeous version which sounds almost too perfect. We’re not saying Dolly planned it, but much like Taylor Swift, it works out… all too well.
Check out ‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version)’ by Taylor Swift:
