Taylor Swift has released her long-awaited re-recording of her 2012 album Red, as part of her mission to regain control of her back catalogue.
Swift had earlier released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in April – the first in a run of six albums that she plans to re-record, after the master recordings were acquired by Scooter Braun when he purchased her former label, and later again by Shamrock Capital.
The Taylor’s Version albums mean she will now control her own music and be able to profit from it.
Celebrating the release of Red (Taylor’s Version) on Instagram, she thanked her fans, writing: “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.
“Red is about to be mine again, but it has always been ours. Tonight we begin again. Red (my version) is out now.”
The new version of Red has 30 tracks on it, compared to the original’s 16.
Among the tracks, there is a 10-minute version of All Too Well, regarded among fans as one of Swift’s best pieces of work, which is said to be inspired by her break-up with Hollywood star Jake Gyllenhaal in 2010.
I Knew You Were Trouble, 22 and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together all appear on the re-recorded album, as does her duet with Ed Sheeran, Everything Has Changed.
As with Fearless (Taylor’s Version), there are also a number of “from the vault” tracks – previously written but never released.
They include Nothing New, which features Phoebe Bridgers, I Bet You Think About Me, which country star Chris Stapleton appears on, and dance-pop tune Message In A Bottle.
The 31-year-old added a voice note to the Apple Music version of album, in which she says: “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. Happy, free, confused, lonely, devastated, euphoric, wild, and tortured by memories past.
“Like trying on pieces of a new life, I went into the studio and experimented with different sounds and collaborators.
“And I’m not sure if it was pouring my thoughts into this album, hearing thousands of your voices sing the lyrics back to me in passionate solidarity, or if it was simply time, but something was healed along the way.”
Red (Taylor’s Version) is available to buy or stream now.