Fearless [PA]

Performer: Taylor Swift
Engineer: Kyle Ford; Todd Tidwell; Kenzi Butler; Mark Petaccia; Kyle Ginther; Matt Legge; Chad Carlson
Producer: Taylor Swift; Nathan Chapman; Scott Borchetta
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Karaoke version of the teenage country superstar's second album, taken from the original masters. Most karaoke discs were recorded quickly and inexpensively by faceless studio musicians--or even just one guy with a bank of synthesizers--and they sound like it: cheesy, trashy, and just plain cheap. But the Walt Disney Corporation understands that there is a market for better quality karaoke discs in its target demographic, and so Disney properties like HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, HANNAH MONTANA, and CAMP ROCK have all had karaoke discs released that feature better-quality graphics (including the onscreen lyrics, which are clearer and easier to read) and quite often the backing tracks from the original soundtracks of the shows. Taylor Swift's FEARLESS KARAOKE is the first single-artist karaoke album to have this treatment: the songs here are taken directly from the original masters of the teenage country sensation's second album for the most authentic Taylor Swift karaoke experience Personnel: Taylor Swift (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Nathan Chapman (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar, mandolin, keyboards, percussion, background vocals); Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Grant Mickelson, Kenny Greenberg (electric guitar); Ilya Toshinsky (banjo); Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Claire Indie (cello); Jonathan Yudkin (strings); Tony Harrell, Tim Lauer (keyboards); Eric Darken (vibraphone, percussion); Tim Marks, Amos Heller (bass guitar); Nick Buda, John Keefe (drums); Al Wilson (percussion); Caitlin Evanson (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Drew Bollman; Justin Niebank. Audio Remasterer: Hank Williams. Arranger: Jonathan Yudkin. Taylor Swift abandons any pretense that she's a teen on her second album, FEARLESS--which isn't to say that she suddenly tarts herself up, running away from her youth in a manner that's all too familiar to many teen stars. Swift's maturation is deliberate and careful, styled after the crossover country-pop of Shania Twain and Faith Hill before they turned into divas. Despite the success of her self-titled 2006 debut, there's nothing at all diva-like about Swift on FEARLESS: she's soft-spoken and considerate, a big sister instead of a big star. Nowhere is this truer than on "Fifteen," a kind warning for a teen to watch her heart sung from the perspective of a woman who's perhaps twice that age--a sly trick for the 18-year-old Swift. There may be a hint of youthfulness to her singing but that's the only hint of girlishness here; her writing--and she had a hand in penning all 13 tracks here, with six of them bearing her solitary credit--is sharply, subtly crafted and the music is softly assured, never pushing its hooks too hard. Like many country-pop albums of the 2000s, the pop heavily outweighs the country--there aren't fiddles here, there are violins--yet the production never feels garish, a crass attempt at a crossover success. It's small-scale and sweetly tuneful, always seeming humble even when the power ballads build to a big close. Swift's gentle touch is as enduring as her songcraft, and this musical maturity may not quite jibe with her age but it does help make FEARLESS one of the best mainstream pop albums of 2008.

Taylor Swift's ascent to country stardom was an unusual one, remarkable for its rapidity (the first single off her debut album was a huge hit), for the subject of her initial hit (a song called "Tim McGraw" that revolves around listening to the singer), and for Swift's youth (she was only 16 at the time). Equally striking is the fact that she managed to make such a big splash while on the independent Big Machine label. An early bloomer in the extreme, Swift began performing at the age of 10 and signed her first record deal at 13. After she took the country world by storm with her first album, the sky seemed to be the limit for the young singer.

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