Taylor Swift: Sounds of the Season – The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection
Holiday goodies along with sob gumdrops designed for Taylor-made fans decorate Target-marketed EP
Released as an EP to the mega-retail chain Target in 2007, Taylor Swift, while basking in the glory of her successful debut, delivers her first-ever holiday entry. While still a relatively new pop princess, Swift’s strong songwriting regimen towards intimate tales and smart melodies makes a crowd favorite for a Christmas album package. Still, some will lampoon her pilgrimage into jingle bell territory since she laments too often about relationship struggles and bittersweet breakups, so she clings comfortably to Wham’s “Last Christmas” and to “Christmases When You Were Mine;” where she wears her emotions on a sleeve: “I’ve been doing fine without you, really/Up until the nights got cold/And everybody here except you baby/Seems like everyone’s got someone to hold/ But for me it’s just a lonely time/Cause there were Christmases when you were mine”). But it’s not all dreary and somber. She picks up holiday cheer with “Santa Baby” and utilizes her love for pop melody, using a “You Belong With Me” marinade, on one of her originals, “Christmas Must Be Something More.” Her adolescent vocals are still a bit teeny, too comfortable with short-note phrasing, but her loyal fan club and those looking for a safe ride of decent pop will welcome Swift’s holiday offering with open arms.
J MATTHEW COBB
HIFI DETAILS
- Release Date: 14 October 2007
- Label: Big Machine
- Producers: Nathan Chapman
- Track Favs: Last Christmas, Christmas Must Be Something More, Santa Baby
