What can be said regarding West Reading, Pennsylvania singer/songwriter, actress, producer & director Taylor Swift that has been said already? From the successes of Red & 1989 as well as the superior Republic Records sophomore effort Folklore & it’s sequel Evermore to her engagement to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, there’s no denying Taylor’s status as a global icon. The Tortured Poets Department was widely panned a year & a half ago, to which I can’t blame Jack Antonoff for at all since my issues lied more with the writing on “So High School” & “I Hate It Here”. The same woman who used to babysit the children of former CWA Heavyweight Champion, 6-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, WWE Hall of Famer, 6-time WWE world champion, 3-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, TNA Wrestling co-founder & AEW’s current Director of Business Development Jeff Jarrett said her 12th album was more lively than the bleak predecessor & I was wondering if that was the case.
“The Fate of Ophelia” in my opinion isn’t that bad of a dance-pop rock intro with cute little references to the Shakespeare play Hamlet while “Elizabeth Taylor” unfortunately marks the decline in quality not doing the late actress’ memory that much justice from the generic instrumental to the songwriting. On the contrary, “Opiate” was a decent dance-pop jam comparing the sky to opalescent glass & “Father Figure” botches the George Michael single of the same name.
We get some pianos all over “Eldest Daughter” singing about all the oldest daughters in families being the first lambs to be slaughtered just before “Ruin the Friendship” publicly addresses Jeff Lang. The worst song on The Life of a Showgirl by a landslide “Actually Romantic” oozes with bitterness over Charli XCX when brat singlehandedly clears Taylor’s discography & the derivative “Wi$h Li$t” somehow someway isn’t any better despite the topic of her dream life with Travis.
“Wood” starts the final leg of the LP with a sequel to “Out of the Woods” off 1989 that I can appreciate, although I can’t really say the same for my 2nd least favorite track here “Cancelled!”not living up to the “banger” Travis hyped it up to be whatsoever fumbling the cancel culture concept. “Honey” brings the keys back in the fold giving Travis a pass to call her by that nickname & the title track featuring Sabrina Carpenter thanks everyone for an unforgettable night.
The Tortured Poets Department was easily the messiest full-length in Taylor Swift’s entire discography & I’m very much happy for her & Travis Kelce’s engagement, but The Life of a Showgirl for a conceptual opus themed around being an entertainer doesn’t compel me like The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars or The Wall. I prefer what Jack was going for last time as opposed to the pop, pop rock, contemporary R&B, alt-pop, dance-pop & urban cowboy production Max Martin & Shellback go for coming off bland.
Score: 1.5/5
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