American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer Ryan Adams announced a release date for 1989, his cover album of Taylor Swift’s album of the same name. Also, he has made the album art available to view, and to top it off, he’s given fans a first taste of the album with his take on “Bad Blood.”
Swift’s “Bad Blood” features a layered drum track and other electronic instrumentation, but Adams’ has put his own spin on the song. In his cover, the song is just a little bit slower than the original, which puts a focus on the emotive lyrics in the verses. But, the chorus is still up-tempo and catchy; however, where Swift used layered drums, Adams’ has chosen to use guitars and that brings a melodic alternative-country feel to his interpretation.
Check it out:
And, what does Swift think of Adams’ project?
She has been supportive of the project, after Adams’ announced it with an Instagram post in August. Supportive may be a bit of an understatement actually, as Swift tweeted that “she would ‘pass out‘ if it were true,” according to Rolling Stone. And, Adams was “equally complimentary in his confirmation tweet to Swift. ‘Badass tunes, Taylor. We’re sandblasting them, and they’re holding steady,’” Rolling Stone reported.
Adams’ 1989 is being released on September 21st, 2015, and his fans – along with Swift and her fans – are counting down the days. Swift created a countdown clock for his 1989 release, and she went on to describe the experience of Adams covering her material as, “surreal and dreamlike,” in a recent tweet. And, in that same tweet, Swift stated that, “Ryan’s music helped shape my songwriting.”
Ryan's music helped shape my songwriting. This is surreal and dreamlike.
Countdown to #RyanAdams1989
@TheRyanAdams pic.twitter.com/pGZB0uUqiB
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) September 17, 2015
His stripped down take on “Bad Blood” premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 radio show, and 1989 is currently available to preorder on iTunes. Additionally, Rolling Stone noted, Adams has indicated that there may be CD and vinyl releases of 1989 on the horizon, but no official details are available at this time.