Swift, Taylor: Reputation (2LP, Picture Disc) [BIG MACHINE]

After firmly going "pop" and bidding farewell to her country-ish past on 2014's wildly successful 1989, Taylor Swift took it straight to the haters and went even more pop to a superhuman degree on 2017's Reputation. 

Prickly and combative, Swift's sixth album is both a cutting commentary on the singer's life at the centre of a media circus and a total flexing of her electronically gilded new direction. To all those who accused her of selling out and abandoning her folksy roots with 1989, she extends a defiant middle finger on the singles "Don't Blame Me," "I Did Something Bad" and "Look What You Made Me Do," declaring mid-song on the latter "I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead." Point made. 

Reputation -- available as a snazzy double-LP picture disc that looks as good as it sounds on your turntable -- was the record that launched Taylor Swift into the pop stratosphere and set her on her way to becoming a genuine global cultural phenomenon. And if you weren't down with the "new" Taylor, too bad for you. There was no looking back after this one.

TRACKLISTING:

1. ...Ready For It?
2. End Game (feat. Ed Sheeran and Future)
3. I Did Something Bad
4. Don't Blame Me
5. Delicate
6. Look What You Made Me Do
7. So It Goes...
8. Gorgeous
9. Getaway Car
10. King Of My Heart
11. Dancing With Our Hands Tied
12. Dress
13. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
14. Call It What You Want
15. New Year's Day

Reputation (stylized in all lowercase) is the sixth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on November 10, 2017, as her last album with Big Machine Records. She conceived Reputation as a response to the media scrutiny on her private life and public image after her previous album, 1989 (2014), propelled her toward global stardom.

Inspired by Swift's romantic relationships and tarnished media image caused by celebrity disputes, the songs on Reputation altogether form a linear narrative about a protagonist expressing anger and vengeance against wrongdoers and finding solace in a blossoming love. Produced largely by Swift, Jack Antonoff, Max Martin, and Shellback, Reputation is an electropop and R&B album with elements of urban styles such as hip hop, trap, and EDM. Its densely arranged electronic sound is characterized by programmed drum machines, pulsating synthesizers and bass, and manipulated vocals.

Swift opted out of television and press interviews to promote Reputation. Before the album's release, she cleared out her website and social media accounts, which generated widespread media attention. The lead single "Look What You Made Me Do" topped charts worldwide, the single "Delicate" topped US airplay charts, and the Reputation Stadium Tour became the highest-grossing North American tour of all time. In the United States, Reputation was Swift's fourth consecutive album to sell one million first-week copies, spent four weeks atop the Billboard 200, and was certified triple platinum. The album also topped charts and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

When Reputation was first released, music critics generally praised Swift's intimate songwriting about love but were divided by the production and themes of fame and celebrity, which some described as harsh and derivative. Some media publications deemed the album disappointing in the context of Swift's celebrity and the US political landscape. Retrospective reviews opined that the initial reception was affected by the negative press and described the album as a work of artistic experimentation and evolution for Swift. Reputation was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, and it was listed on Slant Magazine's list of the best albums of the 2010s.