1989 (Ryan Adams album)

2015 studio album by Ryan Adams October 2025 November 2017 1989 studio Ryan Adams RyanAdams1989cover.jpg 2015 9 21 Pax-Am, Los Angeles Alternative country rock 54:18 PAX AM Ryan Adams Charlie Stavish Ryan Adams 2014 Prisoner 2017 1989 studio Bad Blood September 3, 2015 1989 is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, released digitally through his own PAX AM record label on September 21, 2015. The album is a track-by-track cover of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's album of the same name, comprising all thirteen songs from the original album's standard track listing.Stutz Colin August 25, 2015 Ryan Adams Says Taylor Swift '1989' Cover Album Will Be Finished This Week https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/ryan-adams-taylor-swift-1989-cover-album-finished-this-week-6677596/ September 21, 2015 Billboard September 24, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924175816/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6677596/ryan-adams-taylor-swift-1989-cover-album-finished-this-week live It debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200, one position ahead of Swift's own 1989, which was in its 48th week on the chart.https://www.billboard.com/pro/taylor-swift-ryan-adams-1989-albums-top-10/ Keith Caulfield Both Taylor Swift and Ryan Adams' '1989' Albums Are in Top 10 of Billboard 200 Chart Billboard September 27, 2015 September 28, 2015 September 30, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150930001909/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6708141/taylor-swift-ryan-adams-1989-albums-top-10 live Background Adams first became interested in Taylor Swift's album while coping with the collapse of his marriage to Mandy Moore.O'Donnell Kevin Ryan Adams opens up about his Taylor Swift 1989 cover album http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/21/ryan-adams-1989-interview September 21, 2015 Entertainment Weekly September 23, 2015 May 6, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190506110206/https://ew.com//article/2015/09/21/ryan-adams-1989-interview/ live On what attracted him about Swift's album, Adams stated "There's just a joy to 1989," describing the album as "its own alternate universe". Adams initially described the album as being in the style of the Smiths. The Complete History (So Far) of Ryan Adams' Taylor Swift Cover Project Wired https://www.wired.com/2015/08/history-ryan-adams-1989-taylor-swift/ September 21, 2015 Crucchiola Jordan September 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923125632/http://www.wired.com/2015/08/history-ryan-adams-1989-taylor-swift/ live When recording the album, Adams said he found a sound somewhere between Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) and the Smiths' Meat Is Murder (1985). The Story Behind Ryan Adams's '1989′ Homage to Taylor Swift https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/09/21/ryan-adams-taylor-swift-1989-interview/ WSJ Blogs – Speakeasy September 21, 2015 September 23, 2015 September 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923132826/http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/09/21/ryan-adams-taylor-swift-1989-interview/ live Taylor Swift's response On the day that Adams announced the project, Swift responded enthusiastically from her Twitter account, writing, "Cool I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight or ever again and I'm going to celebrate today every year as a holiday". @TheRyanAdams Cool I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight or ever again and I'm going to celebrate today every year as a holiday. I'M CALM https://web.archive.org/web/20161001141103/https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/629214295390224384 October 1, 2016 https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/629214295390224384 Twitter August 6, 2015 February 26, 2016 Two weeks later, an official statement was released via Entertainment Weekly, whereupon Swift expressed further excitement and anticipation: "Ryan Adams is one of the artists who shaped my songwriting. My favorite part of his style of creating music is his ability to bleed aching vulnerability into it, and that's what he's done with his cover project of my album 1989. When I first heard that Ryan was going to be covering my entire album, I couldn't believe it. It's such an honor that he would want to take my stories and lyrics and give them a new life. He's gotten some of the best musicians together to record this album and if the clips he's released are any indication, this is going to be something really special". Taylor Swift August 20, 2015 Taylor Swift says Ryan Adams' 1989 cover album is 'such an honor' http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/20/taylor-swift-statement-ryan-adams-1989-covers Entertainment Weekly August 20, 2015 February 26, 2016 March 6, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160306144945/http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/20/taylor-swift-statement-ryan-adams-1989-covers live On September 21, a day after the album's release, Adams was on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show when Swift made a surprise appearance. Swift praised Adams' work, and described the ways in which his interpretation of the songs differed from her own. She stated that they were "not cover songs" but rather "reimaginings of my songs, and you can tell that he was in a very different place emotionally when he put his spin on them than I was when I wrote them. There's this beautiful aching sadness and longing in this album that doesn't exist in the original". Taylor Swift Surprised Ryan Adams on a Radio Show to Talk About 1989 https://time.com/4043422/ryan-adams-taylor-swift-1989/ TIME September 21, 2015 February 26, 2016 February 24, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160224193131/http://time.com/4043422/ryan-adams-taylor-swift-1989/ live In the same interview, Swift also admitted that, after spending time listening to an advance copy of Adams' album, she had picked up some of Adams' melodies when performing her songs on tour. Critical reception 6.6/10http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/7538/Ryan-Adams-1989.aspx 1989 by Ryan Adams reviews AnyDecentMusic? October 8, 2025 69/100http://www.metacritic.com/music/1989/ryan-adams Reviews for 1989 by Ryan Adams Metacritic CBS Interactive November 10, 2015 September 24, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924160121/http://www.metacritic.com/music/1989/ryan-adams live AllMusic 3 5http://www.allmusic.com/album/1989-mw0002882402 1989 – Ryan Adams September 25, 2015 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas Stephen Thomas Erlewine All Media Network AllMusic September 24, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924221531/http://www.allmusic.com/album/1989-mw0002882402 live American Songwriter 4 5Beviglia Jim http://www.americansongwriter.com/2015/09/ryan-adams1989/ Ryan Adams: 1989 American Songwriter September 21, 2015 September 23, 2015 September 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923060654/http://www.americansongwriter.com/2015/09/ryan-adams1989/ live The A.V. Club A−http://www.avclub.com/review/ryan-adams-transforms-taylor-swifts-1989-melanchol-225630 September 21, 2015 Ryan Adams transforms Taylor Swift's 1989 into a melancholy masterpiece The A.V. Club The Onion Annie Zaleski September 21, 2015 September 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923060556/http://www.avclub.com/review/ryan-adams-transforms-taylor-swifts-1989-melanchol-225630 live The Boston Globe Positivehttps://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2015/09/21/ryan-adams-turns-taylor-swift-into-mellow-gold/3LaScG0qUt4CrUJlj4qCEL/story.html Ryan Adams turns Taylor Swift's '1989' into mellow gold The Boston Globe John W. Henry Reed James September 22, 2015 September 23, 2015 September 24, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924023326/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2015/09/21/ryan-adams-turns-taylor-swift-into-mellow-gold/3LaScG0qUt4CrUJlj4qCEL/story.html live Entertainment Weekly A−http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/21/ryan-adams-1989-review 1989 by Ryan Adams: EW Review Entertainment Weekly Leah Greenblatt September 21, 2015 September 22, 2015 September 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923063411/http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/21/ryan-adams-1989-review live Los Angeles Times Positivehttp://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-ryan-adams-taylor-swift-1989-review-20150921-story.html Ryan Adams turns to Taylor Swift for help on his version of '1989' Los Angeles Times September 21, 2015 Mikael Wood September 22, 2015 October 19, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171019084546/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-ryan-adams-taylor-swift-1989-review-20150921-story.html live Pitchfork 4/10http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21101-1989/ Ryan Adams, 1989 Richardson Mark Pitchfork September 25, 2015 September 25, 2015 September 25, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150925161112/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21101-1989/ live Slant Magazine 3 5Slant review Slant Magazine October 21, 2015 http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/ryan-adams-1989 October 21, 2015 December 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151223105817/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/ryan-adams-1989 live Sputnikmusic 3.9/5https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/68597/Ryan-Adams-1989/ Review: Ryan Adams – 1989 Rudy K. September 22, 2015 September 23, 2015 Sputnikmusic The Telegraph 5 5https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/ryan-adams-1989-review-taylor-swift/ Ryan Adams, 1989, review: 'beautifully evokes the ghosts in Taylor Swift's pop machine' The Daily Telegraph McCormick Neil September 22, 2015 September 23, 2015 September 25, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150925002620/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/ryan-adams-1989-review-taylor-swift/ live Adams's interpretation of 1989 received mostly positive feedback from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 from selected independent ratings and reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a metascore of 69 out of 100, based on 25 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Entertainment Weeklys Leah Greenblatt praised the album, commenting "If turning the biggest, shiniest pop record of the past year into a survey course in classic rock economy sounds like a novelty, it is. But it's also the best kindone that brings two divergent artists together in smart, unexpected ways, and somehow manages to reveal the best of both of them". Jim Beviglia of American Songwriter also complimented the album, stating, "It is 1989 reimagined, with often startling results". On a similar note, The A.V. Clubs Annie Zaleski said of the album in her review: "What his version of 1989 does best is illustrate the strength of the source material. With the radio-ready gloss stripped away, these songs compare to the best moments in Swift's back catalog". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times, however, called the album, "a love letter from an indie idol to a pop queen," and considered Adams "not built for the songs".Caramanica Jon https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/arts/music/teaming-up-together-drake-and-future-or-apart-ryan-adams-and-taylor-swift.html Teaming Up, Together (Drake and Future) or Apart (Ryan Adams and Taylor Swift) The New York Times September 22, 2015 September 23, 2015 September 24, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924013110/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/arts/music/teaming-up-together-drake-and-future-or-apart-ryan-adams-and-taylor-swift.html live In a similarly negative review, Mark Richardson of Pitchfork declared, "Adams has transformed [1989] into ... a run-of-the-mill Ryan Adams album". Robert Christgau, writing for Vice, named "This Love" and "I Know Places" as highlights and summed up Adams' cover album with, "Chivalrous Nashville fellow traveler proves the superiority of younger fellow traveler by failing to top much less reinvent a single performance on her breakaway album, which he covers front-to-back like the gifted fanboy I guess he must be".Christgau Robert Robert Christgau October 20, 2017 https://www.vice.com/en/article/reinvention-and-reclamation-robert-christgau-on-a-batch-of-cover-albums/ Reinvention and Reclamation: Robert Christgau on a Batch of Cover Albums Vice December 29, 2019 September 6, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200906214408/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kz3aqn/reinvention-and-reclamation-robert-christgau-on-a-batch-of-cover-albums live Accolades PublicationRankList Diffuser 8 The 50 Best Albums of 2015http://diffuser.fm/the-50-best-albums-of-2015/#photogallery-1=44 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 Diffuser Staff December 8, 2015 Diffuser December 12, 2015 December 11, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151211172545/http://diffuser.fm/the-50-best-albums-of-2015/#photogallery-1=44 live Entertainment Weekly 40 The 40 Best Albums of 2015http://www.ew.com/gallery/best-albums-2015/2403248_40-ryan-adams-1989 The 40 Best Albums of 2015 EW Staff December 9, 2015 Entertainment Weekly December 12, 2015 December 12, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151212175233/http://www.ew.com/gallery/best-albums-2015/2403248_40-ryan-adams-1989 dead NME 50 NME's Albums of the Year 2015http://www.nme.com/photos/nme-s-albums-of-the-year-2015/394320 NME's Albums of the Year 2015 NME Staff December 2, 2015 NME December 12, 2015 October 13, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161013194425/http://www.nme.com/photos/nme-s-albums-of-the-year-2015/394320 live Paste 40 The 50 Best Albums of 2015http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/12/the-50-best-albums-of-2015.html?a=1 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 Paste Staff December 2, 2015 Paste December 12, 2015 December 3, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151203215903/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/12/the-50-best-albums-of-2015.html?a=1 dead Rough Trade 99 Albums of the Year 2015http://www.roughtrade.com/aoty15/4 Albums of the Year 2015 Rough Trade Staff Rough Trade December 12, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151222165152/http://www.roughtrade.com/aoty15/4 December 22, 2015 dead mdy-all Huffington Post 8 Albums of the Year 2015http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristi-york-wooten/the-best-albums-of-2015-d_b_8847836.html The Best Albums of 2015 2015 Kristi York Wooten Huffington Post December 20, 2015 June 15, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170615003918/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristi-york-wooten/the-best-albums-of-2015-d_b_8847836.html live Commercial performance The album debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200, earning 56,000 equivalent album units sales in its first week. Track listing All tracks are produced by Ryan Adams and Charlie Stavish. Welcome to New York Taylor Swift Ryan Tedder 3:18 Blank Space Swift Max Martin Shellback 3:21 Style Swift Martin Shellback Ali Payami 2:44 Out of the Woods Swift Jack Antonoff 6:09 All You Had to Do Was Stay Swift Martin 3:30 Shake It Off Swift Martin Shellback 4:06 I Wish You Would Swift Antonoff 3:44 Bad Blood Swift Martin Shellback 3:55 Wildest Dreams Swift Martin Shellback 5:21 How You Get the Girl Swift Martin Shellback 3:50 This Love Swift 4:45 I Know Places Swift Tedder 5:14 Clean Swift Imogen Heap 4:23 54:18 Personnel Credits are adapted from liner notes of 1989. Musicians Ryan Adams – vocals, guitars, synthesizer, pump organ, piano, trash can, producer Taylor Swift – songwriter, original performer Stephen Patt – double bass, pedal steel guitar The Section Quartet – strings Charlie Stavish – bass guitar, synthesizer, producer Nate Walcott – piano, organ, pump organ, synthesizer Tod Wisenbaker – guitars Technical Andy West Design – design Julia Brokaw – band photographs Gavin Lurssen – mastering Charlie Stavish – engineer, mixing Charts Weekly charts Chart (2015) PeakpositionAustralia 9 Ryan Adams 1989 true September 26, 2015Flanders 9 Ryan Adams 1989 true November 6, 2015BillboardCanada 9 Ryan Adams true September 29, 2015Netherlands 21 Ryan Adams 1989 true November 6, 2015Finland 28 Ryan Adams 1989 true December 20, 2015Ireland 15 2015 39 true September 25, 2015New Zealand 18 Ryan Adams 1989 true September 25, 2015 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)https://lista.vg.no/liste/topp-40-album/2 VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 41, 2015 Lista.vg.no October 13, 2015 November 15, 2013 https://archive.today/20131115085832/https://lista.vg.no/liste/topp-40-album/2 live 21Spain 78 Ryan Adams 1989 true October 5, 2015Sweden 38 Ryan Adams 1989 true September 27, 2015Switzerland 58 Ryan Adams 1989 true November 11, 2015UK 2 Ryan Adams true September 26, 2015Billboard200 7 Ryan Adams 1989 true September 28, 2015BillboardFolk 1 Ryan Adams true January 9, 2018BillboardRock 3 Ryan Adams true January 9, 2018 US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)http://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/2016-01-02/vinyl-albums Vinyl Albums : Jan 02, 2016 Billboard December 9, 2014 January 17, 2016 October 28, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161028000448/http://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/2016-01-02/vinyl-albums live 2 Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)"Jaaroverzichten 2016: Albums" https://web.archive.org/web/20161229152101/http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2016&cat=a December 29, 2016 (in Dutch). Ultartop Flanders. Retrieved April 21, 2017. 192 Release history Date Region Format(s) Label Ref. Reference September 21, 2015United States Digital download streamingPAX AMhttps://www.amazon.com/1989-Ryan-Adams/dp/B015I145OC Ryan Adams: 1989: Music B015I145OC November 10, 2015 May 6, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190506110158/https://www.amazon.com/1989-Ryan-Adams/dp/B015I145OC live November 6, 2015CD December 11, 2015 Vinyl cassette References External links album 888637 1989 Category:2015 albums Category:Ryan Adams albums Category:2010s tribute albums Category:2010s covers albums Category:PAX AM albums Category:Taylor Swift tribute albums Category:Track-for-track cover albums