Is Taylor Swift Debbie Gibson or Joni Mitchell?

"Speak Now" is Taylor Swift’s effort at self-justification.  She wrote all the songs, it’s totally her…and we wish it wasn’t.  We wish she still co-wrote, that she used the usual suspect producers, then it would be more professional, less cringeworthy, more radio-friendly and acceptable to those who are not diehard fans.

What you notice first is the terrible sound.  Loud and edgy, which does a disservice to Taylor’s voice.  And the endless "Dear John" makes it clear why Mayer has not acknowledged, never mind refuted Taylor’s account. Hey, she was nineteen!  But didn’t Steely Dan sing "we got nothing in common" in "Hey Nineteen"?

Then you notice that this is not a country album.  Then again, country isn’t even country anymore and Taylor Swift inhabits that rarefied world where you’re genre-proof, where your fans accept you for who you are, you don’t have to worry about playing the game…or do you?

Give Taylor credit.  Listening to "Speak Now" the radio singles don’t jump out.  "Speak Now" is statement, from the mind of a twenty year old, who’s had way too much success way too fast and missed out on growing up but learned so many lessons she wish she hadn’t.

Listening, you think of a million rock albums.  The endless dirgey numbers Alice In Chains specialized in.  You can see a rock band working out on stage.  And you think this record is written for little girls, allowing the elder audience to dismiss Taylor Swift.

Then you come to "Never Grow Up".

It was the quiet numbers that Taylor built her reputation upon.  "Tim McGraw", "White Horse"…  And they’re strangely absent from "Speak Now".  You know, the kind of number you listen to while sitting alone on the floor of your bedroom in a rainstorm.  "Never Grow Up" has all the honesty, all the insight Taylor Swift is famous for without the wincing indictments of those who’ve wounded her.

You’re in the car on the way to the movies
And you’re mortified
You’re mom’s dropping you off

Whew!  Who hasn’t been there, too young to drive, still tethered to your parents yet so desirous of being independent and grown up, cool.

But, don’t make her drop you off around the block
Remember that she’s getting older too

Funny to see a song that can juggle two perspectives.  Reminds me of Jay-Z’s "Can I Get A…"  He’s ripping on the women and then they come in to tell their own side.  It’s revelatory, it illustrates how complicated life truly is. Parents were children once too.  And as much as they want you to grow up so that they don’t have to endure your whining and your sleeve-tugging demands, they’re mortified when you do.  It means they’re getting older.  It means soon they’ll have too much time on their hands instead of not enough.

This is what Taylor Swift specializes in.  The honest communication of the teenage landscape.  When she tries to be an adult, she gets confused.  You see teens still show their bruises, complain and cry, whereas adults are more cerebral, they play the game and only reveal themselves intermittently.

"Speak Now" will sell through Christmas.  It’s review-proof.  And after that, Taylor Swift will play live to swooning masses.  After that?

Give John Mayer credit, he broke the mold.  He was overexposed when everybody said to hold back and now he’s removed when everybody else is finally exposed.  He’s ahead of the game.  Because he realizes the rules have changed.

"Speak Now" is all about the rules.  An album two years after the last one, hyped to high heaven in every medium known to man.  As far as playing the Jet Blue terminal…is this her target demo, or does she just want to fly free for life?

"Speak Now" does not augur well for longevity.  It’s both too cutesy and too dramatic, just like an adolescent girl. The question is whether Taylor Swift can grow.

If Taylor can be as honest about being a woman as she was about being a girl, there’s hope.  But she’s got to work with a producer who flatters her voice, she has to decide whether she’s removed or involved, whether she’s giving us a peek at the life of a star or a regular person.  I mean it’s hard to have sympathy for someone who says they were screwed by John Mayer…what did she not know?  And isn’t she living out every high school girl’s fantasy?  Wouldn’t it have been better if she blamed herself instead of John?  If she owned her actions instead of blaming him for the hurt?

A lot to contemplate.

But "Never Grow Up" points a way out.  "Never Grow Up" is infiltrated not a whit by all the b.s. of her public life. It’s private, just like the lives of the rest of us civilians, we can identify, we want more like this.

Taylor Swift should not wait two more years for another album, to release more new material.  I’d love to hear a monthly report on her growing up, told with the hooks which are evident on "Speak Now".  She needs to blend the authenticity of "Never Grow Up" with the world of modern communications.  Because this wounded teen bird act ain’t gonna last forever.