Last month, alt-country troubadour Ryan Adams announced that he’d be covering Taylor Swift’s latest blockbuster album “1989” in its entirety. While that sounded like a bonkers plan, Adams is a man of his word, updating his Instagram with clips from studio sessions and even getting Swift herself excited for the impending release.
Today, the upcoming full-length is officially becoming a reality: It will be out digitally on Monday, Sept. 21 with a CD/vinyl release “coming soon.” To go along with the announcement, Adams unveiled his “Bad Blood” interpretation on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 Radio Show. The former Whiskeytown frontman morphs the song from a radio-primed kiss-off anthem to a melancholic singer-songwriter dirge, and it really, really works. Thankfully, Adams doesn’t even bother to attempt Kendrick Lamar’s verses on the single.
Listen below.
How’s Taylor reacting to the news? She’s stoked.
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
If you’re stoked about the news too, compare with Swift’s original version below or just turn on a radio.
You can also compare these renditions with Sam Elliott’s dramatic reading of “Bad Blood,” done exclusively for RedEye.
jterry@redeyechicago.com, @joshhterry
For more music, click here.
Want to learn how to brew beer or make an awesome cocktail? Click here to teach yourself through the RedEye Skillz page.
