Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl – Is the audio performance up to the marketing hype? – Review (CD,colored vinyl records, streaming,Stereo Atmos)

[Chr1]

Indeed. I stopped playing live recordings years ago. I hate the crowd noise and general drop in sound quality from good studio recordings.
However, a few exceptions. Got some great modern jazz recordings and such. Usually in smaller venues.
But big rock or pop gigs with a ton of drunken peeps shouting. No... ta.

(Unless you were actually there obviously.)

 

[EngineerNate]

I think we're well past debating whether she has talent. She may not be the most gifted songwriter or musician or singer, but she's tapped into something that appeals to an absolutely massive audience and stayed relevant for well past the expiration date of most of her contemporaries.

Her music may not be for you, but she's clearly good at her job, which is entertaining audiences and fans at a scale not seen in a good while.

Plenty of pop artists who's agents and labels would like for them to be as big as Taylor. There's a reason they aren't.

 

[EngineerNate]

I know this is audiophile heresy but I've had Diana Krall played for me in hifi shops more than once and I was never compelled to buy the CD sitting on the counter.

Different strokes.

 

[EJ3]

Each to their own, I have very little interest live concert recordings unless they are accompanied with video so I can enjoy watching them play.
For serious listening prefer music presented with as much inner detail etc to the sound of the instruments (rock, country, multich when available) as possible. This mostly occurs with studio recordings.

I think that I might be able to sit still for one side of an album or 1/2 of a CD. Serious listening is something that is beyond my minds capability to keep my body still (unless I drink too much, slide down the wall while I am holding it up and go to sleep).
Then I wake up and notice that I am on a tile floor (so therefore MUST be in a hospital) and don't see any nurses and then realize I'm at someone else's home. (Because my home has wood floors). Now, what happened to the party I was at? Where did everyone go?
Well, I'll let myself out, locking the door behind me & head on home.

 

[mhardy6647]

I know this is audiophile heresy but I've had Diana Krall played for me in hifi shops more than once and I was never compelled to buy the CD sitting on the counter.

Different strokes.

No heresy at all, from my perspective -- I really dislike her singing style*, although she's plays piano adequately well. I have zero interest in any of her music, although I will admit, if tortured, to owning one of her albums... and it's not even the one with the lingerie cover?!

______________
* I actually think she's a pretty terrible singer, FWIW. There are some terrible singers I like a lot, but her terribleness isn't of the endearing kind. She just grates on my nerves as a performer.

 

[Sal1950]

I think that I might be able to sit still for one side of an album or 1/2 of a CD. Serious listening is something that is beyond my minds capability to keep my body still (unless I drink to much, slide down the wall while I am holding it up and go to sleep).

Yea we're mostly 180 here. I almost never listen to less than a full album of music unless I'm demo'ing something new on streaming and just don't like it.

No heresy at all, from my perspective -- I really dislike her singing style*, although she's plays piano adequately well. I have zero interest in any of her music, although I will admit, if tortured, to owning one of her albums... and it's not even the one with the lingerie cover?!

Same here, I only own 1 album from Diana Krall, Love Scenes. Only grabbed it to hear its well reviewed 5.1 DVD-A disc. The recording is near SOTA in sound quality but not at all my style of Jazz. I can't seem to even follow the rhythm of the bass player with my foot taps??? LOL OH WELL.

 

[EJ3]

Maybe they're finally burning out on her.

That would be nice.
I have heard about 1/2 of a few of her songs but never made it all the way though one.

 

[EJ3]

I can't help but notice that most of the folks chiming in on this thread aren't (and most likely wouldn't be) interested in Taylor Swift in the first place. Like almost all the threads about LPs/turntables or subjective appreciation of audio, there is a pile-on of negative responses. Obviously, this musician has a huge fan base, is inordinately successful and prolific. Maybe, considering that the folks at ASR are overwhelming male (and old), we really aren't in a position to judge. Superpopular pop artists do not aim for the "audiophile" market in the first place, so audiophile considerations really don't amount to much anyway. My sister, who is nearly my (advanced) age loves Taylor Swift's music and has been inspired to learn guitar and has taken vocal lessons. A lot of her inspiration comes from her attraction to this music.

Something to think about.

I like a very wide range of stuff: Austrian & German folk songs, classical, Jazz, rock, pop, bluegrass, country (older & newer) western & many other styles and folks from all over the world.
I just don't care for Opera or Taylor Swift and have never wasted my time trying to figure out why.
Well, it turns out that my wife doesn't like Taylor, either.
My wife, in general, does not care for music & singing (less if there is no singing [but she liked that woman from Canada [Céline Marie Claudette Dion]).

 

[EJ3]

Yea we're mostly 180 here. I almost never listen to less than a full album of music unless I'm demo'ing something new on streaming and just don't like it.


Same here, I only own 1 album from Diana Krall, Love Scenes. Only grabbed it to hear its well reviewed 5.1 DVD-A disc. The recording is near SOTA in sound quality but not at all my style of Jazz. I can't seem to even follow the rhythm of the bass player with my foot taps??? LOL OH WELL.

Generally: I almost exclusively listen to whole albums. (My English teachers would be so proud of me for that sentence [NOT]).
I just don't sit still for them, (One of the reasons that I tend to listen with a bit more volume, because I move around).

 

[Snarfie]

Hello,

Taylor Swift unveils her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, recorded during the European leg of the Eras Tour in 2024. Singer Sabrina Carpenter appears on the title track.
It’s impossible to ignore this event, as the release was orchestrated masterfully — Taylor Swift has perfected the art of communication and marketing around her work.
View attachment 480710

Offered as an exclusive pre-sale on her website for over a month before reaching other retailers, the album was released in more than ten different versions, most of them limited editions, including vinyl records in a wide range of colors.

But does this marketing expertise also translate into technical mastery of the album?

For this review, you will find 5 versions tested:
Ed 1: CD – 2025
Ed 2: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2025
Ed 3: Tidal Max – 2025
Ed 4: Opaque Pink And Pale Yellow vinyl – 2025
Ed 5: Orange Translucent vinyl – 2025


The CD version fully aligns with today’s music industry standards, featuring dynamic compression with a DR6 rating. This comes as no surprise — the pursuit of a loud, impactful sound often takes precedence over preserving subtle dynamics.

View attachment 480711
Waveforms comparison.

The sound of the vinyl version is generally identical to that of the CD (or stereo streaming), both in terms of tonal balance and soundstage. However, the digital version shows slightly greater precision in the high-frequency range. As is often the case, it is difficult to determine whether the vinyl pressing was made from a dynamically compressed digital master, but this is highly likely.

This Dolby Atmos version is a very pleasant surprise. Although present on her previous albums, the format had previously lacked expressiveness and immersion, but it reaches a whole new level on this release. In this album, all channels are carefully utilized, providing precise placement of instruments, music, and vocals.
View attachment 480712

You can access the high-resolution excerpts to compare the different versions by ear, as well as all the measurements, by clicking HERE (link).

Enjoy listening,
Jean-François

Others Taylor Swift's Album reviewed :
Taylor Swift – Midnights – Review (Vinyl Blue Marbred, Vinyl Jade Green Marbled, Qobuz, Tidal Dolby Atmos, Binaural)
Taylor Swift – RED (Taylor’s Version) – Review (Vinyl, Streaming Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon Dolby Atmos)
Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) – Review (test: vinyl, streaming Amazon UltraHD and Tidal Dolby Atmos)
Taylor Swift – 1989 (Taylor’s Version) – Review – (Test: vinyl record, Tidal MAX Flac and Tidal Dolby Atmos)
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department – The Anthology – Review – (Test: Vinyl record, Tidal MAX, Tidal Dolby Atmos), A Surprise Double Album With 15 Extra Tracks

Like to know if the multitracks are uncompressed and the mastering engineer just went full ‘loudness war.’ If that’s the case, we could still get a dynamic remix/remaster one day. Adele’s albums were crushed as well. and they didn’t exactly recover so Taylor’s is in good company. An probably a uncompressed dynamic version could open up a completely new market of listeners who actually value sound quality (depending how the multitracks are recorded).

 

[Sal1950]

Like to know if the multitracks are uncompressed and the mastering engineer just went full ‘loudness war.’ If that’s the case, we could still get a dynamic remix/remaster one day. Adele’s albums were crushed as well. and they didn’t exactly recover so Taylor’s is in good company. An probably a uncompressed dynamic version could open up a completely new market of listeners who actually value sound quality (depending how the multitracks are recorded).

I'm sure there are uncompressed original stem masters, doubtful they'll ever get remixed to audiophile standards. The market isn't there and Taylor grew up on "all loud, all the time" mixing, She thinks that's the way her music should sound, many of the modern artists and engineers are of the same mind.
I could be wrong.

 

[EJ3]

I could be wrong.

On this, unfortunately, probably not!

 

[goat76]

Like to know if the multitracks are uncompressed and the mastering engineer just went full ‘loudness war.’ If that’s the case, we could still get a dynamic remix/remaster one day. Adele’s albums were crushed as well. and they didn’t exactly recover so Taylor’s is in good company. An probably a uncompressed dynamic version could open up a completely new market of listeners who actually value sound quality (depending how the multitracks are recorded).

Most of the individual recorded tracks are likely uncompressed. A few of the tracks, which are usually bass instruments like kick and bass guitar, may have been dynamically reduced already in the recording chain, but this is usually not of any harm and something you want to make those instrument more consistent in the mix, no matter if the overall full mix end up fully dynamic or totally squashed.

They will most likely have the material to be able to make a version with the full dynamic intact, if and when they decide to do so. That is the original material all the mixing engineers use when they do the more dynamically intact Atmos mixes, but just as @Sal1950 said, it’s unlikely that an artist like Taylor Swift will ever release full dynamic ”audiophile” mixes of hear music. Ether you have to go for the Atmos version, which has the requirement of -18 Integrated LUFS for the format, or you go for the vinyl version that may or may not have been made from a more dynamic mix. When it comes to the vinyl version, this is something you need to make a deep individual analysis of, as the DR numbers can’t be trusted on their own.

 

[Mart68]

I assume the reason we don't get less dynamically compressed remasters of anything is that they don't think there's sufficient market for it to be worth the bother.

Which is odd given they think there is a market for £180 remastered vinyl copies of 'Off The Wall' and 'Ziggy Stardust.'

 

[Snarfie]

I'm sure there are uncompressed original stem masters, doubtful they'll ever get remixed to audiophile standards. The market isn't there and Taylor grew up on "all loud, all the time" mixing, She thinks that's the way her music should sound, many of the modern artists and engineers are of the same mind.
I could be wrong.

What’s equally if not more annoying is how TV and podcast ads suddenly raise the gain the moment they come on. The volume just cracks up out of nowhere. I was almost sleeping which is basically the whole point when i'm listening to a podcast.

 

[Sal1950]

What’s equally if not more annoying is how TV and podcast ads suddenly raise the gain the moment they come on

Perfect examples of a sound file compressed to have almost no DR and then the level set to be just under the over-modulation point of the transmitter.
It's been going on for decades in radio.

 

[EJ3]

Perfect examples of a sound file compressed to have almost no DR and then the level set to be just under the over-modulation point of the transmitter.
It's been going on for decades in radio.

On both radio & TV: the adds are intended to audibly follow you to where you make your snacks, to the bathroom or to whatever else that you do during the commercials.

 

[Sal1950]

On both radio & TV: the adds are intended to audibly follow you to where you make your snacks, to the bathroom or to whatever else that you do during the commercials.

LOL