The deluxe album, an expansion upon an artist’s initial release, typically comes out months after the album’s drop. While the majority of artists follow this trend, the stream of releases following Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” questions whether this waiting period is necessary.
Despite familiarity with Taylor Swift’s tendency towards secret messages in her social media posts, the release of “Midnights 3 AM Version” came as a major surprise. It was an even bigger shock to people like my mother, who purchased the initial “Midnights” standard edition the night the album dropped only to launch into a state of distress upon learning about the extended release.
In anticipation of “Midnights”, we preordered, following the method we’d followed for many years. We’d pre-ordered “1989’ and “Reputation”, purchased “Folklore” and “Evermore” as soon as we could. With pre-ordering, you missed out on CD-exclusive releases. But if you waited a few months, Taylor Swift usually released the exclusive songs on iTunes.
Neither of us expected the songs to be on iTunes within a few hours, available for purchase. When contemplating buying the 3 AM edition, we asked ourselves: what was the point of buying the first one?
The releases didn’t even stop there, with singular songs (“You’re Losing Me”) dropping on limited time frames through her website. It would be months before the song became available for iTunes purchase. This quick-release cycle distracted from the experience of listening to the album, instead lending to a frenzy of trying to stay caught up with all the recent releases.
Given the stark differences between the release cycles for “Midnights” compared to her other albums, it created an intense longing for the traditional deluxe album process. With deluxe albums, an artist typically dropped an initial version, went on a tour for the album, and after several months dropped additional songs. But with the expedited method, there was no wait. There wasn’t time to soak in the polished album without anticipating another release. There wasn’t time to get more money to spend on new music.
With the recent release of Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS (spilled)”, audiences experienced the delayed gratification that comes from a deluxe album. “GUTS (spilled)” was released on March 22 with an approximate six-month gap from the standard album’s release (September 8, 2023). The original 12-tracked album expanded to 17 tracks. While the titles “Obsessed”, “Girl I’ve Always Been”, “Scared of My Guitar” and “Stranger” were available to the public through the physical Vinyl and CD editions, the new song “So American” is exclusive to the deluxe. While audiences may play an album over and over when it’s first released, playback frequency often decreases as new music comes out by other artists. A deluxe release gives listeners new songs and the chance to compare with the original to see if additions belong lyrically and sonically.
“Obsessed” is reminiscent of Rodrigo’s jealous lyricism in “Lacy”, while also employing the rock tempo and beats of “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl”. “Girl I’ve Always Been” uses the tongue-in-cheek humor of “Get Him Back”, but still experiments sonically. “Girl I’ve Always Been” has Rodrigo implement an added twang to her voice which sounds fundamentally different than her typical singing voice. The acoustic instrumentals more associated with Rodrigo’s sound on her debut album “Sour” return with tracks “Stranger” and “Scared of My Guitar”. While “Guts” shows Rodrigo still hung up on her ex through “Get Him Back” telling the story of a singer reconnecting with a past love, “Stranger” demonstrates the singer has moved on and is no longer interested in having the ex in her life.
Rodrigo’s most deviating song, “So American”, has consequently earned a lot of media attention, with fans calling it her first love song. While Rodrigo is no stranger to the topic, her approach is typically through the lens of heartbreak. The contrast between her typical lyrics about love and the lyrics present in “So American” stand out in comparison to “GUTS” track “Love is Embarrassing”. “Love is Embarrassing” has Rodrigo “plannin’ out my wedding to some guy I’m never marryin’.” When marriage is brought up in “So American” however, Rodrigo is optimistic about the relationship singing “Oh God, I’m gonna marry him.”
With “GUTS (spilled)”, Rodrigo expands on the initial album’s lyricism, giving fans additional songs to dissect and enjoy without rushing them to move on from the initial album. Not only does Rodrigo push against expectations for what her voice and lyrics should sound like, she also continues drifting from the teenage girl aesthetic established in “Sour” and chooses instead to further develop the darker aesthetic played with in “Get Him Back!” and “Vampire”. This dark aesthetic, featured in the deluxe single “Obsessed”, shows Rodrigo in distinctly darker clothing and makeup than those around her. “GUTS (spilled)” indicates growth for Rodrigo and her music, leading fans to anticipate what she might do next.
Given all these benefits to “GUTS (spilled)”, it’s hard to want a switch to more instant content as experienced through Swift’s “Midnights”. “Midnights”, despite recently winning Album of the Year at the Grammys, felt swallowed up by the Eras Tour; it existed as part of Swift’s discography rather than as its own thing. Even with all the time that’s passed, it’s uncertain what “Midnights” means for Swift. Is it just another album to make money? Does it mark another career milestone for her? It’s clear what “GUTS” means for Rodrigo: a period of exploration. Rodrigo explores through changes in her aesthetic, different tones in her voice while singing, different overall sonic sound for her music with stronger rock influences as opposed to singer-songwriter pop acoustics of “SOUR”, and with her lyrics choosing to depict adult experiences of sex and drinking in her music.
