by Steve Leggett
After the release of her impressive country-pop mega-album Fearless, Taylor Swift was everywhere as the 2000s drew to a close, and her just happy to be here girlish poise belied the fact that she was one hell of a songwriter. Her simple but flowing melodies work their way easily into the ear and memory, and even with the lyrics removed, as they are here in these sparse piano renditions, they still carry a tremendously emotional swell. Swifts theme is love in a life lived, and while her lyrics are solidly in line with that, her melodies carry it forward, too. Stripped to just piano, the love story is still there.