Prism vs. 1989?

[turnaround]

Just out of sheer curiosity, which of these heavily Max influenced albums is the best?

[J_A24]

Prism for me.

[RoyFan]

Judging from the first 2 singles she released from 1989, Prism is better IMO

Plus some pretty good songs on Prism like "Birthday" and "Unconditionally" have a bit more Luke than Max.  Since the tracks (chords) for those are Luke (plus a bit of help from
Ammo and Cirkut I guess) -  And I think, on those 2 at least that the topline of the verse and b section might be Luke as well.

Max and Shellback definitely have done some good songs in the past though that come close to the level of Luke/Max stuff in my opinion.

[j.fco.morales]

Prism for me.

Same here.

I missed Taylor classic songwriting on 1989.

[sweetmelody]

Prism is a really solid album, but it doesn't stand up to what I think is the pinnacle of what Max, Luke and Katy did: Teenage Dream. As of now I am picking 1989 over Prism, personally.

[Rebecca]

This is a tough one! I will say 1989 mainly for the song Style which is bit Teenage Dreamy to me.

[turnaround]

1989 because I like "Wonderland" so much and "Stay" and "Get the girl" are really poppy and have a slight Cheiron style.

[sweetmelody]

1989 because I like "Wonderland" so much and "Stay" and "Get the girl" are really poppy and have a slight Cheiron style.

I think the Cheiron style was leaning a little more to the "bubble gum pop" melodies, and I hear that so much on 1989. I think for the most part the Katy stuff leans a little on the darker and moodier side of pop (of course I'm not talking about California Gurls, which is super bubble gum). So people who like the lighter, melodic stuff I think will gravitate towards 1989. Plus the productions are a little more reserved on 1989, but to me that's what makes it great as well. I think the sound selections by Shellback and Max were absolutely NOW, 2014, and super cool. I know the album was 80's inspired, but you have to also look at what is inspiring current music producers in terms of sounds. It's mostly 80's and 90's stuff.

[RoyFan]

This is a tough one! I will say 1989 mainly for the song Style which is bit Teenage Dreamy to me.

Just heard this yesterday, REALLY good song.  Teenage Dream like more than the first 2 singles for sure!

[Carl Walters]

Overall I like Katy Perry more, but I have to go with 1989 over Prism.

[Matteo87]

Absolutely 1989!
I clearly fell the Max Cheiron influence, expecially for "Get The Girl", one of the poppiest song of recent year.
So good and solid album, really maxish like "Teenage Dream"
It's the new Cheiron style of nowdays.

Prism has a bit more Luke than Max.

[goldsoundz86]

Prism,

Hands down. I have nothing against 1989: it's a fantastic pop album! What's bothersome is that Taylor Swift doesn't come through at all, so it honestly sounds like a Katy album without the gravitas. Sure, every Swift song sounded like a 12-year-old girl's diary prior to the album, but this one lacks total personality. And it's not that the songs aren't good--they are--but they're just so feathery light and disposable. If Max had saved them for Perry, some could've become timeless classics. "Style" has Katy's signature all over it, and there's no doubt she would've laid down the better vocal and come up with better chorus lyrics that don't sound like a make-up jingle.

One thing's for sure: she has the right team marketing her. If Teenage Dream had half the publicity or money put into its campaign, Katy would be a certified legend.

Neither are great live singers, but when Katy's on her mark, she can really belt it out. Her big problem is vibratro control, which you can tell Max has worked with her on. On the other hand, it doesn't matter how much glorious reverb Max can lay on Taylor's vocals (no one does it like him, let's be honest)--her voice is still as thin as paper, and quite frankly, too shrill to be belting out the adlibs she does. Red wasn't as well rounded, but there was a definite warmth to it.

1989 is a production feat for Max, and it's selling so well for Taylor, but it all seems like a packaged project. You have your been-there-done-that Outkast single that sounds more like a product of "Glee" (please stop, Savan Kotecha!) , "Bleeding Love" turned into the faux-uptempo that is "Blank Space," everything Katy Perry is about in "Style" from the vocal stylings, to (albeit weaker and less sultry) come ons, to the spoken/sung bridge, to the ear-candy chorus, to those blissful "oooh-aaahs" that Katy and Max have seemed to perfect as a team (see even on Prism, the "ohhhs" and "ahhhs" present all throughout "Dark Horse" and "Legendary Lovers.") "Wildest Dreams" is nice and all until you realize it's just Avril Lavigne's "Hot" (so underrated) restyled for Lana Del Ray.

And then you have the rest of 1989, which is a bunch of not-so-insatiable mostly non-Max songs produced by other producers of-the-moment. "Out Of The Woods" is really, really nice, and could even be a hit, but I wonder if it would sound half as great without Max's mountain-top reverb, use of delay, and those background melodies that are so obviously his improvisations.

Katy released the wrong singles. The radio songs were clear from the start: "Roar," "Walking On Air," "Dark Horse," "Legendary Lovers," and "Birthday." Had they been released in that order, she would've matched the success of "Teenage Dream" singles-wise. Those five singles are just as good as the five that topped the charts on Teenage Dream.

Instead, she released her worst singles to date: "Unconditionally" and "This Is How We Do." I love Max to death, but I really wish he would've stepped his foot in with the latter. ""This Is How We Do" is tuneless: it's like he tried to take Britney's "Criminal" and turn it into some rock meets pac-man mess...probably his worst production to date. That being said, "Walking On Air" was their best collaboration to date, and it's truly a shame that was never released. It's genius from start to finish and, when released, was ahead of its time: Katy was essentially trailblazing with Max, predicting the next trend (90s house) months before it even became big. He should've encouraged her that it was a smash.

As a whole, maybe 1889 is a better album, but its best song is the one that fits Katy to a tee, sans it's awful lyrics ("Style.") Sure, Prism is way too long. It's a shame such trash as "This Moment," "Love Me," and Sia's awful "Double Rainbow" weighted down the last half, while the bonus tracks were some of her best that should've replaced them ("It Takes Two," " Chose Your Battles," "Spiritual"). Prism, however, still has more highlights. Nothing on 1989 is as good as "Walking On Air," "Dark Horse," "Roar," or "Legendary Lovers."

[dennizfan]

Agree with all of the above! Did engineering for both CDs and was asked by label to mix similar to Prism. Only down fall of prism is the last few tracks...

Feels as though 1989 hype is a result of just that........hype. Reminds me of Random Access Memories and 20/20 Experience, maybe even Beyonce. Max's best work to me is with Britney, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry. Love his work with Jennifer Lopez, too. If it had a better vocalist, definitely would have been a hit.

Walking On Air was also my favorite song, could still be a single I think, haven't met a single person who doesnt love it

[j.fco.morales]

You guys have a really good points on here.

What I dislike about 1989 is sensation of liteness that stuck on me after listening.
I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan -love her songwriting- and this project seems a bit weak to me, in comparison to her amazing catalogue.

[RoyFan]

In the audio notes of the album, is there Taylor's original demo of "Bad blood" like some of the others?
Does she talk at all about it's creation?