So I finally got around to watch the Lake Pond Sessions, the "movie" where she plays the entire Folklore album in a cabin in the woods.
Wow. Just wow. Amazing presentation that enhances even more the album!!! I love this kind of stuff, and it's one of the reasons I love "folk" music - I mean, all music I like is enjoyable already as it is, but with - and I use the term in a very broad and generic sense - "folk" music, you can immerse yourself even more in the atmosphere, in the odd instrument, in the time or place the mood of the music suggests. For example, I'll always be able to enjoy Iron Maiden or Dream Theater wherever I am, but hearing folkish or irish music when you're in Ireland is a whole another level (just a random example, I don't need to be in Scotland to enjoy Maiden's The Clansman, but I like when music and geography collide).
So an already beuatiful and very atmospheric album gets brought to a whole another level when played in an intimate setting, alternated with explanations about the songs, the lyrics meaning and the decisions behind the creative process. It's beautifully filmed and all the songs are good as the album version, if not even more.
Bruce Springsteen did a similar thing for his Western Stars album - this acoustic record, whose title lets you easily understand that it deals with western themse and imaginery, was played in its entirety in an ancient barn for a selected list of guests, and just like The Lake Pond Sessions, every song is followed by a brief introduction and explanation for the next one. This kind of musical + visual presentation is rare and it's great to see it happen. Absolutely lovely move from Taylor with this one, I wish she'd do the same for Evermore, maybe in a winter setting!