Adele, 21
Reviewed by: Felicia
Fuck the Best New Artist Grammy curse. Fuck Amy Winehouse (because she’s a crackhead). Fuck Duffy (because her voice sucks). Fuck Kate Nash (because she’s a whiny bitch). Just fuck it all because Adele, who is already on a strictly first name basis with the world, has just released her second album, 21.
Her debut album, 19, was one of my favorites of 2008. We were in the midst of a soul music revival, in a time before Winehouse moved to an island to play with monkeys and before Duffy became a one-hit wonder. She gained popularity in the states after she won the Best New Artist Grammy in 2009. There has been a lot of built up anticipation behind the release of 21, each of her albums named after the ages she had been during the recordings. She also has sold out a majority of her shows in mere minutes for her upcoming North American tour, and scalpers were selling tickets for $150 each shortly after they sold out. I’m one of the poor and unfortunate souls who missed out on getting tickets in four different cities.
It’s hard to believe all of the things Adele has accomplished at the young age of 22. When I was 22, I was busy having drinking contests with 6’3”, 200-pound men and wondering which halter top I was going to wear while doing so. It was a draw if any of you were wondering.
But here is Adele, back to belting out ballads about heartaches and the boys who’ve stomped on her loving soul in her signature heartfelt and poetic way. She takes writing about the boy who broke your heart in your diary to a new level.
Produced by the legendary Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys and more recently Gossip and Brandi Carlile), Paul Epworth (my 2010 favorite Florence + the Machine, Cee Lo and Kate Nash), Minnesota’s own Semisonic frontman Dan Wilson and current pop music producer king Ryan Tedder, 21 begins with the radio single “Rolling in the Deep.”
“Rolling in the Deep” tells the story of a relationship that has crashed and burned. Adele’s realization that it could have had a fairytale ending but instead she was played for a fool leaves her scorned. The song’s strong and uptempo beat flows parallel with the grown experiences she tells throughout the song. It’s also been stuck in my head for the past two months, but that’s a very good thing.
The next song, “Rumour Has It,” has a strong Motown vibe with Doo-Wop background vocals. The moral of this story is don’t fuck around on Adele because she will call yo ass out and turn the tables on you. After busting this sorry man’s ass for fooling around with another younger and less-adept-at-everything chickadee, she ends the song with, “Rumor has it he’s the one I’m leaving you for.” See how she did that? Tables officially turned!
Funnily enough, “Turning Tables” is the name of the next song on the album. This is also where the album slows down and loses some steam on the tempo front. Instead of Adele turning the tables on her former lover, she’s the one on the receiving end. Much like her first album, these themes of love, love lost, love is pain and love is revenge weave in and out through 21. Gospel and even a little bit of country on “Don’t You Remember” also continue as strong themes throughout the album.
Adele covered Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” on 19, which she did so well you’d think it was her own. But of course I’m kind of biased since I think a howling cat stuck in dryer sounds better than Bob Dylan. She continues the tradition of a cover on 21 with The Cure’s “Lovesong.” She slows this rendition down to an almost jazz lounge feel. It’s not as successful of a cover as “Make You Feel My Love,” in my opinion, and it’s certainly not as strong as the original.
There is something more true and storied about Adele’s music than the other contemporary soul singers she is always compared to. Even if Winehouse was still around I think Adele would still stand out independently from her. I can’t really get behind the statement that 21 is more mature than 19 because I thought that was a near flawless album—she was already at a high point of maturity. She’s still singing about the same themes and she still has that amazing one-of-a-kind voice. I would say 21 is more of an extension with bits of things she’s learned along the way since 19. In this case age truly ain’t nothing but a number because the word “mature” is not synonymous with a 19 or 21 year old, and she transcends the ages of which she has titled her albums.