Adele - "21" Album Review
February 16, 2010 
Adele’s sophomore album 21, available on February 22nd in the US, is a great follow-up to her debut album, 19. If you’re already an Adele fan, I’m surely not telling you anything you don’t already know when I mention how full of soul and emotion her voice is. It completely belies her age – you’d think she’s experienced a lifetime of heartache and disappointment. You can just about feel the underlying resentment and hurt feelings oozing out of this album. If you're interested you can stream the full album on NPR's site up until the album release date, just click here Adele 21
“Rolling in the Deep”, the first single from the album, is this soaring song that reminds me of The Gossip in the way Adele just lets loose with her voice. The sound of this tune is also very evocative of Gnarles Barkley’s “Crazy”. It’s one of those “I gave you everything, we could have had it all, but you threw it away” songs – great for those post-breakup moments in life. Another great post-breakup song is “Rumour Has It”. In this one, Adele proceeds to talk trash about the new girl her beau is dating, then twists the knife at the end with the line “Rumour has it he’s the one I’m leaving you for”. Talk about revenge!
A couple of songs that stand out as having a different sound than the rest of the album are “Take It All” and “One and Only”. “Take It All” turns a break-up into more of a sorrowful moment than one suited to revenge. It has a very gospel-ish sound, enhanced by the addition of the background singers. “One and Only” is very bluesy/jazz feeling that takes the stance of daring someone to commit to you and put in what it takes to make a relationship work.
Rumor has it that 21 includes as a bonus track a cover of Brandi Carlile’s “Hiding my Heart”, which I’m excited to hear on the actual album. One of my favorite Brandi songs, and I’m interested in hearing Adele’s take on it. Adele’s latest also includes a cover of “Lovesong” by the cure, and she really brings her own twist to this song, making it soulful and sultry.
If you liked Adele’s 19, go out and buy 21 when it hits stores next week. I think you might even find yourself enjoying this one more than the first…
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