Adele
Adele-19 Adele - 21
Adele - 19 -
Track Listing
|
Daydreamer Best For Last Chasing Pavements Cold Shoudler Crazy For You Melt My Heart To Stone First Love Right As Rain Make You Feel My Love My Same Tired Hometown Glory |
|
Brief Review
Adele's debut album 19 shows glimpses of promise but her London accent too often drowns out some of the vocal sounds and makes her fall into the same category as Amy Winehouse and Kate Nash etc. Its a good effort but the English-accent sound doesn't do her any justice to make her stand out among the others in her category. Having said that, there are some good tracks here but its not a groundbreaking debut album.
Full Review
Adele's appearance on the music scene is more like a whisper than a shout as her vocal talents show glimpses of some promise but her English accent doesn't help to define her as a distinct singer. It's a shame really as there's just way too many artists doing the same as Adele and her sound just drifts into the same category as others. Having said that, the album tackles the hardship of love and focuses on Adele's breakup and the theme stays true to that all the way through.
The album starts out with the beautiful ballad 'Daydreamer' which is one of the standout tracks on the album as she manages to pull some excellent vocals out the bag before drifting seamlessly into 'Best For Last' that filters out the background track with the bass guitar strumming what seems like random notes. It's a slower, more deliberate tone to the track and it strangely works. Despite the weird backing track that doesn't do the song much justice, the vocals are top notch and the acoustic feel to the track is exactly what's needed here and is spot on.
Adele's hit that got her noticed in the charts 'Chasing Pavements' then hits the speakers with a brilliant build into a euphoric chorus that rises the tempo of the track and makes it one of the best on the album. The themes of love and loss are really emphasised in this song and the album is lifted dramatically.
The tempo then rises dramatically for a song that almost tiptoes around Amy Winehouse's territory 'Cold Shoulder'. In my opinion, this track works better with some gorgeous vocals and an all-round better track with some excellent use of drums and percussion that really make this track pop.
'Crazy For Love' and 'Melt My Heart To Stone' are two excellent ballads that just drift by with some haunting vocals before the strange melody of 'First Love' sounds like a mobile but strangely the vocals work. The haunting chorus from Adele is fantastic and to be honest, the off-the-wall melody just enhances the song.
The upbeat style of Amy Winehouse returns for the soulful, funky 'Right As Rain' which boasts yet a different side of Adele with a euphoric song that lifts the mood of the album. The backing track is by far one of the best on the album, its not too overpowering but isn't so in the background that it feels like an acapella which is good. The track is definitely one of the best on the album.
'Make You Feel My Love' is the other standout with a simple piano riff over some gorgeous vocals which works better than the majority of mediocre vocal efforts here. Adele finally finds her form with this song and is the song she should have based the rest of her debut album on. The style of music is fantastic and the vocals are just as good.
The rest of the album dips back and forth between ballads and upbeat tracks, keeping the style of music fresh and finishing on the brilliant vocals of 'Hometown Glory'. To be honest the album was good but nothing groundbreaking in my opinion. Adele's ideas are somehow not all that original with the talents of Lily Allen, Kate Nash, Amy Winehouse and Duffy all attempting exactly the same as she is.
Overall, 19 is a mixed bag really with some gorgeous talent with soulful vocals and some excellent variety in track selection but the biggest problem with Adele is the lack of originality in her field and the English accent that creeps into the first half of songs here which makes her sound like some of the other British singers. It's not a bad thing and the album works well its just that the lack of anything truly groundbreaking prevents this album from being the 5 star hit it so easily could have been. A good effort from the debut album though.
Adele - 21 -
Track Listing
|
Rolling in the Deep Rumour Has It Turning Tables Don't You Remember Set Fire to the Rain He Won't Go Take It All I'll Be Waiting One and Only Lovesong Someone Like You |
|
Brief Review
Adele releases her second album 21 which blows the competition out the water with some of the best pop vocals out there. Her themes of love, jealousy and sadness resonate throughout the CD with some gorgeous vocals intertwined with a decent variety of beats. The stand-out tracks are definitely 'Rolling In The Deep', 'Someone like you' and 'Don't you remember'. Well worthy of a high score for this fantastic effort. Roll on 23!
Full Review
After the success of her album 19, 21 follows the story of Adele's breakup and the aftermath there after. This album smashes onto the scene with a soulful sound that resonates with maturity. The blend of bouncy, upbeat tracks and melodic, haunting ballads are enough to keep attention spans until the very end and show off Adele's brilliant vocals.
The CD starts off with the chart hit 'Rolling In The Deep' with some gorgeous vocals and a sing-a-long style song that has ignited the charts for weeks on end. The song itself has stayed in the top 40 chart for many weeks on end which just goes to show the strength of this track.
The upbeat style continues through to 'Rumour Has It' which features more hints of her breakup and a more pulsating sound, driven by strong drums and a guitar riff. The track might not be to everyone's tastes but after a few listens, this song quickly grows on you and is one of my favourite tracks on the album.
'Turning Tables' and 'Don't You Remember' shift the tone and pace of the CD on its head with some slow ballads, showing off Adele's brilliant vocal talents. The latter is a heartbreaking, soulful song focused solely on missing her ex and is another standout on the album.
The blend of pop, soul, R'n'B and blues throughout the album shows off the diversity of Adele and 'Set Fire To The Rain', despite being a beautiful song, feels more of an R'n'B track and may well feature a remix in the future. Hopefully not as the track is perfect the way it is, but it just goes to show how diverse Adele is with her songs.
'He Won't Go' and 'Take It All' emphasise the theme of the entire album with two heart-wrenching ballads directed at her ex partner. Adele's vocal range is fantastic here and her effortless emotional voice resonates throughout the two tracks with the background track slotting seamlessly behind the vocals.
The ballads stop momentarily for the bouncy blue's sounding track 'I'll Be Waiting' with yet more decent vocals and an excellent backing track, featuring a piano riff, some brass instruments and a bouncy drum beat before the ballads return with 'One And Only' and 'Lovesong' which float by in no time at all.
The album closes on 'Someone Like You' the first chart hit for Adele from this album and the haunting vocals fit perfectly with the piano riff in the background and the euphoric break for the chorus is exactly what the album needed for the end with a suitable uplifting track. The track is by far the best ballad on the whole CD and gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
Smashing several different records, including longest consecutive time at the top of the album charts, 21 is testament to Adele's vocal talents and how far she has come in 21 years. There are some excellent tracks here and none of the songs feel like fillers with a story and theme to each one. The variety in tracks also help with influences of R'n'B, Blues, pop and soul all intertwined to deliver a fantastic album well worthy of the praise it has received both critically and by fans. An excellent album worthy of a listen.