The singer Adele has a nice, old-soul type of voice, but I am not someone who has ever truly listened through one of her albums. I decided to give a listen to her second studio effort “21” and see if the rest of the album could live up to the single that caught my attention: “Rolling In The Deep.” So, here are my choices for the top songs off of the Adele Album “21” and then my quick notes on all of songs.
2. “One and Only”
These were the two standouts to me, I was going to make it a top three list, but truly these were the only two that currently spoke to me. Here are my thoughts on the full album:
“Rolling In The Deep”: I enjoy the lyrics, I enjoy the beat, this song captures edgy emotion, entertains, and rocks. It has the strength to move copies of the album all by itself.
“Rumour Has It”: A song telling a tale and directed towards a male, but feels more like a tune meant to be enjoyed by the woman singing it and perhaps other women hearing it.
“Turning Tables”: The first time I heard this song was when Gwyneth Paltrow sang it on the show “Glee” and I thought that was a weird performance on the television, but it did get me to look up who the original artist was. A strong, emotional ballad.
“Don’t You Remember”: Not a stand out song to me, decent, but I think a country musician could rearrange it and make it a bigger song.
“Set Fire To The Rain”: An obvious choice from the album as a single, it has been a hit, and will continue to be as it is heard more and more. Great lyrics and melody, but there does not seem to be any constant edge to the delivery in her voice, feels more safe, as opposed to drawing me in fully. Of course that is a performance issue perhaps and could be different if heard live and she really sold it, I’m just going off of what I hear on the album. Good song, though.
“He Won’t Go”: A beat has joined the piano and Adele gets jazzy with it and I could see her singing this in a “Shaft” movie, but it’s not my cup of tea.
“Take It All”: A decent piano and soulful vocals visiting a place of sadness beginning with something that could have been happier ending. However, it doesn’t stab me in the guts as viciously as similar sounding songs have.
“I’ll Be Waiting”: It builds and grows on you. I was not all the way into it through the rolling piano and horn vibe through the beginning, but once she hot the first powerful burst of chorus I was digging it, but a song cannot be chorus alone, and the rest of it doesn’t pick me up as much.
“One and Only”: I love a song that takes me to the atmosphere where I could imagine myself drinking in a bar, watching smoke rise from an ashtray, and longing for someone I can’t have. Or this song could fit nicely as a moody piece in a movie, perhaps set in the far past, as she has a classic sense to her voice and it’s in the music too. I really like this song.
“Lovesong”: This is a cover song, originally sung by the band The Cure and the only permanent member of the group, lead singer Robert Smith. The original was strong enough for me and Adele’s version is just not needed, so: meh.
“Someone Like You”: She says she was miserable and lonely, “on her knees,” when she wrote it. A beautiful song, a story is told and heartache is felt, but I wouldn’t mind hearing someone else sing it and then compare the versions, because sometimes on the tune I could not clearly understand Adele’s words.
