21 Review

21
Adele
2011
XL, Columbia
Prod. by Jim Abbiss,  Adele Adkins, Paul Epworth, Rick Rubin, Fraser T Smith, Ryan Tedder, Dan Wilson

The world loves Adele. Winning six Grammys just last week, she’s the toast of the town. But late Tuesday night, her interview with Vogue released in which she stated she’d take up to five years off from music to work on her relationships. I found myself inexcusably ecstatic; if it hadn’t been two or three in the morning when I learned this extremely exciting news, I probably would’ve meowed. The next day, she cut this rumor short.

“I’ve a few days off now, and then it’s the Brit Awards here at home and then I’m straight into the studio,” she writes. “BOYYAHH! 5 years? More like 5 days!”

I found myself hammerstruck. But as I thought about it, I thought “Why? Why was I so excited to see this woman that people really love leave the public eye for years, perhaps never to really be heard from again?” Seeing my repulsive joy at ruining other people’s beloved musical desires, I decided I was finally going to force myself to listen through Adele’s “21”, which I picked up months ago.

And I found out? Well, it’s…okay?

Adele has a talented voice and a nice sense of songwriting, but she desperately needs to learn how to organize an album. Opening with “Rolling in the Deep,” obviously the reason she is famous today and probably one of the best songs of 2011, is a good choice. It’s a blast of energy, and it’s the song she performs better than any other. It’s rather unique, and it doesn’t make me instantly recall some other song at its best moments. And, best of all, it has those awesome back-up vocals, which are completely incomprehensible and all the better for it.

But good times do not last through this first half of the album. While its follow-up is a fun, tongue-in-cheek “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” callback titled “Rumor Has It” (that overstays its welcome just slightly,) the next three songs are the self-serious, somewhat insincere ballads Adele has come to be famous for. They are not good songs, and they are definitely the reason I never made it through 21 before this review. All the fire, the back-up vocals, and the energy of the first two songs vanishes and is replaced with warbling. The worst of these is “Turning Tables”, as it is especially stripped down and focused upon the poor behavior of the male. The others, “Don’t You Remember” and “Set Fire To The Rain”, do not paint Adele in the fairest pastels, and her insecurities appear within them, making them mildly more interesting than their predecessor.

Suddenly, a wonderful drum and slow jazz opening rolls into place as “He Won’t Go” takes the stage, and Adele’s wonderful sense of sass finally comes back into play. “He Won’t Go” is easily one of the highlights, and the back-ups finally back. The R&B elements finally return, and throughout the rest of the album, Adele will dance between R&B, gospel, Elton John, Spanish beats, and Stevie Wonder. None of it is quite as good as the classics it’ll remind you of (or even 21’s contemporaries in Cee Lo Green’s “The Ladykiller” or John Legend & The Roots’ “Wake Up!”) but it’s pleasant enough to listen through.

Sadly, the album closes on the intolerable “Someone Like You.” As I’ve stated previously, “Someone Like You” has gorgeous verses, a brilliant piano arrangement, and great lyrics. I just wish I could understand any of them, as Adele goes into full-on warbler mode during the song’s chorus, and her need for throat surgery is evident and unpleasant. The song would maybe benefit from a different singer, but I have a feeling that chorus will stop most from performing successful renditions of the song. It’s also inexplicable as the album’s ending; the album has clearly left its starting position as a series of self-serious, indulgent damnation ballads to become a lot more fun.

Perhaps a better mix of the not-so-good ballads and the not-quite-great R&B and pop songs throughout the album would save "21." As it stands, though, the album is an oddity, and one for which I don't understand the enthusiasm. While I am only listening to the aforementioned “Wake Up!” in retrospect, Cee Lo Green’s “The Lady Killer” is an excellent album that reflects R&B more wholly, elaborately, with modern production, and with higher quality songwriting all-around. Perhaps it’s the distaste for the 70’s swank that reminds people of old cop shows and blaxploitation films? Maybe it’s the fact that much of it is performed through the somewhat misogynistic parody persona of The Lady Killer? Or is there some distaste for Cee Lo’s voice that I don’t understand?

My estimation? People wanted to wait until a white person tried it before they’d buy it, and the fact that her story is sad and she required throat surgery helped her case. The album is fine, but unless this is very much your genre, stick to the highlights.

3/5

HIGHLIGHTS: “Rolling in the Deep”, “He Won’t Go”, “I’ll Be Waiting”

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: “Turning Tables”, “Don’t You Remember”, “Set Fire To The Rain”, “Someone Like You”

NEXT STOP: "The Lady Killer," Cee Lo Green

AFTER THAT: "Otis Blue," Otis Redding