Adele great at 21

While Beyonce and her ilk were going divalicious in the charts some three years ago, a sort of counter-culture reaction quietly but very assuredly made itself felt. Amy Winehouse, Duffy Colbie Caillat, Adele and other females began winning followers with their original works.

They were like a breath of fresh air and had several things in common. They were excellent vocalists who sang to pared-down accompaniment. There were times when this was only a piano or a single guitar but the intensity of the performance more than made up for what would have been perceived as some inadequacy in the recording.

Fast forward to the present: Winehouse beset by personal problems is out of the scene. Caillat is in between albums. Duffy faltered with her second CD. But Adele, oh Adele, who went to school with Leona Lewis and Jessie J, remains the proverbial breath of fresh air, our antidote to the engaging nonsense we had lately been getting from Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.

Adele, who won Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a Female Artist at the Grammys two years ago for the album 19, is now one of Britain’s richest pop stars under 30. She is also getting richer and richer everyday thanks to her number one selling song Rolling In The Deep and her also number one selling album 21. I have also noticed that kids here are listening to 21 and they like it.

I am not surprised that 21 is a hit. It is an instant classic, a throwback to those days when the likes of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon and others expressed the heartbreak of a generation through their songs. It is also contemporary. Adele called her CD 21 because everything in it was what she went through last year when she was 21. Who better than one of them, a girl their own age, can put a name on the vulnerability, pain, frustrations and other related emotions to being in love of young people today? Adele does.

The music of 21 rolls smoothly from one cut to the next. You can play it again and again and still discover nuances you never imagined. But Adele did and put those in. Part country, part blues, part rock, part R&B and other types, it has a sound that is uniquely hers. It is still a long way behind Carol King’s iconic Tapestry where every song is a winner but really very good.

I hope that Adele will get to create her own Tapestry soon but there is no need to wait for that to listen to this girl because 21 is definitely one of the best CDs today. Get that familiar gut ache with Rolling In The Deep. Get a burst of freedom with Set Fire To The Rain. Fall in love again with One And Only. And see how torchy she made Lovesong, originally by the Cure and the only cut that Adele did not co-write.

My only complaint here is that the lyrics of the songs are not in the album cover. But I am sure I can forgive that because I am now unconsciously memorizing the songs through repeated listenings.

The other songs in the CD are Rumour Has It, Turning Tables, Don’t You Remember, He Won’t Go, Take It All, I’ll Be Waiting, Someone Like You and live acoustic versions of Turning Tables, Don’t You Remember and Someone Like You. Okay I have one more beef. How come there is no live acoustic version of Rolling In The Deep? In some future album perhaps.

Meanwhile here are the top selling singles and albums in the US as per Billboard tabulations. Adele is number one in both charts.

The top 10 of the Hot 100: Rolling In The Deep by Adele; E.T. by Katy Perry; On The Floor by Jennifer Lopez; Just Can’t Get Enough by The Black Eyed Peas; The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars; Till The World Ends by Britney Spears; Just A Kiss by Lady Antebellum; Give Me Everything by Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo, Afro-Jack & Nayer; S&M by Rihanna; and Look At Me Now by Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes.

The top 10 Albums are: 21 by Adele; Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by the Beastie Boys; Now 38 by Various Artists; Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes; Love? by Jennifer Lopez; In Your Dreams by Stevie Nicks; The Ultimate Collection by Sade; Musiqinthemagiq by Musiq Soulchild; Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons; and This Is Gonna Hurt by Sixx: A.M.