Last time around we got the gauzy, Callier-esque folk-soul ballad "Daydreamer" to slowly draw us into the album here, Adele immediately injects us with the propulsive gospel fever-blues anthem "Rolling in the Deep." While the track certainly owes a heavy debt to the punk-blues of Beth Ditto and the Gossip, it is also ridiculously sexy and one of the best singles of any decade - and, unfortunately, completely sets the bar way too high for everything else on 21. If the tastefully organic production and overabundance of well-known co-writers come off a bit too on-the-nose in terms of delivering to fan expectations, then the best thing the album does is to showcase Adele's titanic vocal ability, which - more than a few times on 21 - is simply spine-tingling. ![]() She is still the bluesy pop diva with a singer/songwriter's soul and seemingly bottomless capacity for heartbreak. In many ways, her sophomore album, the similarly age-appropriate-titled 21, is a continuation of the sounds and themes Adele was working with on 19. The album earned her a ton of fans, and interest was high for the inevitable follow-up. ![]() Adele's 2009 debut album, 19, was a Grammy-winning smash hit that revealed the British singer/songwriter's knack for bittersweet soul and folk-infused love songs that brought to mind an infectious mix of Dusty Springfield and Terry Callier.
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