Wise Beyond Her Years

4 stars (out of 5)

Way back when Adele dropped her album 19 two to three years ago, I was one of the very few among my friends who was constantly talking about her. Sure, there was plenty of buzz around her, having gone 3x platinum in her home country, plus she was nominated for the Mercury Prize, but no one on this side of the world really started buzzing about her till after she performed on Saturday Night Live. The rest, as we say is history- that album has almost sold a million copies in the US, and Adele is now a two-time Grammy winner. But all of that certainly couldn't prepare me (or Adele for that matter) for the runaway success 21 is enjoying- breaking records seemingly everywhere, it's already 4x platinum in the UK, having spent a whopping 7 weeks at the top spot. Add to that the fact that in only two weeks the album has already sold half of what 19 did in the US, and well... Adele is now a bonafide, certified mainstream success. (Take that Amy Winehouse!) All of that would really be kinda pointless though, if the album didn't hold up, but oh how it does.
Towards the end of last year when first single "Rolling in the Deep" had leaked, I got word that Adele would be working with Rick Rubin; my heart skipped a beat. Having worked with Jay-Z, Johnny Cash, Justin Timberlake, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Dixie Chicks in recent years, Rubin is somewhat of a chameleon as far as production goes. Unlike, say, Timbaland, he doesn't have a particular sound, and really isn't tied down by genres. So far so good. But then I read the credits for the album, and my heart sunk- Adele worked with Rubin on only 4 songs. WHYY????!!!!!!! Still, my faith in her never wavered, and with bated breath, I clicked play on the internet stream. I was blown away. Blown. Away.
Starting with the afore-mentioned "Rolling in the Deep," (you must be living under a rock if you haven't heard THAT by now) the album never relents on its themes of heartbreak and anger one experiences after a nasty break-up. Sure, 19 dealt with those very same themes, but the difference this time around is Adele's song-writing maturity and indeed, the structure of the songs themselves. Take "Rolling in the Deep," starting with a simple guitar strum, Adele's voice comes into clear focus- "There's a fire starting in my heart, reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark; finally I can see you crystal clear, go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your shit bare." The song builds and builds, breaking into a full gospel romp at the 2:30 mark, replete with hand claps and "whoa oh"s. Put simply, this is one of the most brilliant songs i've heard in a VERY long time.
The old-school soul feel continues on the Phil Spector-esque "Rumour Has It," another stand-out on the album- "She is half your age, but I guess that's the reason that you stayed..." Adele sings cattily atop a mesmerizing wall of sound. But one of the other reasons why this song stands out is the bridge that reigns everything in; Adele has clearly learned how to write proper songs. And did I mention that the song was produced by the dude that produced Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love?" Yea, i'm shocked too.
"Turning Tables" is really just Adele and some strings, but it has another one of those glorious bridges- "Next time I'll be braver, I'll be my own savior when the thunder calls for me/next time I'll be braver, i'll be my own savior standing on my own two feet..." With its tambourine, "He Won't Go" (one of the songs produced by Rubin) sounds exactly like a song Aretha would have done in her heyday, while "Take it All" moves one to tears with its gospel tinges.
My fave song on the album has to be the song that comes next though, "I'll Be Waiting." It is one effing terrific wallop of a song! "Hold me closer one more time," it begins, "Say that you love me in your last goodbye, please forgive me for my sins, yes, I swam dirty waters, but you pushed me in." Produced by Paul Epworth,  (Florence and the Machine, Cee Lo, Kate Nash, Bloc Party) the song is just... Sigh... I'll just type the lyrics of the chorus here- "I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again, I put my hands up, I'll do everything different, I'll be better to you, I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to love me again, I put my hands up, I'll be somebody different, I'll be better to you." Unfortunately, all those tears that I was trying to hold back come bursting out when "One and Only" follows. I just can't. I can't!!! "Will I ever know how it feels to hold you close and have you tell me which ever road I chose you'll go?" Why must Adele do this to me? WHY?!
"Lovesong" provides some reprieve from all those tears and sniffles, but in all honesty, it can be skipped. It's one of two tracks on the album (the other is "Set Fire to the Rain") that while isn't terrible, just doesn't stack up to the best here. It's a cover of a song by The Cure, and if you're familiar with the original (you can listen it here if you're not) you know that Adele really doesn't add anything to the song, kinda like what she did with Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" on her first album. As I said, it isn't terrible, (I kinda dig the bossa nova vibe) and I at least hope it inspires some interest in The Cure. But you know what? Just when you think Adele has nothing left to say, the albums ends, rather perfectly, on "Someone Like You," a song about how Adele has to witness the lover she hasn't gotten over move on with his life. It's just Adele and a piano and it is fantastic. Get those hankies and Kleenex, it is a genuine weeper- "I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited, but I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it, I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded, that for me it isn't over."
Over the course of 11 songs, Adele Adkins covers so much emotional terrain, drawing on country, soul and gospel influences; and while some earnestness and sentimentality remain, (she is 21 after all) the song-writing she displays here far supersede other performers her age. *cough* Taylor Swift *cough*
Personally, I would have loved a little more genre/sonic experimentation (there's a little too much reliance on the piano and other strings) but even when this album tips over into the maudlin, it is saved solely by the best and most powerful instrument on the entire album- Adele's voice.

Top tracks: Rolling in the Deep; Rumour Has It; I'll Be Waiting; One and Only; Someone Like You

Verdict: Buy it