#8 - Adele
Albums Included in Rating:
19 (2008), 21 (2011), 25 (2015), 30 (2021)
How much do I like my favorite track on the album? 14.1 points
Right As Rain (19)
Instant retro feel. Delicate vocals by Adele's standards. Use of harmonies adds to the nuance in a really nice way. Adele knows how to treat a bridge well.
Someone Like You (21)
This was a hard choice. But damn. Timeless. Epic. The piano moves the piece forward. Almost off pace with the vocals, just enough to leave you wanting more. Adele's vocals are perfectly imperfect. And the songwriting - chef's kiss. A perfect encapsulation of the whole album. The bridge. Oh my. The bridge. Probably my favorite bridge of all time. On an album with tons of vocal fry usage, this is the one that doesn’t really have it.
All I Ask (25)
The verses are like…just ok. But…the transitions. And the chorus. The chorus is just absolutely stunning. Adele shows vocal agility - some added falsetto "you", "mry" etc. Just gorgeous with kind resolutions for such a painfully sad song.
Love is a Game (30)
Orchestral scoring is grandios and minimalistic in tandem. If a song was a movie. My favorite Adele song ever. And I have lots. Feels like it could have been in a 60s Disney movie as a love song. Can’t turn it off. I WANT MORE ADELE IN THE LOWER REGISTER - and just touches of falsetto. This is the real Adele voice. This is the 2nd of 2 perfect scores in this category (the other was Fantasy (remix version) by Mariah Carey and O.D.B).
How did/does this album influence my own taste in music overall? 13.6 points
This is the score that hurt Adele. And really it’s just a product of time here.
Does this album hold up since its release? 14.2 points
Regardless of what happens in the next 77 years, I firmly believe Adele will go down as one of the top 5 artists of the 21st century. Even if she never releases another album.
What percentage of the album do I listen to? 10 points
Every single track in her discography is worth a listen.
What did/do the critics think of this album? 7.67 points
Critics take the same approach at Adele as they did with Whitney and Mariah. Oddly, they haven’t learned from their mistakes.
What is the sentimental value to me of the album? 14.4 points
I really adore her music. We will be forever tied together in time. Her albums written and released at my ages.
What was the artists involvement of the production of the album - songwriting, instrumentals, vocals, uniqueness? 14.2 points
Her songwriting is aging like a fine ribeye (sorry, couldn’t go with wine here - that would be inauthentic to me). She gets better with each album, staying true to herself and still absolutely slaying live performances.
Overall Rating out of 100 points = average 88.2 points
(19 = 84.8, 21 = 88, 25 = 86.8, and 30 = 93.2)
30 was my 4th ranked album, 21 my 16th, and 25 my 19th.
You all knew she’d be here, it was just a matter of where. I’ve loved her since the beginning in 2008, and continue to come back with eagerness to anything and everything she does. Some artists take the “spray and pray approach”, releasing a significant amount of albums, no real themes and less than personal meanings. Adele, however dictates albums on her own schedule. And thus far, it’s worked out for her in stratospheric ways. She combines her old school, sultry and pained vocals with masterful songwriting that has thus far only gotten better with each album. I firmly believe that she is the only person who could release her music and have it be as successful and authentic as she does. That’s no knock to her songwriting, it’s a testament to her as an artist. Much of her successes and criticisms share parallels with Mariah and Whitney, in that can someone simply just sing, and have sustained success? And the answer is obviously yes here, and resoundingly so. But Adele is more than just that, she carries a level of charm and authenticity that are matched by few in the entertainment industry. As for Adele’s voice, I’ve had this conversation before with one of my really good musical buddies, and for the life of me can’t figure out why Adele isn’t recorded more in the lower registers (aka her true Alto voice). I suppose the answer is simple - pop music is just more suited to a mezzo, but man, when I listen to these albums back, where she truly shines is when she goes to what seems to be her lowest parts of her range. With her two latest albums, 25 and 30, it does seem she is trying to take care of her voice a little more and not use some of the vocal fry that was heavily present on 19 and 21. I just hope she can continue taking us on this musical journey. Now, if I could just magically find a way to see her live…
