Top Ten Albums of 2011 - #09
Adele's 21
Editor's Note: This is the 2nd in a quasi-weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2011. New reviews go up every weekend through the end of the year.
Letting my wife play the radio one night while we were out driving, I had to make an uncomfortable admission - whoever this girl singing about "rolling in the deep" was, she had some glorious pipes. I stored it in the back of my head until we saw her on television performing "Turning Tables" while we were in Rome. Another good song? One or two good songs can be luck. Three good songs on the same album is my minimum requirement to investigate a new artist. "Someone Like You" is a little sappy-sweet (or bitter-saccharine) for me, but I couldn't deny the talent.
I got both of her albums this fall and gave them both a few listens. And while I still have a slight preference for 19, 21 is still a great album by an artist with serious talent. It sags a little in the middle - I always lose focus in the track 5-6-7 stretch - but she's right back in the game with "I'll Be Waiting."
Album highlight: Newcomers to this lady should try her cover of 311's "Love Song," which is more delicate and haunting than the original.
Letting my wife play the radio one night while we were out driving, I had to make an uncomfortable admission - whoever this girl singing about "rolling in the deep" was, she had some glorious pipes. I stored it in the back of my head until we saw her on television performing "Turning Tables" while we were in Rome. Another good song? One or two good songs can be luck. Three good songs on the same album is my minimum requirement to investigate a new artist. "Someone Like You" is a little sappy-sweet (or bitter-saccharine) for me, but I couldn't deny the talent.
I got both of her albums this fall and gave them both a few listens. And while I still have a slight preference for 19, 21 is still a great album by an artist with serious talent. It sags a little in the middle - I always lose focus in the track 5-6-7 stretch - but she's right back in the game with "I'll Be Waiting."
Album highlight: Newcomers to this lady should try her cover of 311's "Love Song," which is more delicate and haunting than the original.
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