21

Every couple of years a singer like Adele comes through with a breakout album that's been promoted, marketed and consequently adored by all the early/mid-30's, recently married (mostly) women. There were the Celines, the Didos, the McLachlans, the Tunstalls and countless others. Now, it may not be fair for me to lop them all in together, because they're not all the same, but they all serve the I Heart Radio enthusiasts that gobble up this homogenized stuff. There's nothing wrong with 21, but there's nothing amazing about it either. It's plain vanilla. I can say that. I'm a dabbler in the I Heart Radio world and I've even got a special place for the tunes that I find there. That place is called my 'guilty pleasures' playlist. You'll find artists like Vanessa Carlton, Counting Crows, Jane Weaver and Cracker there. If you're an artist tho, there's no clear path to gaining acceptance to this coveted and enviable playlist. Yes, Adele has a great voice, amazing even. All of the women above do. But unfortunately, this is just like so many others and doesn't resonate as anything special.

I could write a similar review as I did for Joni Mitchell’s Blue. Voice is angelic, phenomenal, 10/5. The songwriting is not a problem like I had for Blue, but there is a lack of connection for too many of the tracks. The singles are familiar and fun. Most of the drama (the good kind) is tied up in the choruses while the verses are so so. The note at 2:45 in One And Only is Awe inspiring though. I get full body chills. That whole song is great. This is in the 3.5 range, but there’s not enough to round up. Very solid album, but I’m just not going to seek it out for another listen.

GREAT vocals, but the production and songwriting get a little schmaltzy at times

Started bluesier than expected, but tailed off kind of quick. Pretty ok

Usual Adele. Some bangers, amazing talent, mostly bland.

heard it before

pretty amazing offering for a 21 year old

Everything about it was technically good, but I don't feel like I have to go back and listen to anything again.

A wonderful singer and songwriter, but production is too cheezy for me.

Bah, another ex-1001 album! http://1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.wikidot.com/album-artists-a-z-ex Still, it's an alright album. I have a soft spot for Rolling in the Deep, I blame the bass line.

Didn’t finish but a lot of great singles on here. Not exactly my cup of tea overall but still a strong effort from Adele.

A fine adult contemporary pop album that is elevated for me by the harder rocking and excellent Rolling in the Deep. The rest of the songs serve as vehicles for Adele's excellent voice and spot on pop sensibilities. 3.5 🌟

3.5

harmless isn’t it 5/10

Big voice, big note balladeer. Very good if you like that sort of thing, but I don't.

Most of the songs sounded familiar and were good, but just not entirely my cup of tea.

Ok there's no denying that she has a fab voice, I would say she's up there with Amy Winehouse in terms of talent, but they both target mainstream audiences (which I'm not) and kudos to her for selling a gazillion albums. The most interesting song here for me was her cover of Lovesong, which was originally done by the Cure, so there ya go. Since her voice here is the main attraction, the production features her voice very prominently in all the songs but its almost too amped up for me, but her legions of fans will no doubt disagree with me.

The internet is a blessing and a curse - it allows you to curate the media you consume in such a way that you can almost entirely tune out cultural zeitgeist and get lost in the things you enjoy. You can create a world where popular music doesn’t exist and when you turn on your 21st century equivalent of the “radio” (cellphone/streaming service) you hear your own personalized greatest hits. In many ways, it’s a beautiful thing, to me. In 2022, I don’t need to go into reasons why it’s a negative to create a internet bubble where you only hear what you want to hear. We know that situation all too well and have to deal with it from politicians, family members, co-workers. I am guilty of the first: I don’t have any interest in popular music. The vast majority of it has very little value to me, in terms of creativity or longevity. It’s meant to appeal to as many people as possible and be disposable. As such, I’ve managed to live in a music bubble where it’s rare that a popular artist like Adele permeates my auditory sphere. Don’t get me wrong, I know who Adele is and I’ve heard at least one of her songs in passing or when visiting friends/family or shopping at Target. But I don’t pay attention to it, because, well…I don’t really have any interest it. Look, I’m laying it all out on the line. This who I am. I’m aware of it, and try as I might, I can’t change that. I am a horrible music snob. The best I can do is admit when I’m wrong. Adele’s 21 is a very good record. Her voice is exceptional, the songs are well written and expertly played. It’s soulful, funky and emotionally resonant. I’m not sure you could ask for more from a pop record. I don’t find it to be an especially challenging or life changing record, but on this Saturday morning in mid-August 2022, it’s a pop record that worked for me, the horrible music snob, and I feel that is worth documenting.

Legendary album, too bad there are so many slows. Perhaps time will tell otherwise.

Not crazy about the album, couldn’t wait for it to be over but her hits made up for it

Beautiful voice, a lot of radio hits, but probably wouldn't listen to much on my own time.

Very well produced and preformed pastiche

I mean, it’s objectively very good, but not quite my tempo. I think I prefer sad songs to be a bit less bombastic.

Good voice, not my style but a good album.

Expected to hate it, actually it's not bad at all.

A tight enough album with a decent variety, just not my general cup of tea.

Not too bad but I started to lose interest by the end of the album. Adele can sing and the production is great but it all just feels too safe.

This is a good album and totally deserves to be on the list, couple of great songs on it, rolling in the deep and set fire to the rain would be two of my favourites from Adele. But due to my own personal preferences this really isn’t an album I’d choose to listen to. Therefore only gets 3 stars.

Strong and clear contemporary voice. Easy to listen to

3/5 I was expecting better intermediate songs

she's real good in what she does

If there's nothing else to listen to.

Bom.

Talent, just not what I can listen to for a whole album's worth of songs

7/10 Best song - Set fire to the rain.

Good songs but not my bag.

Too many ballads… don’t really dig this. A generous 3 due to her universal appeal!

Wel prima album, maar super overplayed

Adele shook top 40 radio pop to it's core when she got hit after hit from her album 21. While her debut 19 was a strong start, this would be the album that people look back on fondly. Distinctly different from the carefree electro pop of the day, Adele was backed by piano, strings, and acoustic drums while belting her tear-stained breakup songs. I like this era of Adele. Songs like Rolling In The Deep and He Won't Go have a certain punch to them that I enjoy. 21 is notably front loaded with the exception of Someone Like You closing out the album. Otherwise, this album is a welcome change from the type of pop being made in the late 2000s/early 2010s.

Tjis is a mixed bag for me. i acknowledge Adele is a great singer, but to me she does not live up to the hype. Dont get me wrong, this is an above average album from one of pop music’s biggest stars. But i dont love the songs. And ghe voiceis to me pure and beautiful, but there are dozens of singers that fit that description. Rolling in the deep is a fun crowd pleaser, but songs like Turning Tables are not exciting. sure they snowcase her voice, but give me Amy Winehouse over this any day if the week. An above average album, but to me not a masterpiece.

Sometimes when an artist is super popular whether it's a hype job or they genuinely are a talent that everyone should listen to, I tend to avoid it. Too much boy band and too much fabricated "American Idol-like singers out there competing for everyone's attention. After finally listening to the full album of Adele's, 21, I really think she is genuinely a talent worth listening to. Personally, her music doesn't interest me much, but I recognize she deserves the accolades she receives. This isn't something I'd toss on the turntable at random, but if it's on the radio I won't switch stations.

The hits have aged very well and the album cuts’ consistency were pleasant surprises.

Never been a huge fan of music that fetishizes a person's voice over other elements such as songwriting and music, but this hits all three areas quite consistently. Hard to knock even though something so popular generally means it serves as the lowest common denominator to everyone's tastes. The only thing she could have done was take a few more chances later in the album instead of edging closer to lounge music.

Adele has this million in 1 vocal presence. Its got so much color while sounding so effortless. The song writing is kind of 1 speed though. Its all ballads. The singles (4 of them) are stadium shakers, but this album as a whole doesn't seem to shift out of that mood. I'll Be Waiting is sonically what this album needed more of.

Hele perfecte productie, maar niet mijn smaak. Ze kan wel heel mooi zingen ofc

never realised before that rolling in the deep is stomp clap music. she's got a good voice but this album is pretty bland to me, mostly radio pop. i like the r&b influence on he won't go and one and only, but every other track fell flat for me. brave to call a track lovesong. oh haha, it's a cover, that's actually kinda sick. someone like you is well written, i just wish the instrumental was different. ah well. 2.3/5

I'd always thought Adele had a great voice. By track 3 I had had enough. Rolling In The Deep obviously a banger, as is Someone Like You. Everything in the middle was bland and dull. Don't even get me started on that shite cover of The Cure's Lovesong.

Uggghh

She has lungs of course - and astonishing maturity for such a young age (not that that's always necessarily a good thing by the way) - but by gum, this is pretty miserable fare.

*listened before the project* Oh…i listened to it almost ten yrs ago, but just simply no, adult contemporary is so boring. Certainly she can sing, but nothing else left.

Ok

rolling in the deep, set fire to the rain, someone like you. El resto del disco es meh, tipicas canciones de voz melodicas, poco movidas, 2/5 o 3/5

Traveling - will get back to this one. Temporary rating of 2 based on hearing it before

She's good at singing but this album is about as hollow and soulless as any other mass produced item made for supermarkets and your parent's car.

I mean it's alright... Not my cup of tea. I thought the music itself was relatively bland and uninteresting aswell as the lyrics. In my opinion that makes the album in total very difficult to really elevate to anything beyond a showcasing of Adeles voice, which of course is banging. But it does not make up for the lack of creativity in the music. It is fine in the background, but as an album to review I did not find it particularly to listen to. On a bad day it is a decent 2, on a good day it is a weak 3. Lets see where it goes.

I am aware of the existence of Adele - but haven't spent any time proactively listening to her. I don't have any songs liked by her on Spotify. Thoughts after listening 3 times... I have definitely heard some of this before - just by existing in the world. I'll admit it always seemed like background music to me. I have no nostalgic connection to this (like I notice several reviewers mention) because I didn't listen to it when it came out. I also haven't listened to any of this so much (as some of the reviewers complain about) so it isn't played out for me either. "Rolling in the Deep" and "Rumor Has It" are decent. She obviously has a great voice. I see comparisons of Adele to Amy Winehouse (in the Wikipedia article) and I can sort of see that - but Amy's songs have more energy and edge to them - which make them more interesting to me. I'll admit I have a hard time getting into the melodramatic nature of most of these songs. Having nearly every song be about a breakup or relationship get's tiring. I guess people love this kind of thing. "I'll Be Waiting" - this has more energy and interesting arrangements (such as the bouncy piano and horn section) than most of these songs and is my favorite song on this album. I like her voice on this one better than the others too. Oh look, it has the least streams on this album by far. Apparently my tastes significantly diverge from the crowd. Hearing "Lovesong" - originally by The Cure - on here was an interesting study in contrasts. Her version completely sucks the life out of a very good song. I was surprised to see this is one of the Rick Rubin produced songs - he usually helps lift up songs and make them better than they could be. Several of his songs on this album are also not that great - like "Don't You Remember" - which feels like a high school prom ballad kind of song. Maybe he just isn't a good fit for Adele. None of this is "bad" it's just seems kind of generic and forgettable to me. I did end up "liking" 3 songs on Spotify - "Rolling in the Deep", "Rumor Has It", and "I'll Be Waiting". I'll see if these continue to click with me when they show up on my playlists. Liked songs on Spotify: 3/11 Rating: 2/5

Rolling in the Deep is good in the way that post-90s pop songs can sometimes sound like a thing that's 10% as good as soul

She’s good at doing this but I can’t say I would ever really choose to listen to her do this. I like my singers a bit shitty, ok?

If you want a fabulous voice and pop ballads I suppose it has to be Adele. I can even forgive the cover of Lovesong that sounds too much like Nouvelle Vague for me to take seriously. My youngest daughter is a big fan. I spend most of the album yearning for a tune, ultimately it leaves me pretty cold.

(55/100)

Jag vet inte om det är för att de är uttjatade men tycker att alla hits från albumet är så daterade och håller inte tidens mått. Känns för tidigt 2010-tal. Favoritlåten var He won’t go.

malardo

Boring.

- not very energetic, gloomy mood, some upbeat songs but kind of repetitive

Don't really know Adele, apart from a Bond theme. First track and positive, and after 2 listens there really might have been an album in here I would have liked. The lyrics on here are supposedly raw, HTF would you know? She can sing but the pristine compression slapping the vocal with no subtlety whatsoever front, centre and behind to boot, just creates a soundscape where even a whisper ends up as bombastic, flaws are supposedly left in to be real!? but come on, nuanced be damned when you can have the circus big top, there’s no real moment happening. It’s all about the production, lauded by some on here, it’s so slick, so perfect in its sheen, it’s fucking horrible, to my ears it turns any attempt at emotion into a homogeneous, vapid pretence build my machines. I should have liked this but I just got the feeling of Ai answering the question of produce something with the modern saturation technique around what female artists still are played 50 yrs on; that being anything written by Carol King and sung by Aretha and ending up with a highly polished generic amalgamation. It’s so slick, polished, so considered, . Predictable, everything so obvious to create the most expected bang. Emotions being guided rather than genuinely expressive. It's consumer culture as opium for the masses. It is probably better than what I hear, but I am hearing so got to be 2 Star

man she really had a chokehold on people

Adele - 21 Keeping it brief. I find all this musical misery tourism at bit meh. Emotions for the emotionless, hardship for the masses that wouldn't know struggle if it hit them in the face. Undoubtedly a great voice, and a couple of great tracks - Rolling in the Deep and Set Fire to the Rain. But the rest is all too shiny and well produced and a million miles away from reality to mean much to me. Best Track - Set Fire... Worst - Lovesong (pointless and ruining) 3.5/10

I know her voice is amazing, but this music is just so grading because every song is whining.

This is #day633 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… while there are obvious radio hits, there's also a ton of soapy filler I'd never choose to sit through if not for this list. That said, I have to admit, I kind of liked "Someone Like You," back when the video was on music TV. I was also surprised (?) to hear Linkin Park cover "Rolling in the Deep" at the time. Otherwise, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day634.

music isn't about vocals. never has been even close, and never will. if you don't put the effort to build a song's instrumental; no matter what you sing, it will sound utterly disgusting. this is completely primal and idiotic.

Boring

The nexus of “impressive” and “not for me”. I worked in HMV during the 2010s so I know all about this one anyway.

I don't doubt Adele's sincerity as she bellows her heart out and she does have a powerful voice, but the music here is so safe and dull. The ballads are soppy and overly sentimental. Adele is inspired by many iconic singers yet she doesn't get daring with any of her influences. Its modern pop music with a surface level soul flavor. Amy Winehouse helped this type of music break the mainstream again, and Adele cut away all of the edge and soul and leaves you with a very safe album that you could get your nan for Christmas. It will remind her of all those old singers she used to like and will definitely not cause any offence! Its hard to hate as there is clearly a lot of talent on show here, even if I didn't feel inspired or moved one iota. No other album released this century has sold more copies than this record, but that certainly doesn't translate to quality.

The first 2 songs were hits for a reason - they're good songs. After that, not much (another pro-British bias choice?), although the Cure cover ('Lovesong') wasn't bad. I started off thinking maybe I'd give it a 3. She obviously has an exceptional voice (a few times I didn't love some of her mannerisms, but that's a relatively minor complaint). But the music was mostly pretty forgettable, I think. So I think I'll have to go with a 2. Btw, it just occurred to me that I could be checking my 1001 albums book (after I've reviewed an album, to see what it says -- although I think there will be some where an album wasn't contained in my edition of the book). I just checked, and Adele isn't in my book. If you wanna know what the book says about any of our previous albums, lemme know. ;)

I usually find "boring" to be a very lazy criticism of art, but........... this does next to nothing for me. She's got a good voice, but in the same way that someone in a karaoke bar on Broadway wanting to be discovered has a good voice. I wish she had more control over her instrument, though, it's essentially always the same timbre and volume which is tiresome. The music.... blech. It's just not for me. Music for moms, I'm afraid to say.

an ok album. it was a big hit and she is extremely popular. That said, I don't find it interesting and would not voluntarily listen to it again

Probably the first album I wasn't looking forward to hearing, as the songs on this album have been played on British radio so much you'd think she was some kind of cockney messiah over here. Despite that, I have to be crystal clear on this: Adele has an incredible voice. She is talented/has worked hard for what she's got and accomplished, especially at 21 with this album. That being said though, I couldn't help but feel that her voice was used completely 1 dimensionally in this album. Every song has the exact same vibe and subject matter of Relationships. At this point, I'm of the opinion that Relationships in Music is like Toilet humor in a standup routine: The lazy, lowest common denominator to appeal to a mass audience as much as possible. There were some moments when I was taken in by the instruments, only to realize that each note has been dialed in to perfection that takes the edge of the appreciation; tracks like "Turning Tables" had a beautiful piano section but on closer listen you realise nothing rings as it should. As time goes on, I am starting to listen for and love the imperfections in musical performances; a reminder that humans are behind each instrument. Still one of my most favourite tracks of all time is "Polly" by Nirvana, and a big part of that now is Novoselic's 'zziinng' of the bass string fret change that something like this album would have scrubbed out.

Meh. I didn't like the music all that much.

everybody knows adele

I genuinely can't stand these songs anymore, I've heard them way too many times in my life and I didn't exactly love them back when they first came out either. Can't really fault the album for being overexposed, but I also can't pretend that I enjoy it. Also, a necessary dishonourable mention for that Lovesong cover, possibly a spawning point for the still active epidemic of horrible lounge covers of classic tracks.

desperately trying to take off the nostalgia glasses to see this album for what it is. beyond the singles which made the rounds and are cringey and insanely repetitive, there’s still something about these naive, often poorly written heartbreak songs i love, and the production’s nice — there’s some nice layered vocals i enjoy. faves: rumour has it, turning tables, he won’t go, lovesong (i think it’s a slay cover sorry)

Not a fan

Jeg var ikke klar over at Rolling in the Deep var Adele (eller at det var tittelen på låta), men hvem ellers skulle det vært liksom? Den er alright. Bortsett fra det har jeg mest dårlige minner av Adele. Set Fire to the Rain? Slitsom. Someone Like You? Grusom. Skyfall? Den er egentlig også alright, men er ikke en del av denne skiva. Har noen påpekt at Set Fire to the Rain basically er en post-Meteora Linkin Park låt? Den treffer meg ca. samme stedet som What I've Done. He Won't Go funker for meg. Fin blanding av gammel soul med 2000-talls sensibilitet. Gi meg en singel med Rolling in the Deep og denne, så har vi en helt grei singel. Jeg hadde ikke kjøpt den, men hadde ikke hatt noe imot om sjåføren spilte den på biltur. Jeg kan rapportere at de fleste låtene er helt ok. Det er alltid litt pastische og ofte litt sutrete, men sjeldent grusomt. Ikke en erstatning for Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, eller Dusty Springfield.

I can objectively understand that this is supposed to be good music, but I couldn't possibly give any less of a damn about Adele.

A beautiful voice for boring complaints.

Oh no

Music for people with no interest in music. Yes, her voice is impressive, but I find it very intense and lacking variation. The songs touch a lot of genres musically, but always stay kind of vague and never demand too much of the listener. And the lyrics? Wow, finally someone does an album about heartbreak, that's what the world was waiting for! I recommend Amy Winehouse or Lola Young if you want something in a similar vein, but WAY better and more interesting.

much respect for Adele as a singer but her music bores me beeeeeg time

Her voice is not bad, but... Do we really need pop soul at this point? Pop elements take out all soul from the soul. It pretends not to be boring while it's really boring.

I like the rolling in deep song, but the rest of the album seemed like elevator music. Not Adele’s best album

Not as good on relisten as I was hoping. I think she'll always be singles kind of artist for me

I really don't think there's ever a straight pop album that needs to be longer than maybe 40 minutes. I give an exception to The 1975 cause they're awesome and they make pop that is consistently interesting and creative for their album lengths, but just as a general rule you can't have 9 ballads in a row without me getting a little bored. And she has a great voice, but you can't carry an entire 50 minutes on just vocals. It's just not it. Favorites: Rolling in the Deep, I'll Be Waiting, Lovesong

I do love her voice, and her performance in this album is flawless. The big hits are somewhat catchy and some aren't poorly written or produced for pop (Set Fire for example...). I think alot of the album relies on well produced orchestral pieces and piano which, in isolation, are very flat. Much of the lyrics of the less famous songs are incredibly generic

Listening to 21, I was surprised at how many of the tracks I recognised. I was quite young when this album came out, so I’d forgotten just how famous Adele was at the time. 21 feels like a modern soul album, which at times dips into pop. Production wise it is obviously very polished and uses classic soul progressions/structures with loads of piano ballads. I thought instruments were used pretty sparingly across tracks, with the piano carrying most of the harmonic weight, letting the vocals stand out. Adele has such an incredible emotional voice. She sings with so much control but also with a graininess which makes the music much more authentic. Lyrics, however, were at times generic and relied on broad emotional statements. The whole album had this woe is me trope where every song was about some sort of heartbreak/regret, which was not really for me. Although 21 wasn’t really to my personal taste, it was produced incredibly well. What struck me the most was how culturally huge it was at its time of release. I think this is the first album I have got that I actually was alive for/remember its release lol.

Gave it a fair chance. Didn't really like it. I never really have liked this stuff. Even hearing this kinda stuff a lot in elementary and on the radio back then... nope I never felt a special connection to it. Maybe I would have gotten into music sooner if I liked the popular stuff more

Someone like you me parte. El resto me d a igual

She's a great singer, the themes are universal and none of it moves me. Not because I'm "not the target" ,I'm exactly the target. I'm close to the age she was. The singles are undeniable. Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You, Set Fire to the Rain, these are events. They're the reason she became Adele. But outside of those three? It's wallpaper. Beautiful, well sung, Grammy winning wallpaper. Here's the thing about relatable music, it often forgets to be specific. Adele sings about feelings everyone has had. And that's fine. But the best art or the stuff that lasts, sings about feelings only you could have had, and somehow makes them feel universal. 21 is a good album. It's well made, well sung, well received. But it's safe. It's the musical equivalent of a cashmere sweater, comfortable, warm, expensive, and completely unthreatening. There's no risk here. No moment where you think, I can't believe she went there. Because she never goes there. She keep beautifully in the space where everyone has been. And that's fine. But let's stop pretending it's more than it is. It's not raw. It's not dangerous. It's not hungry. It's a very good album by a very talented woman who learned exactly what worked and never deviated from it. Good? Yes. Essential? No.

Adele undeniably has an incredible voice, but it takes more than that to produce a great album, and I just don't think this gets there. It has couple good songs, particularly Set Fire to the Rain, but overall I feel it follows to close to its influences and sounds pretty cookie-cutter overall. Also Rumor Has It was easily one of the most annoying songs of its time, being beaten only by Moves Like Jagger. 2.5 -> 2/5

I fear most of these are not very interesting pop songs! Adele is just so much worse at being sad than emo singers and I do not really care about or identify with her relationships! Highlight: "Rolling in the Deep"

I don't hate it. Rolling in the Deep is great if I hear it once or twice a year. She's obviously skilled. Just not for me. Two stars

Not my thing but +1 for the Cure cover.

I think the consensus is that how can someone so generationally talented as Adele consistently put out the most "meh"lodramatic music out there.

If I'd never heard this before, I'd go higher, but the radio play just beat me down. Totally amazing pipes, but I don't need to hear it again. Sounds like a made for radio album by a generational talent.

Please see my review on '25' since it just popped up on the list yesterday. What is this, Adele weekend!? I rolled my eyes immediately when I saw this album come up. But I must admit I enjoyed the first two tracks, because of the style. Obviously a borrowed sound from the American South, and I am not giving Adele any credit for writing, as once again, she does not write any of these songs by herself, but her voice makes up for the lack of writing skills. End note ... sorry Adele, you are no Robert Smith!

A talented singer, great voice. I wished the musical arrangements were louder in the mix, and the singing let off now and again. This wasn't exciting, it was predictable, it was hard to get through but glad I did because Someone like you has some fantastic moments.

had no idea this album had a Cure cover on it or closing time guy co wrote the hit. “Someone like you” played when I was donating blood the other day and the chorus rhyming “you” with “you” drives me crazy. Same with the phrase “rolling in the deep”. Production is dated and sounds bad. Good voice and some good hooks and the singles are hits for a reason. Tough listen as an album.

a bit bland. adele’s got such a great voice, but this comes across as a bit hollow. i’d imagine this is what a lab grown soul album would sound like. also, she made one of the cure’s greatest songs sound painfully boring, which i did not appreciate.

Adele 21 Looking at some of the reviews in advance, I expected to have some ammunition for my argument about the misuse of the term banger - not every good song is a banger, a banger must bang. But, no, the drums are very prominent here. I thought Adele was a balladeer, but she is frequently hidden behind the bumps and thuds of these mid-tempo drums. The drums go some way to giving power to songs that can’t live up to Adele’s vocal delivery - cliched words and sentiments (could you expect more from a 21 year old) over pedestrian chord progressions. By the end, Adele’s delivery becomes annoying as well, contorting pronunciations just to enliven the basic material. 1.5 People are always talking about how good a singer is Adele. She is indeed a really good singer. She knows she is; there is a frequent sense of her own savouring of every aspect of her talent as she goes. She will coo out a perfectly held clean note here, throw in a slick melisma there, a delicate vibrato, even allow a little of the natural gravel in her voice to seep out when she fancies. It is rather like watching a ham actor. I don’t mean that as a put-down by any means, I love a wee ham. I have happily watched hours of Kenneth Branagh or Anthony Hopkins, for example, hamming away. They are actors with natural talent but they also worked hard for their technical perfections and I enjoy watching their enjoyment of them. Of course they have been in some good stuff too. Shakespeare and The Elephant Man and Harry Potter 2. And aye, there’s the rub; you have to have the great material to be truly great. Adele doesn’t have much great material. I think her version of Dylan’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’, from the album before this one is great. That song has a sort of simple elegance to it that rather suits being dolled up in string section and pristine vocal performance. On this album Adele helps herself to The Cure’s ‘Lovesong’. I can see how that mistake was made but truthfully it looks terrible in its tux of clubhouse bar Spanish guitar and bossanova funeral percussion. I think I actually heard waiters clearing drinks at one point. At a cost to the listener of an additional two minutes over the Cure’s original, Adele manages to hit upon a version of gloom that may have evaded Robert Smith his entire career. A lot of this album is gloomy. Some of the effect emerges from poor Adele’s various unsuccesses in love. Mostly though it’s the overall sense of musical resignation that invites you for a lie on the floor. Even when aping the Rolling Stones (Rolling in the Deep, I’ll be Waiting) there is no escape from the oppressive decorum of the studio band and the production - everything is neatly assembled, every part spotlessly documented for the backing band of a future Vegas residency. There isn’t a second of spontaneity or surprise outside of Adele’s decisions in her vocal. 2/5

Adele is just fine, not earth shattering. This album only hits about 2 shades of colours in the spectrum, so I find it hard to listen with focus. I also find I get irritated by a lot of the little additions to her vocals. I do like some of the songs, and I think that Adele's voice is good, if not a little heavy-handed at times. Likely would not buy this album.

Adele has incredible pipes. She is a great singer, but the music that accompanies her is the most uninspired, rip-off lounge, and mo-town infused trash.

Nous y voilà, nous sommes en 2011, l'année où la planète entière a décidé, d'un commun accord tacite et terrifiant, de se rouler en boule pour pleurer sur les ruptures amoureuses d'une jeune Londonienne. Le livre "1001 Albums" nous vend ça comme un chef-d'œuvre de la soul moderne, un truc incontournable. Alors, en bon soldat de ce projet insensé, j'ai appuyé sur play. Et bordel, l'ouverture m'a presque eu. "Rolling in the Deep", c'est une claque, c'est l'ouverture qui te fait relever la tête de ton café noir sans sucre. Il y a ce rythme martial, ce "stomp" bluesy qui écrase le sol, cette voix qui attaque sans prévenir, chargée d'une hargne qui semble sincère. Pendant trois minutes et quarante-huit secondes, j'y ai cru. Vraiment. Je me suis dit : "Tiens, la petite anglaise a de la bile à revendre." Ça grogne, ça monte, c'est produit avec une efficacité redoutable. C'est puissant. Si l'album avait été onze variations de cette colère sourde et rythmique, on aurait peut-être tenu là quelque chose qui aurait pu s'intercaler, non sans mal mais avec dignité, entre un PJ Harvey et un vieux Etta James dans ma discothèque mentale. C'est ce morceau qui sauve les meubles. C'est lui qui arrache ce 2 sur 5 à mes doigts réticents. Parce que techniquement, c'est une bombe pop bien foutue. Mais c'est là que le piège se referme. C'est l'appât. Tu mords à l'hameçon du "Deep", et tu te retrouves tiré hors de l'eau pour agoniser sur le pont du bateau pendant les dix pistes suivantes. Passé ce premier titre, l'album s'effondre comme un soufflé raté sortie du four. On quitte le rade de blues fumeux pour entrer directement dans le salon beige d'un pavillon de banlieue témoin. Et c'est là que mon passé de disquaire indé se réveille et hurle. Parce que "21", passé l'intro, c'est le triomphe du calibrage. C'est de la musique conçue, pesée et emballée pour la fameuse "ménagère de moins de 50 ans" – et je déteste utiliser ce terme marketing réducteur, mais bon sang, cet album en est la définition clinique. On tombe dans une mièvrerie abyssale. "Someone Like You", "Set Fire to the Rain"... Les titres s'enchaînent et je sens mon âme de fan de post-punk se dessécher. C'est propre, c'est même terrifiant de propreté. Même quand elle pleure, même quand elle hurle sa douleur, tout est nickel, pas un cheveu qui dépasse, pas une fausse note, pas un larsen, pas une aspérité. C'est de la musique d'ameublement émotionnel, c'est fait pour remplir le vide entre deux publicités à la télé. C'est fait pour être écouté en fond sonore en buvant un thé tiède en regardant la pluie tomber, mais sans jamais se mouiller. Et parlons-en, de cette voix car on nous rebat les oreilles avec la "puissance" d'Adele. Oui, elle a du coffre. Bravo. Elle pourrait probablement souffler les bougies de son gâteau d'anniversaire depuis la pièce d'à côté. Mais depuis quand la puissance est-elle synonyme d'émotion ? Dans le monde du Post-Rock ou de la Cold Wave, on a appris que parfois, un murmure désaccordé, une voix brisée, un souffle court en disent mille fois plus qu'une performance d'athlète olympique de la glotte. Sur "21", Adele ne chante pas, elle performe. C'est une succession d'exercices de style vocalisesques qui finissent par m'anesthésier le cerveau. Ça gueule, ça monte, ça descend, ça fait des loopings, mais ça ne me touche pas. C'est techniquement irréprochable, et c'est bien là le problème. L'imperfection, c'est l'humanité. Cet album est un cyborg, un T-800 de la pop triste venu du futur pour exterminer toute forme de subtilité musicale. Rick Rubin est crédité à la production sur certains titres. Le même Rick Rubin qui a transformé les dernières années de Johnny Cash en testament sonore bouleversant avec les "American Recordings". Qu'est-ce qu'il a foutu ici ? Il a probablement encaissé le chèque (et grand bien lui fasse), mais on ne retrouve aucune de la fragilité brute qu'il sait d'habitude capturer. Tout est lissé, compressé, prêt pour la bande FM et les télé-crochets. Je me revois au magasin, entre 96 et 2000. Si un truc comme ça était sorti à l'époque (bon, on avait Céline Dion, c'était pas mieux), je l'aurais planqué derrière le comptoir. J'aurais mis un point d'honneur à diriger le client vers un "Dummy" de Portishead s'il voulait de l'émotion, ou vers un Cocteau Twins s'il voulait une voix féminine venue d'ailleurs. Mais "21", putain "21" c'est l'anti-découverte. C'est la musique qui vient à toi sans que tu l'aies demandée, elle est partout, elle s'impose. Alors, on fait quoi ? Ben on met 2/5. Un point pour "Rolling in the Deep", parce qu'il faut rendre à César ce qui est à César : c'est un tube, un vrai. Et un deuxième point pour la technicité de l'ensemble, car on ne peut pas dire que c'est mal fait. C'est même trop bien fait, c'est le produit parfait de l'industrie musicale des années 2010. Mais pour le reste... Pour la mièvrerie ambiante, pour les ballades sirupeuses qui donnent le diabète auditif, pour cette sensation d'écouter un produit marketing plutôt qu'une œuvre d'art : c'est non.

I am obviously in the minority here, because listening to her howl is like nails on a chalkboard to me. This does nothing for me.

Nothing transports me to 2010 Barnes & Noble like this album. There I am, browsing the New Non-Fiction section, while ‘Someone Like You’ plays at a reasonable volume for what feels like the 10,000th time that week. But Adele is more than her outrageous commercial appeal and brand partnerships, at least some of the time. 'Rolling in the Deep' is a stone cold classic. She sounds great. It moves. The feeling and sincerity is explosive. And it's got a great pre-chorus (the best of all song structure elements). Unfortunately, the rest of this album mostly persists as a firehose of unearned emotion and the cleanest melodrama you've ever heard. Adele's titanic voice is worthy of more creative risk than this album provides.

Good band, nice arrangements, I just can't stand Adele's vocal style

Take an incredible voice, write very samey songs for that voice, overproduce every song to the max, and sell the album to the masses. Her voice is truly powerful and beautiful but I didn't like this album very much. The hits songs are way too overplayed and the rest of them are slow ballads that sound the same. It's crazy this is the best selling album in the US ever and one of the best selling albums of all times. I could name hundreds of albums that should have reached this popularity but it didn't happen.

Good voice etc. She could give it a rest occasionally though.

This is her best album by a comfortable margin. At the time this made such a splash and brought back british soul in a big way, but this is blended at times with some stomp-clap 2000s country energy that I forgot was there. Her voice is impressive but also all there is to it as the instrumntaiton is pretty lackluster and boring. Because it;s so voice forward it sounds quite busy vocally. There is something about dynamics missing here. It's fine, I actually know all these songs immdiately, but leaves me a bit meh not feeling much

Zzzzz

The first three tracks had a good drive and a nice spiritual vibe. It then got very beige. The Cure cover was criminal and robbed a great song of its musical and emotional depth. Automatic deduction of one star.

Fucking ‘love song’?! She obviously has a great voice, but some light and shade wouldn’t go amiss. Every other line seems to be over sung or have some kind of vocal affectation added unnecessarily. Was interested to hear some more of the album cuts but they are bland as anything. I get it, she found her niche, but please, for god sake, mix up the lyrical topics just a bit.

Única faixa que tem algum atrativo é “I’ll be waiting”. No geral achei bem sem graça e pra piorar, tem momentos bem bregas que parece até sertanejo, como “Someone Like You”.

It's not hard to listen to, but I feel kinda greasy after listening to it.

I really dislike Adele’s music. It’s alternately boring and annoying. There’s one decent song on here, Someone Like You, and that’s mostly because I find it funny to imagine the guy’s wife in the background taking out her earrings and putting up her hair before she takes this stalker chick out

Ohhhh I don’t know. There was a moment in my life when seeing Adele belt some of these out at Wembley felt fantastic. Admittedly, the two songs that most moved me that night were from 19 (a record that came out 17 years ago to the day) … but still; you’d struggle to find a live performer with more arena-appropriate songs than Adele, and at least four of those are on this record. Ohhhh I don’t know. It’s just that this collection of vignettes on unrequited love leaves me cold. It feels like an album that was created with world domination in mind and achieved it. And maybe then it’s the case that 25 is the sound of Adele weaping for she had no more worlds left to conquer. It might be that. It’s probably not, though. It’s probably just quite boring.

4/10

A couple of these songs carry some power. Mostly middle of the road pop.

Once again I was fooled to believe snobbery had made me miss out on something amazing by a strong opening. I was reminded ”Rolling in the deep” is a truly great song. But I can’t stand ”set fire on the rain”. And the bulk of this leave me cold. Blue eyed soul or any soul or other music genre for that matter need more than heartbreak. I miss the sensuality and joy of Dusty Springfield or the attitude and rawness of Amy Winehouse.

Betydligt bättre än 25. Upptempolåtarna går att lyssna på men melloballader som Turning tables är jag helst utan. Andra halvan klart starkare med spår som I’ll be waiting, He won’t go och One and only.

Just about what I expected. I don't find her music to be all that interesting. She's obviously a very talented singer but even the belting can be a bit grating to my ears at times.

Really solid radio-friendly soul album. It's not exactly my cup of tea, many of the big hits didn't hit nearly as hard for me as when I was younger, but I was pleasantly surprised by some of the B-sides ~ especially "One and Only" Great, but I'd rather listen to someone else when I'm in the mood for soul. Though I'll definitely return to some of these songs.

Adele is one of the most successful artists of the 21st Century, and yet listening to her albums one can't help but wonder why that's the case. She has an impressive voice (though not one I personally care for) but her music is pretty middle of the road stuff; fairly forgettable if not competently put together.

Good voice, boring music

Great voice, Zzz music

I understand that Adele has a powerful voice, but her music is simply not for me. I don't know why, but whenever I hear it, it really makes me angry.

It's better than the last Adele album I got, which I gave a 3 (if I could change it, it would be a 2), however it's just slightly less boring than that.

Ueue

21 es Liebeszeiche vu de adele a casinos. Will si ja scho als Sügling devo träumt hed ganz villi black jacks z mache. Glichzitig hed si amigs am liebeste bar ghetto-kids usegforderet zum ufm basketball court bar gueti 21er runde z spiele. Und da drus isch ihri liebi zum einezwänzgi entstande und sie hed denkt da muess es irgend es pop-gedönsel-album gwidled werde. Isch halt nöd so mis scusi, und vor allem hed sie ja i de bewertig scho vor geh 2 sternli für 1 wichtiges aber nöd so nediathanisches album

Ohhh I want to like it. She's got a great voice, and there is so much to it. But I feel like - probably because of her success and overplay - that I felt pretty bored by it. The songs stick in your head. But yeah, underwhelming.

Adele is fantastic and this is superb for what it is. I don’t think there can be any argument against that. Not really for me, but I appreciate it.

Det är snyggt, rent och hon sjunger jättebra, men det är så, så trist.

I’ve never had a problem with Adele and removed from all the hype, the singles hold up pretty well. A few of the other tracks are good but most of them are bland and forgettable for me. (2.5)

I mean, I get it, but it’s just not for me. (2.5)

Rätt trist och överpolerat

While she can sing, this was absolutely not my cup of tea.

She obviously has a great voice but goddamn this was one of the most boring and one-dimensional things I've heard

when is someone going to tell her that "all" and "deep" don't rhyme

Basic.

78/1001 Adele - 21 Heard before? ✅ Revisit? ❎ Due to the singles from this album, Adele was also a banned artist on my phone due to how overplayed she was, but never quite got there. Either way, this is just bland, over produced, over sung nothingness.

Adele has an amazing and soulful voice. That said, the music is not really my cup of tea. Favorite track: Rollin in the Deep

If Michael Buble is a pale imitation of Frank Sinatra, Adele is a pale imitation of Aretha Franklin. I get the appeal, she does have a great voice but this is not a consistently strong or original album.

Nogle hits imellem, som trækker op. Men jeg kommer nok ikke til at sætte det på igen.

No doubt the lassie can sing, but her songs are dull as dishwater and the least said about the awful cover of Long Song by The Cure the better.

Not something I would seek out. Perfectly fine album. Mostly bland tracks though. 2.5 rounded down Heard before? The singles Owned: No, 6/1001, 6/23 (26%) Will I get? No Recommend: No

Safe album, nothing too exciting but nothing I can complain about too much either. Fave song is the Never mind I'll find one

eerste twee zijn goed... daarna steil bergaf tot ver onder nul...

I think I had heard Rolling in the deep before and I can see why she is popular. I personally only liked "I'll be waiting" of what I listened to.

Urghh. Adele - no doubt has a super voice. Music though is shopping mall level dross. Inspired a generation of talent show wannabees and I don't want to waste my music listening time on this.

Fine.

This album went triple platinum in my household during middle school. Too bad it sounds awful. Adele is a generational talent but this album is boring and the instrumentation all sounds like it came out of a keyboard. The only reason this is getting 2 stars instead of 1 is because she is extremely talented.

Adele has a great voice and she’s funny. I like her! But her music isn’t really my thing aside from a few songs. I was a fan of a couple of the songs off her first album, 19 (Hometown Glory and Chasing Pavements). I didn’t know she’d become an even bigger star but when Rolling in the Deep came out it was a showstopper and an instant classic. I remember at the time of 19 (2008-ish?), I guess because of the success of Amy Winehouse, BRIT school graduates like Adele and Kate Nash were getting a lot of attention. And around the same time Lily Allen and Duffy were really popular too and Adele kinda got lumped in with them. They were all successful to varying degrees but it was 21 that sent her to the stratosphere. I listened to this album a few times in 2011 but didn’t go back to it because there are a lot of forgettable ballads. Rolling in the Deep is the obvious best song. Rumour Has It is pretty fun. Set Fire to the Rain is pretty “adult contempy” as we say in my household. The other big ballad, Someone Like You, is a cut above because of her emotional lyrics and delivery. How did she sound so world-weary at age 21? I don’t care for the dreary smooth jazz cover of The Cure’s Lovesong.

Oops all ballads? This album is fine. Ya, Adele is a great singer. I just don't get much out of her style. I don't think she brings much personality to these songs. Some of them are catchy. But they also don't stick with me long. They lack character. Maybe it's the sanitary modern production? I could see this being better if it was recorded in the 60s. I was surprised to see the cure cover, but then I was disappointed because she doesn't add much to it. As far as pop girlies go, Adele is just not for me. I prefer the weirder futuristic millenial genz pop girlies. This sanitized 60s vibe doesn't do much for me. This album is one of my Dad's favourite modern albums and we never agree on music, so i'm not surprised I'm not a fan.

i remember listening to this when i was a kid since my parents were old enough to be caught in the storm. shit, i hadn't heard Rumour Has It in over a decade but i could still sing the chorus. this was a moment. i was expecting the Lovesong cover to stink but the bossa nova flair makes it very tasteful. good adult contemporary. but the soul aspects of it feel a little white bread to me deserves to be one of the 1001? for its sheer popularity? probably, but keep just one Adele album (probably)

Not bad, but not for me.

2 - great voice but the songs are ok at best. Too overproduced and too many sad ballads

I’ve gone through a good chunk of life actively not listening to Adele. Lovely voice yes but this first ever listen to ‘21’ confirmed my suspicions of an overly produced faux sentimental pop creation with next to no originality. The cover of my favourite Cure song really pissed me off.

Very boring for the most part. 2.5 stars

A heftily bland and mediocre multi-platinum effort for the most part with very forceful yet mega soulless and sterile, robotised singing. Rolling In The Deep is ok but Someone Like You goes round and round and squeals painfully for an eternity and would be very high up in my own personal Torture Songs playlist. Low 2 because except for Someone Like You it isn’t exactly bad, just boring.

Ok

I really don't like it, but I don't think it is bad enough for a 1. 2/5

In the way I will never enjoy myself at a hen do, I can't connect with this.

Like the poppier tunes, the ballads become a bit tiresome.

the massive issue i have with the album is that while adele's voice is clearly impressive, that's really all that the album has going for it; it's otherwise bland and uninspired, especially when it comes to the production, and the songwriting isn't exactly a homerun either. but i suppose that's what gives this mass appeal - a general public trained to venerate vocal ability above all else thanks to shows like american idol and the voice, horoscope-vague song lyrics and easily digestible pop ballads.

yep thats definitely music

boooofff.. mais rolling in the deep, c<est une grosse toune

She is a decent singer and probably OK as a songwriter too (even though her songs offer nothing that hasn't been heard many times before), but I just can't stand those big and sentimental Adele ballads. I do understand why she is so popular, but this definitely is not my cup of tea...

I remenber this better. Now listening this I van only say that every song is goodish but album is somehow boring.

To my ears, Adele has always had the same problem: most of her songs sound interesting for the first 25 seconds, but after that, I realize I’m not really listening anymore. The same issue comes up with this album as well. Most of the songs go from tight to floppy within that 25 seconds already mentioned.

I wish I liked her music but I find it strange

Still the funniest thing about this record is that XL records put it out... like that is inconceivable now looking back on it - one month before they put out Goblin by tyler, the creator... just bizarre... anways i have nostalgia for these songs i suppose because i heard them all in the dentist's office and in my mom's car but honestly who gives a fuck? the music kind of sucks and album is boring as hell... i just dont care at all

Mad boring album, I don’t understand the Adele hype. Lyrically she’s very good. Musically it’s all good. But just boring. Maybe music therapy ruined this one for me

Music for sister-in-laws and coworkers

incredible voice. not for me.

Is Adele always in a break-up and sad? At 21 she gets pretty deep and at 25, she is still pining. Can't deny the girl can sing though; I just won't be playing much Adele since her albums are downers. She obviously has skills and has resonated with the masses. Rating this one slightly lower than her last appearance on the list due to her top song being on that one...1.74 stars.

Not as bad as I was expecting. Rolling in the Deep is a great song, but otherwise too many generic power ballads. She can obviously sing, but it's not the sort of thing I'd listen to for pleasure.

Never listened to this, as all the media hype at the time switched me off. But have finally listened to it and although I do not hate it, I don't think I will ever play it again. Overrated.

- „Rolling in the Deep“: great song - just not really my type. Probably overplayed on the radio - Overall a little too melancholic - Does not quite suit my lyrical taste - “Don’t you remember”: nice melody - “Set fire to the rain”: amazing some! - “Someone like you”: very beautiful song - In conclusion, I suppose it’s an amazing album. It’s just not my type at all.

Adele certainly has a wonderful voice and it’s pretty impressive how many huge hits were on this album. Unfortunately, I found the songs themselves to be pretty bland. I was between 2 and 3 stars and settled on 2 because naming your albums after how old you were is so fucking stupid

There's more variety than I expected for a modern pop album and I think Adele is a talented vocalist at least (although she could cut her note-wavering by like 50%). But it's still a modern pop album (read=shit)

my mom loves it

Adele is one of those artists with amazing singing talent, but for me that is not enough by itself. She has absolutely no personality in her voice and is too bland and unseasoned for me to listen to more than a single here or there.

Again, she has a voice but the album is weak. Predictable adult contemporary sound. Nothing blows me away though it’s well produced and I can admit it is probably stellar for the genre it’s in, I just don’t have an ear for that type of sound

Herkenbare bangers, maar niet om vaker te luisteren

This album literally reminds me of having my teeth cleaned because this is the type of inoffensive music they play at my dentist office. I honestly tried to go into this album with as open of a mind as I possibly could, but admittedly I was fully expecting to dislike it. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the first couple songs, but then utterly bored by the end of the third song and ready to turn it off by Set Fire to the Rain. She’s a great singer, so I won’t give her a 1, but it’s all just safe, generic, boring. Nothing new, nothing exciting, not pushing any boundaries.

I expected more of this but was underwhelmed. Other than her voice being very nice, the songs themselves are lyrically vapid, instrumentally barren, and pandering to a simple-minded pop audience. She wrote few of these tracks on her own, and predominantly got help from people in bands like One Republik that are known for making soulless muzak. Rounding up because she is vocally talented, but this was not successful as an album experience. 1.5/5 -> 2/5

Vegas residency says it all...if it were a colour, it would be well worn beige...next!

There's this kind of percussion that I used to hear in adverts all the time. I can't put into words why, but I absolutely detest it, and that's all over this album. I don't know if it has a name (I doubt it) but it completely distracted me A lot of this has just permeated pop culture round such a degree that I think "oh yeah, it's that song" when I hear it after hearing them on countless programmes, films and adverts. Rolling in the Deep used to be absolutely everywhere in the UK, so I'm already tired of that one before even starting the album Didn't expect the banjo or accordion though, that was nice I didn't find much of this very emotionally impactful but maybe I'm just a cold-hearted bastard. I can't argue that Adele has an incredible voice, I just wish she used it for more interesting songs. She must be doing something right, though. This has sold so many copies, and it's just not for me Highlights: He Won't Go, I'll Be Waiting

Rolling in the deeeeep, putting me to sleeeeep

Really to minds on this one. Obviously, a number of great songs. Recording sounds amazing. But, something about it just doesn’t click. Was actually the first time listening to the album as a whole. Two star is probably me and maybe not fair.

The Norman's are going nuts for this one i bet. Dare I look at the global reviews? The three best songs on the album are the last three tracks and one of them is a cover. Crazy what decent songwriters can do cause Adele's cover of Lovesong is great. Never listened to the hits of this album voluntarily and aside from Someone like you i still won't. Atleast it wasn't boring like the vast majority of albums of this calibre. Those last three songs really were great though. 5/10

The writing credits here has fewer names than the staffing history for the construction crew of Sagrada Familia. Maybe it's the fact that I have mainly listened to Adele involuntarily but I just can't help but shake the feeling that this is the musical equivalent of consuming Mortadella. I was hoping that I had reached the age where I would look back on music like this with fondness and nostalgia. Either I'm not old enough or the deep cuts on here are ass. Adele has a wonderful voice and a lot of talented people worked on this, but at the end of the day it is soulless music-by-committee. The Lovesong cover was novel but I won't lie and tell you that I wasn't very happy when this album was over. Highlights: Rolling in the Deep

She certainly can belt. This lady is really intense in general. Look, I don't know exactly what happened to her, and I know losing love can be very sad, but the longer I listen I get the creeping feeling that the intensity level is perhaps landing in the "overkill" territory. So while this release is brimming with talent, it all feels a bit unsettling. This works best when the arrangements fall more into the Dusty Springfield areas of inspriation. No kitchen sink-approach, just a little minimalist soul upholding the craft of the songwriting and some legit vocal range. We get little bits of that here, "I'll Be Waiting" comes to mind as a good example.

While "I'll Be Waiting" seems like it might be out of place, it was quite welcome, the only track that didn't seem to be hammering me over the head with pangs of overwrought emotion. I was really looking forward to the Rick Rubin-produced tracks, but damn those are some LOUD drums.

A pop record, suppose it’s notable. Adele can sing for sure but it’s maybe too middle aged mom for me. Some classics overshadowed by overplayed. Lovesong was a cool cover of the cure.

Not my jam. Great voice tho.

I dont like the music, but her voice is nice

« Rolling in the Deep” was a massive hype when it came out, so I gave the rest of the album a shot, but I think it often drowns in too much drama for me. I get tired of those big-voiced singers pretty quickly, can’t help it. You can feel the vocal talent, but the songs sometimes feel a bit too polished. It clearly speaks to a wide audience—girls especially—it’s inclusive, smooth, and radio-friendly enough to please pretty much everyone, myself included… up to a point.

Boring 4/10

absolutamente nada demais inclusive achei chato

This is an album I wish I could erase my memory of and hear for the first time again. 21 is one of the last albums I recall being truly inescapable. Songs like Rumor Has It, Set Fire To The Rain, and Rolling In The Deep were burnned into out collective subconscious and these days I have no interest in hearing them again. The tracks in this album I hadn't heard before didn't jump out to me either.

Adele has a great voice, but I find these songs to be somewhat derivative. Not really for me.

Just endless dramatic warbling. She should be called A-yell.

Classic sound, great (if breathy) voice, but overall boring. Some decent songs, some really bad ones and a couple of huge ones.

Too cheesy for me. Great voice, though.

ok. i'll listen to it- but for christ's sake, why is ithis shit in the book? why do you make me suffer? OK- i've skimmed it- and that's all I can take. Positives: she has an amazing voice and great phrasing. some of the songs, especially the closer are very well structured pop songs. Finally- all real instrumentation- no synths or overproduction. BUT- the songs are all hallmark-movie level love songs filled with non-specific lyrics that could apply to anyone at anytime- which is I guess how it gets billions of streams. She sings them with gusto, but they all seem hollow.... and man, well structured or not- if I can't buy your heart is in it- you just annoy the hell out of me. which this record does. it was calculated for mass appeal down the second. hundreds of millions of people seem to love this record. everyone has terrible taste.

Not my thing

kind of a singles album for me i feel. first three tracks are solid, and then after it feels spotty. of the singles i'm not a fan of Set Fire to the Rain really. the rest range from boring to ok but for the most part they often remind me of other songs i'd maybe rather listen to, and the lovesong cover doesn't do much for me. i don't think i'm necessarily disappointed, i don't usually go to adele for the albums, and her singing still does really well on the fuller tracks. side note i always liked the trailing wobbly high note at the end of the bar in the chorus of Rumour Has It

Really love her voice but with no variety and nothing that interesting going on makes it feel all very one-note and like it kinda all blended together. I got a bit sick of it before it was done.

She needs a trip hop beat behind her cause what's there is kinda kohls core

Adele does irritate me. It’s like she’s become a caricature of herself. When I’ve seen her in concert (on my tv, never in person), her ‘banter’ between records is jarring. But people pay big money to go see her. And she can sing well enough. Hearing a Cure cover on here stopped me in my tracks. I have to say it wasn’t an awful version of it, but still felt weird.

Better than the other Adele album I already listened to for this because the first 2 songs are pretty good. Overall it's the musical equivalent of "white people think mayonnaise is spicy"

The radio bangers are okay on this one, the rest pretty bland. In general, her music is too much drama for me.

No doubting her voice but this just isn’t my thing

Eh its ok, her voice kinda irks me

Meh, I mean there are great songs on here but it's not a great album.

Ugh, Adele. I thought I would like this at least as much as 25, which I think I gave at least 3 stars to, but I don't think I do. I know this has her biggest hits on it, but it just bores the shit out of me. At least 25 had some really lush, soulful stuff. This is shallower.

It's nice to hear Adele outside the context of her mega successful hits. Even so, not really my thing.

Some good pop songs on here but it's a little vapid, lacking in depth. Reminds me of middle school

Et bah c'était moins nul que prévu !

I don't think it's possible to be anything close to objective on this album with so many evergreen songs heard in department stores and public spaces for a decade+. One extra star for the earworm of it all.

I would never argue that Adele is untalented or that these songs are not catchy. But as I’m listening to this album in also reading “The Name of this Band is R.E.M.,” and I’m reminded that there have been many times where what is popular is…well…good. Its begs the question of where the line is between what is broadly appealing and what is just broad. Like, what is the aesthetic foundation of these songs? What does Adele believe in? What do these songs mean? These songs are unobtrusive, inoffensive, and completely uninteresting. There’s just no there there.

How is this something that you should listen to? It's just modern pop?! It's not bad modern pop, but that's what it is. 2/5

I've never enjoyed Adele's music. Now that I'm thinking about it, it's hard to pin down why exactly. Her voice is strong, some of the song writing is good, and I like most of the music this album nods towards (like Motown-style soul-pop). The bits that lean into R&B are my favourite parts. But there's something about her voice I dislike: it's brash and shouty to my ears. Maybe part of this is the production of the record - the vocals are mixed too loud and there's not enough breathing space for the music. Too much of the music is simply a toothless backdrop for the vocals anyway. The album could probably also benefit from a bit more variation, rather than one heartbroken power ballad after the next. Overall, there's a lot of talent here and I don't hate the whole thing - but I wish it sounded a lot better. 2.5*

She can sing

Artiste connue par la bo 'Skyfall', qui à l'époque ne m'avais pas donné envie d'en écouter plus, puis plus récemment par une reprise rock/metal de 'Set fire to the rain' (@MikeCovers sur youtube) que j'ai été amené à jouer. Premier constat : belle voix, mais les morceaux ne sont pas très intéressants musicalement. Dans le cas de 'Set Fire to the Rain', je préfère la reprise plutôt que l'original ... Et pour Lovesong l'original à la copie. Cet album a fini par être retiré de la liste (absent de l'édition 2018), ce qui ne m'étonne pas trop. Je n'y reviendrais pas. =>2/5

Bueno pero no es de mis gustos

Ca hurle quand même beaucoup. “Rolling in the deep” peut donner des boutons dès les premières mesures, genre “Ah Shit, here we go again”. Après c’est de toute façon quelconque, le refrain de “Rumour has it “ est pénible. Ca dégouline, ça en fait des tonnes, ça gémit. “Don’t you remember” porte un peu sur le cœur et déclenche des renvois gastriques tellement c’est chargé. Y a “Set fire to the rain” en single aussi, et ses arrangements de cordes usants. Elle en fait beaucoup trop dans la voix, la production pour le peu d’émotions déclenchées au bout. Et puis les paroles sont monomaniaques et fatigantes et je reste sur mon avis que le mec a bien fait de se barrer parce qu’elle a l’air chiante et toxique, forceuse et envahissante à ne pas savoir prendre un non pour une réponse. La personnalisation du meme “Overly attached girl”. Gros red flag à tous les étages. “Someone like you” la sauve du 1 grâce à son relatif dépouillement qui laisse un peu plus de place à l’émotion, et c’est parce que je dois être de bonne humeur.

Not as bad as 25 but not by much. Listen to Rolling In the Deep, Set Fire to the Rain and Someone Like You and move on.

Pa mislim, klasična komercijalna glazba. Očekivala sam Adele na listi i okej mi je to, mislim da je to doslovce ili voliš komercijalu ili ne. S tim da od sve komercijale out there, ona mi je donekle prihvatljiva, barem zna pjevati žena, ima jeben glas, i dosta je rušila stereotipe te scene, što uvijek podržavam. I'll be Waiting mi je kul stvar, žalopojke su mi malo punile jaja, a čak sam se iznenadila koliko stvari sam i znala. Jbg, komercijala 😂 Sve u svemu, nije mi ovo nezz koliko loše, da izbacim te žalopojke bilo bi 3 vjerojatno, ali ovako će ipak biti 2/5 ili 4.5/10.

3.5/10 Adele mi je jos bila nekako probavljiva u vrijeme dok su glazbenim ljestvicama vladali Black Eyed Peas i onaj mutavi Will.I.Am, Nicki Minaj sa svojom odvratnom prdarom i ostala smećarija tog doba i dok su jos spotovi bili a thing. Prva dva hita jos nekako ali cim je pocela s laganicama, nije mi bilo dobro vise. I to se nije promjenilo do kraja. Jedino me iznenadila Lovesong s obzirom da je obrada od The Cure. Logicno mi je da je ovaj album tu i da ovo objektivno nije lose, ali nemrem se s ovim povezat. Nikad nisam mislio da cu ovaj album cuti od pocetka do kraja, ali eto tu smo gdje jesmo.

Rolling in the deep is a definite banger that utilise her impressive voice well, but it feels overplayed even though I don't think I've heard it a ridiculous amount. The basic percussion doesn't help, and I find a lot of the percussion across the album sounds oddly dated. There's a lot of cheesy filling across the album that is not nutritious. I won't be listening to this one again. "He won't go" was decent, sounds like a poor man's Winehouse, and it picks up for a couple of tracks from there. Someone like you: again showcases her banging voice but it still lacks complexity that undermines its value for repeat listens. It just doesn't feel like there are many ideas in there. I do like the close harmony though.

Pełna zgoda co do tego, że nie można jej odmówić potężnego głosu. Ma płuca dziewczyna i potrafi z nich korzystać. Ale w przypadku tego albumu to trochę by było na tyle. On jest poprawny, widać, że ludzie włożyli w niego dużo kasy i studyjnej pracy. Ale przez to wydaje się trochę sztuczny. Brakuje mi w nim autentycznego uczucia, jest dla mnie płaski. Plus wydaje mi się, że w podobnej kategorii jest przynajmniej kilka ciekawszych albumów, które nie zyskały takiego rozgłosu, a moim zdaniem na niego zasługiwały. Pierwsze, co mi przychodzi do głowy to Selah Sue i jej debiutancki neo-soulowy album (2011, ten sam rok co Adele), o wiele ciekawszy muzycznie krążek (swoją drogą szalenie polecam). Z popowych piosenkarek o charakterystycznych, mocnych głosach myślę jeszcze Sia i "1000 Forms Of Fear", dosłownie trzy lata młodszy album, którego nie ma na liście. Adele dla mnie w każdym utworze jest taka sama. Wszystko bazuje na wysokich tonach i jej mocnym głosie, po kilku utworach robi się to dla mnie irytujące. Plus każdy utwór to tylko płakanie za facetem, nudy. Nie ma nic nudniejszego, niż dziewczyna, której jedyny temat to faceci. Plus jak w utworze "Lovesong" usłyszałem "Whenever I'm alone with you, You make me feel like I am young again" miałem takie wtf, masz 21 lat XD Sprawdziłem to, bo aż mi się wierzyć nie chciało, że ktoś to puścił. To cover utworu The Cure (uff!), ale i tak miałem trochę facepalma. Myślę, że moją ocenę może trochę wykrzywiać jej szalona popularność, bo jak wiadomo sceptycznie podchodzę do wszystkiego, co trafia w masowe gusta, zwłaszcza jeśli powstało współcześnie w epoce kultury jako produkcji masowej. Ale właśnie ten album wydaje mi się bardziej towarem, niż dziełem sztuki. A za tym nie przepadam.

When I hear this album i can almost see the producer selling idea for this album as "negro music but comercially viable". Based on this album alone Adele will be forgotten in 20 years but i will cheer her on to create something unique and interesting in the future.

Becky asked me why I was bothering with this one because I know that I hate Adele. I think it proved a worthwhile exercise though, because whilst the singles suck, a few of the album tracks were decent, in particular He Won't Go. So am album that I thought was nailed on to be a 1 has scraped a 2

Should of been called wailing, as that's all it is..

eh I'm not a big Adele fan. Crazy that one album produced so many famous songs though.

Just because you can belt it out doesn't mean the album will be interesting. I've never understood the cult worship of Adele.

OK, so, this may be incredibly unfair, but I just don't like it. I feel like it's really whiny. I'm all for a good breakup song, but dear god, every single song is about how she's been done wrong by a (I presume) man. So it's either she's been broken up with or cheated on, or she's pining for another woman's man or some sort of unrequited love. Ugh, it's boring. She undeniably has a great voice. Very powerful, and she has great mastery of it as an instrument - but she doesn't really showcase a ton of range. All the songs sound pretty much the same (the Lovesong cover; however, is excellent). I feel like two stars is harsh, but I also feel like I'd rather cut my fingernails too short than to ever listen to this again.

Adele has always had an amazing voice. Mad this is a debut album. Not really one you need to listen to before you die tho

Sigh. Sigh. Sigh. You know when someone sings this at Karaoke, they are not to be trusted. ;) No, Adele is so talented. Not my fav style of singing. If it were more soulful, I might dig it.

Damn. Who hurt you, Adele?

Maybe it's because there are tons of copycats since this album came out - I honestly don't know - but I'm incredibly tired of this sound. I feel like I'm at a multinational grocery store chain. Her singing is technically good, but it grates on me for reasons that I don't know how to explain. Something about the way she sings certain vowel sounds and how her voice breaks repeatedly throughout. Rumor Has It there's a grocery store in hell that just plays this on repeat.

Hits & Misses

I remember the first time I heard Rolling in the Deep on some weird ass indie music streaming site and it blew my mind. It’s so good. I kinda wish Adele had more songs with that energy and vibe. Her sad stuff is good too but doesn’t tickle the same itch. The worst part is the whole thing suffers from early 2010s production sound. I don’t know what it is, but all pop had this sound to it then and it’s kind of grating as times gone in, I wanna say it’s like 2008-2013, something about that sound is repellant to me. Blegh

A little better than the previous album I rated but still bleh

Well I thought I actually quite liked Adele, but other than the hits some of these were actually quite painful to listen to. Maybe it just caught me on a bad day. Simpsons: Yes

Åbner og lukker på klart de bedste sange. Hun er en vildt god sanger men det kan sgu godt blive lidt kedeligt.

Dødkedeligt og ikke for mig. Lidt full-circle at lyde gammeldags.

definitely one of her better albums, has some hits on it but not really my thing

We all know it’s dull don’t we?

The kindest 2 stars I can give. I do not hate her and think her voice is great. I just don’t want to listen to it all the time so in good conscience I can’t give this anything higher. Probably one of the better pop stars of the modern era though.

Great drunk listening after coming home smashed and a quintessential Pop Album, but otherwise not really my jam. Wouldn’t skip it if it came on shuffle, but I’m not gonna seek this shit out.

I have a lot of respect for Adele. She’s great at what she does and has a wonderful voice. But it’s not for me, I wouldn’t ever choose to listen to it.

Pretty funny that I picked up this project to experience a greater breadth of music and get hit with Adele in the first week. (She’s fine. This is fine.)

always hard to say with an album that got played in starbucks a lot whether or not starbucksiness is an inherent quality of the music but with this one i think the answer is yes. boring

It was fun when it came out, but it's pretty dated now. Only 1-2 songs hold up still.

Technically masterful yet profoundly uninteresting. American Idol-core. This is music for shopping at Macy's.

live laugh love to all my huns out there xx

Mum pop

It's not clear to me why this is considered a 'great album'. To me, this is pretty bland.

Incredible voice. I really liked the upbeat songs, but the mellow songs forced black and white images of women breast feeding their babies near a window or doing yoga. Adele, great for you for being able to create those images, but I don't want them.

I could never get into her.

You can’t set fire to the rain. It’s made of water

Überbewertet!

Certainly the best out of the 3 Adele albums I’ve been forced to listen to for this list but still not for me. “I’ll be waiting” is a bop and I enjoy “Take It All” and the bridge on “Rumour Has It”. “Someone Like You” is imo the worst song ever written. I hate it. She is a colossal piece of shit in that song and I just do not understand how people are inspired or find her actions admirable. She finds out an ex has a great life and has found happiness and she GOES TO HIS HOME and sticks her nose in his business because she’s not over him. THEN she has the audacity to be like “why are you acting shy?” Maybe because you’re trying to ruin his life? AND THEN she tries to act like the bigger person “Nevermind I’ll find someone like you. I wish nothing but the best for you two”. Bitch YOU tried to ruin this relationship. You don’t now get to walk away like you’re making some noble sacrifice. You literally said you turned up “out of the blue uninvited”. She sounds insane in this song. Look I know it’s ridiculous to get this upset over a song 3/5 but I’m taking a whole star off for Someone Like You

no.

Dull shit for mums

Not my cup of tea

Disco pop atual escutado no carro até achar que ela de alguma forma procurou a "inspiração".

It’s a woman singing without auto tune. She’s good at singing, but I feel like this is an album for dentists offices or suburban shopping centers. Decent enough cover of “Lovesong” but again, pretty boring. I think the novelty of her voice in a sea of computer aided vocals was what made this popular but I don’t think it’s anything much more than well executed.

Not really my thing.

It's... fine. Idk, I just like 25 better.

this album fills me with the dread of thousands of hours of unskippable adele on the radio. just because i have heard them a million times does not mean i enjoy this. 1.5

just can't do it. i know she's got a good voice but i can't bring myself to care....

Someone Like You is a great song. The rest of the radio hits are meh, and the deep cuts are mostly boring.

After having to endure '25' a while ago, I feared the worst for this album, but the opener Rolling in the Deep got me interested. The album's blues, soul, and country influences are in its favour, but in the end, the only song other than the opener that I enjoyed was He Won't Go. The rest of the songs were either boring ballads or were ruined by the Adele's vocal performance. Anyway, not as bad as 25, but ultimately again not an album I'll be returning to.

Rolling in the Deep is the only song of Adele I like, and David Cook on American Idol did a better job with it.

Not for me even though she has a good voice.

'Rumour Has It' and 'Rolling in the Deep' are great, but I found the rest of the album to be composed of mostly forgettable ballads. Great voice, though!

Wish she would crack a smile

It's Adele

Much better than 25. She's not pretending to be deep, she's just being herself. Still kinda whiny though.

The soundtrack to a million prosecco-fuelled tirades against low-quality men by women who know they deserve better. Obviously she can sing, but it's like playing Cotton-Eyed Joe on a Stradivarius - bollocks music on an extraordinary instrument.

I don't know if it's just how much this was/is overplayed, but this was a chore to get through. I really notice all the annoying vocal flourishes that everyone since has tried to copy, like the weird word pronunciations.

Kinda dull. A few songs are of interest but I don't really get the popularity.

eh

I can see the appeal but it's not in my wheelhouse.

Not my thing, but easy to see the radio friendly appeal.

Really, not my jam but also, not bad, like i can appreciate why people like it. Better than other pop vocal artists but not as raw or authentic as Amy Winehouse.

I mean it's one of the greatest pop albums of all time. Just not my kind of pop.

Lads I can't. I just can't. I worked in a record shop when this came out and I heard this album so many times, sometimes I wake up screaming and I swear Rumour Has It is quietly playing somewhere in my house