25

2.7 - How can Adele be so talented and yet so boring? This record is totally devoid of any risks, and presents no distinct point-of-view. She's a young woman who's lived with heartbreak, has had a chance to process her pain privately and is ready to move forward with her life. Wow, Adele, so profound, and yet so relatable - it’s like she’s one of us! And I hate that she's consistently chosen to share only the most tiresome parts of her love-life. We see her always at the “crossroads”, saying goodbye with sincere regret but looking ahead to what's next. Has she never experienced the fun of being in love? The giddiness of meeting someone, the anticipation of being intimate? And why has she chosen to sanitize her pain? It's all very vague. Where are the tears that left smears of mascara on her face? What about the hours spent jealously stalking a lover on Facebook? I'm sure critics have praised this as a "mature" record (*wretch*). As expected, Adele's voice is luscious - she's truly blessed. But why use that exceptional voice to convey only the most unexceptional, "everywoman" feelings? By the end I find all the operatic belting and "you-got-this-girl" sentiments nauseating.

Music for mums 1.5 stars.

I'm not quite sure if I'm ashamed to admit this or not, but I really like Adele's music. She is an undeniable, generational talent. And it's not just the voice, but the authenticity. Not sure what else to say really. Any album that has this many hits (even in today's over-commercialized market) is impressive.

Normally not my genre... But she is so f**king talented. Her voice is tremendeous, but the record becomes repetative, as there is not much development. A solid album, well produced. Removed from the list (2018), and surely there are new albums that can replace this one.

Nr. 11/1001 Hello 4/5 Send My Love 4/5 I Miss You 2/5 When We Were Young 3/5 Remedy 2/5 Water Under the Bridge 3/5 River Lea 2/5 Love In the Dark 2/5 Million Years Ago 2/5 All I Ask 2/5 Sweetest Devotion 2/5 Average: 2,55 Great voice, she just does so little with it

You're not allowed, at 25, to talk about how much you miss being young.

Now you're pushing it

Adele is who I listen to when I need to be sad and empowered at the same time.

I'm surprised I've never sat down and listened to the whole album before. What a tour de force.

Adele is a once in a lifetime vocalist, and to be fair, you can definitely sense it in this album. I think the songwriting shines as well at many high moments. What I don't really get is why she thought she needed the super modern bombastic production at certain songs. To be honest, it just makes her sound a bit weak. Your a diva, Adele, you don't need to do anything to prove it.

Hello, you claim you're on the other side. The following 40 minutes of caterwauling about your permanent heartbreak determined this to be a lie. Remains the gold standard for painful production to my ears. Like the equivalent of those deep fried memes. The vocal fry and squeaking now lives inside my brain. No great mystery why she struggled with vocal chord injuries. The rockers here are actually fairly good. Specifically Send My Love, Under the Bridge, and River Lea. But holy hell are the ballads excruciating, and the second half is completely drowned in them.

It's funny reading all the accolades about the album on Wikipedia. Best selling this, best selling that, blah blah blah. They all seem to miss the fact that it's self indulgent mush of boring songs written by dull people with no sense of wit or craftsmanship. I will admit Adele has a good voice but it's wasted on this bathetic set of songs, perfectly posed and postured for the post x factor generation.

Love her music and this album. Some of these songs are heart-wrenching that's so good.

10/10 Adele must be protected at all costs.

One of the best singers of our generation. Album makes you happy sad.

A great voice largely wasted on risk-free pop songs....

Like the depth of her feeling and voice but don't think either are served by the orotund phrasing and production

Somebody should tell Adele that there are keys other than minor keys that can be used in song composition. Yes, Adele can sing, I don't think anybody can argue with that but she chooses to sing about the same thing for 11 tracks and honestly by the 3rd track it starts getting old. I question why this album is on this list as it is very bland and boring. 1/5.

Pretty stellar album with incredible vocals and strong songs from start to finish. 9/10.

Ok, I wasn't a big fan of Adele... until I heard this album. Practically drenched in emotional quotient, 25 is sad, happy, and everything in between. Adele's voice is also incredible. The leadoff song, Hello, is a prime example of Adele at her best. After 25 I went back and listened to the rest of her albums. While her style is not my daily drive, she executes jazz influenced pop better than anyone in the past 40 years.

Very powerful and talented. Closer to a 4 than I expected though. I had to listen twice to get hit by the melancholy nostalgia that runs through the album. Make me ache for a simpler time.

Hello it is me

Hello from the other side

Adele is one of my “I don’t listen in front of other people but in may car I be hitting those notes”. Adele is great on this album but I just don’t like the backing instrumentation as much as her earlier albums, wiki says something about using 80s style R&B or something like that and I think that’s what turned me off of it a little bit. Still amazing vocals I just won’t be getting caught at a red light with this one.

Excellent album. Now that some time has passed, I can appreciate "Hello" again. When the album first came out, that song definitely reached a point of oversaturation. (Do you remember when it was the #1 song and some pop stations didn't know what to do with a sad, dramatic song so on weekends at night they'd play these horrible EDM remixes of it? Man, that used to drive me crazy haha) But it's a powerful song and a great opener. "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" is one of my favorite Adele songs. Such a great hook. Damn, "Water Under the Bridge" is another powerhouse song. And "River Lea" is another jam in the same vein. There are a handful of songs on this album that... well, I don't want to call them filler because how could a song with stunning vocals and immaculate production be called filler? But there are a few like "Remedy" and "Love in the Dark" that are beautiful in the moment but quickly melt away once they're over. Adele's such a good singer though that she could sing the dictionary. That's the thing about her, right? And there are also some good album cuts too. I really liked the dramatic and sexy "I Miss You" and the triumphant closer "Sweetest Devotion."

I enjoyed listening to this. I especially liked the songs that I hadn't heard before. I don't know that it'll cause me to listen to her more. The biggest obsession about Adele that I have is the fact that Rick Beato is obsessed with her. I LOVE to listen to him talk about her!

78/100: Ok this album serves its purpose. Each song is very specifically targeted to a certain emotion and situation, albeit most of the emotions are some variant of heartbreak. The strength of this album lies in that writing style. When you’ve gone through something similar to what’s sung about on a song in this album, it’s incredibly powerful; however, the biggest weakness of this album is the other edge of that sword. If you haven’t gone through something that’s sung about on this album (which is a much safer bet than the alternative), those songs kind of suck. Adele really trusts the empathetic and even sympathetic abilities of her listeners. Most people aren’t naturally empathetic or sympathetic. I like to think most people can be with some effort, but I don’t listen to music to try to connect to what the artist was going through. The songs from this album that I feel echo my own experiences are incredible. I could listen to them over and over again. The rest (i.e. most of them) are hard to listen to once.

meh.... even if i'm extremely open-minded on this one... it's just boring to me and got bored right after the third track. Also, i never understood why people love Hello and feel that it's emotional... it just comes out corny to me...

It was honestly easier to get through the Throbbing Gristle album because I haven’t been unwillingly listening to Throbbing Gristle almost every day for the past 12 years. Another one where overexposure probably makes the artist sound way worse to me than she normally would on a first listen but my god am I tired of hearing Adele’s voice. Just does nothing for me. Sweetest Devotion was a nice surprise but it’s not enough to save this one for me.

Does anyone buy it when these low-end department store background music singers get writing credits? Every song on this album was written by a different person/writing team - there's no way Adele's involvement extended beyond changing a few vocal lines once she was already in the studio. I'm also gonna put on my hipster hat and say it: this is horrendously factory-produced pop drivel. The songs feel like they came from a textbook, they're full of manufactured emotion and presented as an immense personal journey for Adele. Which begs the question: was said journey just as immense for the other 50 people who wrote this shit? 1/5.

Boring. At every point they chose safe and simple. This could have been made by any half talented singer in any era.

Euphoria

Adele’s voice is amazing, almost perfect in my opinion. They way she uses it to convey the emotion in her songs is even more incredible. Incredible talent as a singer and songwriter. I’m glad I listened to this album, having only heard the songs the radio stations destroyed by overplay. But “when we were young” had me remember when I was young and I felt that regret of getting older “My God this reminds me, of when we were young, Let me photograph you in this light, In case it is the last time,That we might be exactly like we were” “Love in the Dark” heartbreaking and her voice conveys the pain. “I can’t love you in the dark it feels like we oceans apart” she cries out. “River Lea” so soulful…”I can’t go back to the river”. “A million years ago” again going back to youth with a simple but beautiful song. “I feel like my life is flashing by and all I can do is watch and cry” “I miss you” the pounding drums to her personal lyrics. And of course the singles, hello, send my love (to your new lover) and water under the bridge. All great songs but overplayed in my opinion. Which had I had I been hearing for the first time I think would have been great. But I had only heard the singles and this album, I feel, needs to be listened to beginning to end to feel the emotion of her regret & fear of growing older. This is not a typical album I would listen to but so glad I did.

Hello, I loved it! What a set of pipes and a good album to sing along to.

Love this album. Adele is amazing

One of the best albums of Adele.

Butter

Loved it. ‘Remedy’ is a favourite. Great song writing

Great album in a great discography. Some songs hit a lot better than others, but no bad songs. Repeats:hello, when we were young, remedy, all I ask Skips: river lea

Adele's incredible vocal talent makes for a great album, and her singing would not be out of place in an opera.

Adele has a beautiful, strong voice. An excellent album of hers.

This is the best singer of this century. She only made 4 albums. And she couldn't make any bad songs! It was great to remember 25. I haven't listened to it in years. "Hello" still gives the same goosebumps from when it was the most listened to song in the world in 2016. Goosebumps! This is the word that defines her voice throughout her career, but especially on this album she was splendid. And even more especially in songs that give the impression that this woman is capable of absolutely anything, having only her voice and the piano in possession. 5 stars, of course!

Great voice, great lyrics full of feelings, great album.

voice of an angel. literally unskippable. 10/10

Some absolute gems on here, but I miss the blue eyed soulfulness of 21 a bit! Easy to see how she blew her voice out trying to tour this one. Still a good listen, but the instrumentals get a bit Florence and the machine when I’m wanting the muscle shoals band.

What a tremendous voice and passionate singer. And there's a nice variety of tone and nuance in the writing. I liked this quite a lot.

It's difficult to know what to do with this album., It's not that I didn't like it; Adele has a gorgeous voice. She is lovable celebrity who sings deeply introspective songs that are frequently focused on emotional growth. That makes her a very inspiring artists. And yet, this album often bored me. Too many of the songs are similar both thematically and in tempo, and almost all of them felt more familiar than they should have been. Some were obviously songs that has been lodged into my brain because of her ubiquity on the radio, but others turned out to be songs that just sounded an awful lot like the ones I knew. I don't know how to rate an album like this. It isn't bad, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. 3/5 is the best I can do.

A very lovely listen on a Sunday morning- not her best album but better than a lot of peoples best

Excellent melody throughout a collection of very accessible songs and it is the rare album for me that the focus properly *is* the vocals - I do enjoy Adele's singing, one of the few that bring me in just with their voice. I already know many of these tunes which might actually have been an initial false-boost because after listening to a few in a row the mega-production here just does not hit any of the same raw nerves for me as pretty much everything on her previous album "21" did/does. 21 felt raw in a good way, you could almost imagine a singer and band in a studio/room/lounge and the songs would feel the same. These songs aren't all that different structurally on this album which in the end when you're putting a few chords together melodically and then putting all the music through every studio cleanser/polisher possible .... it all just ends up having the effect of approaching boredom which is never what you want in a record. It all sounds so ... safe. So even with my at least enjoying virtually any/every one of these songs in isolation ... over the expanse of the album it all sort of smooths out into one chunk of "I don't know if I actually remember any individual songs..." In the end it's all just fine. For me this sounds like a massive-budget record company push album which of course it was/is. The songs are fine but a lot is lost for me with the huge studio sheen. Nitpicking, but if it doesn't move me... I do love a good closing song and "Sweetest Devotion" is probably my favourite track here. TL;DR: Good stuff that I'd never turn off, but it's not an active play/favourite as a whole package like "21" was. 6/10 3 stars

Obviously, Adele has a great voice. The issues with this album do not stem from her singing. Instead, they stem from the "Ed Sheeran-ification" on most of the biggest hits. "Send My Love..." is over-saturated pop trash, and I tend to like pop music. Songs where Adele shows more vulnerability with relaxed production really carry this album, even though they weren't the hits from when it came out. I definitely understand why this album is on the list, but the biggest hits are generally the worst part of it. Best Songs: Hello, I Miss You, Million Years Ago, Sweetest Devotion Worst Songs: Send My Love..., Remedy

Eh, 2-3 good songs but has nothing on 21 and not deserving of being in this list!

25 I’ve always quite liked Hello, and it is a very good song, the melodramatic and over the top bombast works well, with an interesting melody and some great piano. The lyrical conceit though. ‘Wanna meet up and go over everything that went wrong in our relationship 10 years ago in great detail?’ ‘Nah, you’re alright thanks’ The majority of the rest of it is nowhere near as successful as Hello. Many don’t feel like songs, just half formed ideas that rely on her vocal power to bludgeon them into something resembling a song, if you don’t listen too carefully. And again there’s not a great deal to convince me that she is a particularly great vocalist, or at least not anywhere near the reputation she has. Obviously she has an extremely powerful voice, but it lacks any subtlety or shade, and consequently doesn’t have a great deal of emotional weight, just brutal x factor cruise ship power. Thematically, of course, it’s very repetitive, which would be fine if the lyrics weren’t so limited and banal, at the level of Moon/June, with absolutely no insight into why this person was so special and so great that she just can’t stop singing about him. It just feels like instagram platitudinal emptiness and it’s particularly bad on When We Were Young (although the bass is nice on that song) and Remedy. River Lea attempts to evoke images of childhood and nostalgia, but it’s so heavy handed in it’s lumpen banality it sounds almost partridge-esque. Also, that something that’s in the water? It’s probably chemical waste. Musically River Lea and Sweetest Devotion are the strongest songs along with Hello, mainly as they steer clear of the awful piano dirges that make up the rest of the tracks, like Million Years, which is truly bad. So overall it’s pretty drab, Hello, River Lea and Sweetest Devotion aside, with very little of interest or character, either melodically, musically or lyrically. Tempted to go 1, but it’s not really the shittiest of the shittiest, it’s just insipidly and unambitiously boring 👋👋 Playlist submission: Hello

She’s grown on me over the years and I do really like a couple of tracks on this, but a whole album of essentially the same song? Nah. Beautiful voice, I just wish she’d change things up a bit now and then.

Average singer Adele returns with some more radio songs. This set is a little less show-tuney, a bit more The Knife lite. Not for me.

Before listening: I don't hate Adele, I just don't want to listen to Adele. Her album 21 was really good. When this came out, I remember not giving a shit. That song Hello, was apparently like a Lionel Richie song. I don't give a shit about Lionel Richie so I didn't care about that song. That being said, I'm gonna give this a whirl, and I bet I'll be pleasantly surprised. After listening: I found this album to be a little less than alright. I didn't like most of the songs, in fact I only liked three songs, but those three songs were amazing. The rest was pop drivel.

Nothing to it. On something like Rolling In The Deep there's a cool hook under the sheen. I too felt like I'd closed all the doors by the time I was 25 but this soundtrack for Hallmark movies doesn't help anybody. Might be a 2 but being the blue-eyed soul version of nothing music drops it another. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

I must be one of the few people on the planet who'd managed to avoid hearing this. So thanks a lot for fucking that right up, I was right to avoid it. Dull wailing nonsense.

Yet another ex-1001 album!™ http://1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.wikidot.com/album-artists-a-z-ex I hadn't listened to the album before, only knew a few of the songs... mostly because they are used in the cut aways in those over-sensationalised ITV talent shows... which is why I think the likes of Adele get a bad rep. Too much commercialism leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Full of empty calories. Vocally, Adele is great. As for this album, meh.

If you're making a list of albums that defined a time period in terms of pure ubiquity, this would have to included for 2015-2017 - but that does tell us what a bleak pop landscape that was. This is very bland music combined with generic EMOTIONAL lyrics and BIG singing. It borrows some interesting sounds from 2007 indie synth pop on Send My Love, but ruins with with the millenial ooOOaaAA. But's its mostly just bleak piano dirge: Coldplay with the range for the tv singing talent show era.

Incredible album, will stand the test of time I'm sure

I was caught off guard at how much I enjoyed the songs that weren’t hits on this album. 9/10

Been scanning for anything wrong with this album and I can’t find a thing. Immaculately produced, excellent songwriting, beautiful voice, consistently, and it actually made me emotional which is not something I though I would say about songs that routinely play in my mom’s car.

Girl can sing! Feels for sure.

The first album that was already part of my listening library - one that I listen to in full occasionally because it is an *experience.* I'm not sure how true it is but I heard this year that Adele wrote Hello to her younger self and ever since, I listen to it differently. She transmits an extraordinary amount of emotion through song, and seven years later, I still get chills listening. I adore Hello, Send My Love, I Miss You, Remedy, Water Under the Bridge, River Lea, Million Years Ago.

Absolute banger. 0 skips

Love Adele.

My first 5/5 and I’ve had a Dylan and Bowie album so far. I mean holy shit this is good, I was annoyed I got an Adele album today but I mean holy shit. Banger after banger. Piano, guitar, and strings are *chefs kiss*

Kippenvel vergeten hoe goed dit was

Moody, sumptuous, perfect vocals to accompany a glass of red wine 🍷

For sure a great album. Listened to the full album hundreds of times. 5/5

This record is a fucking masterpiece. Yeah, yeah. I know. She didn't take any risks, blah, blah, blah, but why would she? Not every great piece of music needs to be novel and groundbreaking to be good. She is a phenomenal vocal talent; and her decisions on how to use that vocal differentiate her, along with (mostly ballads or not) top notch production and solid song writing.

Fantastic. Adele's voice is so strong and robust. The album had a lot of diversity of sound. It was just beautiful.

Again with the voice cannon. This was a fantastic and emotionally mature journey through love and loss. Outstanding.

why did adele cross the road? to say "hello" from the other side

<3

Banger

Pinnacle for pop

C'était cool, rien à redire

Certified Hood Classic

Вау. Очень красивый звук, превосходный голос Адель. Я впечатлен. 5 звезд.

As much as I love this album, I was surprised to see it was on the list. However, this is actually my favourite Adele album (excluding 30 as I have yet to listen to it). I don't listen to Adele often, though, so it was fun to revisit this after quite some time. I remember having mixed feelings about this when it came out. For some reason I couldn't stand "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" and "I Miss You," both of which I love now. And back then, I was a very harsh critic of music. Not liking a couple of songs meant the album wasn't it. Despite the fact that the album contained two songs I already loved, and I also really connected with several other songs on it on first listen. Despite this, though, this album had quite an impact on me, and now it's just really nostalgic of my high school days. Especially the songs "Hello" and "When We Were Young." I was 14 when "Hello" came out, and I loved it the first time I heard it. It was everywhere that year, but for me, it never got old. At the time, though, my favourite Adele song was "Someone Like You." That changed when I was 17 and heard "When We Were Young" the first time. I was immediately taken by the melody of the chorus, and for a while, it became my favourite Adele song. Weirdly, I always used to say that the song felt "nostalgic even the first time I heard it." I'm not entirely sure why. I guess because a large part of the lyrics are based around memories, and it's kind of an old fashioned style like most of Adele's music? So that was when I decided to listen to the album. Although I've got to say that despite my favourite Adele song changing often back then, no Adele song has had the staying power for me that "Hello" has had. Every time I hear it, I just can't help screaming along the chorus. In fact, the first four songs of the album are just incredibly nostalgic, and I screamed along the choruses of "Send My Love" and "When We Were Young" too. I even sung along loudly to "I Miss You," which I don't know quite as well. As I said, I love it now. What about the rest of the album? Well, several songs hit me from the get go, although I downplayed how much I loved them for far too long. "All I Ask," "Sweetest Devotion," "Million Years Ago" and "Remedy" are all incredibly powerful. In fact, I want to particularly highlight "Million Years Ago"- I honestly can't believe Adele has such a powerful deep cut hidden away, and I always forget how hard hitting it is until it plays and I've got tears streaming down my face. The other three tracks: "Water Under The Bridge," "River Lea" and "Love in the Dark?" Well, they're okay. They don't let the record down majorly, but they're not quite on the same level to me. Favourite tracks: Hello, Million Years Ago, When We Were Young, All I Ask, Sweetest Devotion, Remedy

Adele continues to display an inspiring talent for singing. This album did have a consistent theme and style that left me wanting a bit more variety, but that tends to be my preference, and it felt like variety wasn't the point of the album.

Beautiful

what an absolute classic holy shit there is so much good stuff here I cant even begin to describe how impactful her words and rythm. it cuts to the core of a being without having experienced the level of heartbreak you can still feel how viscerally real it was to her. Just Iconic and a great artist and album.

Very good

Absolutely fantastic. Without Amy Winehouse, we wouldn't have Adele. She has one of the most soulful & powerful voices in modern music. Beautifully performed. I ended up also listening to 21 since this album got me in the mood for Adele. 4.5 stars

The production is like an email where the entire contents are in bold, italics, and underlined. It's a well-crafted cocktail that's a little too bitter, too sour, too sweet, too fizzy, and too strong. Compared to 21, Adele's vocal sounds powerful and clear but the music is a bit forward on 25. Some tracks are worse than others and the B-side does sound better. Besides the complaints about the shiny backing tracks, the songs are great and the lyrics are emotional but not overwrought. The album closer is a banger.

Truly the voice of the 20teens. Every track is worth a listen and the first two make the list of the top 1000 songs of the millenia if not ever.

she has no creativity for album names

Love Adele! So passionate and gets the listener to really connect to the lyrics in their own way. My fav song was Water Under the Bridge.

A modern day classic

The vocal arrangements on this album are probably the best of all-time. I think this close to a perfect album.

Always loved Adele’s music. 25 is probably one of my favourites. Pure Artistry.

sweet, 5 stars

Music for crying. Showcases her incredible voice. Not what I need on a sunny day though.

Sing this one at the top of your lungs and you will feel better for it! Such a powerful album and means alot to me personally. Adele has one of the most powerful voices and each song ignites a new feeling deep within whether it be anger, heartbreak, love etc. Favourite songs: When we were young, Love in the dark

Really good voice and great harmonies. Not just all boring pop songs, has some nice rhythms and indie flare

This was my first Adele album and wow was it powerful. Maybe it’s just where I’m at in life right now but it was hard emotionally to get through some of the tracks. This one I could definitely see myself listen to again, but only if I wanted to sob.

she's amazing, beautiful album

The Hello video only has 2.9B views. I figure if I watch it a few more times, I can be the 3 billionth view. That's cool, right? RIGHT? Such a powerhouse. It really is true. Heartbreak brings out the creativity of artists. Jagged Little Pill, Tragic Kingdom, Rumors.