"19," the first outing by British songstress Adele, plays out on the current musical landscape much like a dichotomy one might have imagined in the decade that the British neo-soul emulates; Adele is the Ronnie Spector to Amy Winehouse's (slightly more cracked-out version of) Diana Ross. Adele doesn't approach the table with the slick Mark Ronson horn sections that have markedly benefitted Ms. Winehouse and others, but rather brings an album that's seems more forward looking (think Carole King) than the Motown (think Holland/Dozier) knock-offs of the recent past.
The single, "Hometown Glory," is a fantastic example of where this young woman's strengths lie and where a little sprucing up might help jump-start a promising career. When this track was released as a free download, the line "Shows that we ain't gonna stand s***, shows that we are united..." was unsurprisingly trimmed to cut out the naughty, naughty expletive. However, where censorship may limit artistic license, in this case it helped reign in a young songwriter in the way a high-powered producer might; find both a more commercial option and give the lyric more weight with universality and simplicity.
There are a couple of unfortunate misses that seem like throwaway tracks. ("Crazy For You," "First Love") They sound a little like the emo-love songs we all used to scratch out on the back of algebra homework in our bedrooms. The latter makes a bold choice with celeste accompaniment, but could have used more instrumentation. There are also a couple of moments that the indomitable Randy Jackson (har) might call "a little pitchy," but again, good production will (thankfully) always forego "authentic" sounds for pitch correction. You can be sure that you won't find a sour note on a sophomore album from Adele.
The shining moments on this album vary between the perfect tracks for a sunny day drive and heartbreaking ballads. "Cold Shoulder" has a bit of a Lily Allen spin to it with a diverse sonic pallette. The strings have a sort of jagged dialogue with riffy guitars at about 1:02 that you might find on something like a My Brightest Diamond album. With fuzzy electric piano and killer harmonies on the chorus, "Right As Rain" wouldn't be out of place on a B-sides Greatest Hits of the 60's compilation. The tastefully funky organ splashes add to the top down, sunglasses and wind in the hair feel of the track.
"Hometown Glory" really is the one of the most haunting songs I've heard in a while and is the masthead of a trifecta of ballads on this album that avoid the torch song but bring the same gut-wrenching emotion. "Chasing Pavements" is a clear choice for another single, but the Bob Dylan cover "Make You Feel My Love" really channels the gospel-tinged quasi-"power ballads" of the Sixties ("Bridge Over Troubled Water").
With a voice that far surpasses her years (she's 19 if you didn't catch that), Adele will undoubtedly have the world bowing at her feet with a few years of experience and some careful producing direction.
...And she won't need a beehive, hideous eye makeup and a crack problem to do it.
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