Jon Moreno, Arts & Entertainment Editor-
1. “Rolling in the Deep” – This song is a fantastic way to kick off the album. The intro is epic in my opinion. The claps, drums, piano, background vocals and Adele’s flawless voice are all showcased in this wonderful track. 4/5.
2. “Rumour Has It” – The up-beat tempo continues here in a song where Adele croons about a boy she plans on stealing from someone. The vibe on this track is very blues with Adele following a similar pattern as the intro with the same instruments. The breakdown midway through is downright and utterly flabbergasting. 4/5.
3. “Turning Tables” – The pace slows down here with the main instrument being the piano. Adele is one of the few artists in the industry in 2011 that can carry a song on her own without the help of today’s technology in music and heavy production. With beautiful strings to accompany the piano, Adele sings to someone who she refuses to lend her heart to. 5/5.
4. “Don’t You Remember” – After using the piano as the main instrument on the last song, Adele goes acoustic here before the drums come kicking in. Distraught over a lost love, Adele wonders when was the last time her former flame thought about her. Adele has the magical ability of capturing all of her lyrics in her voice. You can feel her pain. You can tell these things have happened to her. I must imagine Adele closed her eyes, threw on some headphones and just unleashed those strong vocals of hers and let loose. The result? This is a hell of a song. 5/5.
5. “Set Fire to the Rain” – I have a soft spot for the keys so when I hear a song that uses them before the beat drops in, it becomes difficult for me to think badly of it. Either way, a heartbroken Adele once again unleashes and declares that she can do things only baby Jesus himself can ever do. Whoever broke her heart should ask Adele for a cut of the money this album is going to make. She owes him a favor for inspiring her so much. 3/5.
6. “He Won’t Go” – With a smooth bass guitar riff during Adele’s verses, I found myself bopping my head here. She flows so well but the chorus is less epic than the last few songs. However, not bad by any means. This is my least favorite song of the album so far. 2/5.
7. “Take It All” – A little bit over the halfway mark of the album, I found myself a bit bored here. Nothing special here to see truthfully. She did not take any true risks throughout this whole album so far and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing because not one song here is bad, it does however tend to get boring at times. This is the song that probably could’ve been left out or replaced by something stronger. 2/5.
8. “I’ll Be Waiting” – OK, even though this song is more upbeat than the last few tracks, Adele here is telling her former lover that she will be waiting for him to return to her and promises that things will be different this time around. “I’ll be better to you,” says Adele. Good song but I need a little bit of diversity at this point. 3/5.
9. “One and Only” – This is my favorite song on the album. Everyone person who listens to this should be able to somehow relate to it. Adele once again delivers vocally and I love the simplicity of the instruments. It lets her do her thing. No fanciness, just honest and vulnerable lyrics that should touch everyone’s heart. 5/5.
10. “Lovesong” – Beautiful guitars in the beginning of this song under Adele is beyond just music. The way Adele delivers her voice makes the listener feel as if the instruments themselves are talking to you. She does this here and yes, the topic of this song is the same as her other songs in this album, but for me it’s more about the instruments here. Beautiful track. 4/5.
11. “Someone Like You” – Great cap-off to an album that will be in my playlist for a long time to come. Like I said, I’m a sucker for keys and this song is full of them. Adele is a hell of a lyricist. Her songwriting is tremendous. It makes her songs that much more captivating and unique. Her voice is angelic and with only two albums in, this woman has an amazing music career ahead of her. 4/5.
Overall: 4 Owls out of 5.
