{"product_id":"46074","title":"21","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAdele's\u003c\/strong\u003e 2009 debut album, \u003cem\u003e19\u003c\/em\u003e, was a Grammy-winning smash hit that revealed the singer\/songwriter's knack for bittersweet soul and folk-infused love songs that brought to mind an infectious mix of Dusty Springfield and Terry Callier.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe album earned her a ton of fans, and interest was high for the inevitable follow-up. In many ways, her sophomore album, the similarly age-appropriate-titled \u003cem\u003e21\u003c\/em\u003e, is a continuation of the sounds and themes Adele was working with on 19. She is still the bluesy pop diva with a singer\/songwriter's soul and seemingly bottomless capacity for heartbreak.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf the tastefully organic production and overabundance of well-known co-writers come off a bit too on-the-nose in terms of delivering to fan expectations, then the best thing the album does is to showcase Adele's titanic vocal ability, which -- more than a few times on 21 -- is simply spine-tingling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLast time around we got the gauzy, Callier-esque folk-soul ballad \"\u003cem\u003eDaydreamer\u003c\/em\u003e\" to slowly draw us into the album; here, Adele immediately injects us with the propulsive gospel fever-blues anthem \"\u003cem\u003eRolling in the Deep\u003c\/em\u003e.\" While the track certainly owes a heavy debt to the punk-blues of Beth Ditto and the Gossip, it is also ridiculously sexy and one of the best singles of any decade -- and, unfortunately, completely sets the bar way too high for everything else on 21.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn inordinate amount of the material on 21 is about yearning for lost love. In fact, the centerpiece of the album, the mega-ballad showstopper \"\u003cem\u003eTake It All\u003c\/em\u003e\" -- co-written by her \"\u003cem\u003eChasing Pavements\u003c\/em\u003e\" partner Francis White -- begins with Adele proclaiming \"Didn't I give it all?\" Delivered starkly at first with Adele set against simple piano accompaniment and later backed by a gospel choir, it's an instant-classic sort of song in the tradition of \"The Rose,\" \"And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going,\" and \"All by Myself\" that could stand over the years as a career landmark for the singer and a cathartic moment for fans who identify with their idol's Pyrrhic lovelorn persona.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor others, over the course of the album, that persona and the insistence of track after track of heartbreak can get a bit alienating. Ultimately, however, Adele does give us her all on 21, and for now that is enough.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"XL","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":50410491707723,"sku":"335343","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50410491871563,"sku":"335342","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/a4f78088-dce0-44ea-b817-67c9fc4fb148_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726642680","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/products\/46074","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}