21 by Adele

Do you ever miss the days when you could turn up your radio as loud as you wanted and blast the music as you drove down the road?  Well, Adele’s 21 will make you want to do just that.

For starters Adele’s powerful; seemingly effortless vocals evoke memories of greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Etta James. However, it’s her range of emotion that truly pushes her over the edge. With precise tonality and heart-wrenching mastery of sentiment, Adele grips the listeners’ ear and heart in one fail swoop.

The first two songs – “Rolling In the Deep” and “Rumour Has It” – will have you singing and dancing (as much as you can if you listen to her in a car).  And her final song on the album, “Someone Like You”, will have even grown men tearing up.

The remaining songs are a nice, well-balanced mix of mid-tempo songs and all have their own unique appeal.  My only complaint (if there is one to be had) is that 21’s “love did me wrong” theme can sometimes wear one down if you don’t mix up the songs with other lighter fare. It is a truly polished album and I enjoy listening to it, but too much of it and I find myself just a bit melancholy.  However, I don’t often get to listen to it on my own; so, its overall theme has yet to strongly affect my mood.  And, truthfully, I would much rather listen to music that moves me than music that has no lyrical or emotional weight.