Adele 2012

In the past two years, Adele has refined and reinvented her unique sound that always puts her aching yet powerful vocals and lyrics at the forefront. These are songs that could have been released in the 60s as easily as 30 years from now. Adele has injected her trademark piano ballads with the best from several different musical genres including Americana roots and country, r&b, blues and gospel. The music is exciting and simply is. It lives, breathes.
There are a few tracks towards the middle that are remarkable only because Adele sings them-- and while they aren't quite filler, they aren't as memorable as standout tracks like "Rolling in the Deep," "Set Fire to the Rain," "Someone Like You," and "Turning Tables." Adele set the bar so high with these songs that anything else short of magic, is sort of a letdown. However, as a whole--this album so involves you that you can feel these stories as your own.
I played a couple songs for my mom, who at forty years older than I, generally criticizes my music taste, and the first thing she said was "Wow, this girl really knows how to write a story--those songs are beautiful."
21 is haunting, pulsing, soaring and very intimate. It's music that will be remembered.