#137 Adele, '21' (2011)
New Entry
’21,’ the second studio album by Adele was her major breakthrough. Not just a massive album for her, one of the biggest albums in recent years. It’s quite bizarre how people work, to be honest. Along with the massive success of this record came a barrage of criticism and ill-will for Adele, not unsimilar to bands like Coldplay or U2, I guess. Make no mistake, however, this album is phenomenal and all its success is warranted. The album title is in reference to Adele’s age at the time of writing and production of the record (although, she was 22.5 years old by the time the album was released). Adele had started writing the album in the midst of the breakdown of her relationship with a man 10 years her senior. Adele channelled her heartbreak and depression into one of the most visceral and best breakup albums of all time.
Opening with first single, ‘Rolling In The Deep,’ the song is dark taking its cues from Blues and Gospel music of the early ‘30s, putting a modern twist on it. Adele has said “there's notes that I hit in that song that I never even knew I could hit.” Produced by Paul Epworth, she delivers a stunning vocal performance worthy of legends like Aretha Franklin, who would later go on to cover the song herself. With over 20 million sales, the song is the biggest selling digital single of all time. Elsewhere on the album there are massive songs such as ‘Rumour Has It,’ ‘Turning Tables,’ ‘Set Fire To The Rain’ and ‘Someone Like You,’ another massive song. But this is an album full of depth. Songs like ‘I’ll Be Waiting,’ ‘Don’t You Remember’ and ‘Take It All’ are every bit as good as the singles, as well as a great cover of The Cure’s ‘Lovesong.’ It’s a soulful album. Often criticised for being boring and sappy, it’s anything but. It’s got heart, a very broken one at that. The album features an array of incredible songwriters and producers including Epworth, Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic), Rick Rubin and Jim Abbiss. As recognised by Guinness World Records, Adele was the first female artist to have two singles and two albums in the UK top 5 simultaneously. It was also the first UK album is reach more than 3 million sales in one calendar year. It was the album with the most consecutive weeks at #1 in the UK, as well as most cumulative for a solo female in the UK. At 16-times platinum, it’s the most certified UK album in history, the most downloaded album in UK history, the biggest selling album of the 21st Century in the UK and the 4th best-selling album in UK history. The accolades continue. Too many to mention. To date, the record has sold 31 million copies worldwide. The album is mega, and it’s really just down to how good the music is and how excellent her voice is. Adele took her anguish and heartbreak and turned it into unprecedented success. And this is a great example as to why the list needed to be updated. Released a year before the 2012 update of the list, this has become one of the biggest albums of our time, completely deserving of a spot on the list.
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