Adele is a great singer and a good observer of what works musically, being heavily inspired by Jazz based singer and 27 club entrant Amy Winehouse. This album was allegedly inspired by a personal relationship that Adele had in secret with a photographer, and upon this album’s release, it broke records globally and put her more directly into the spotlight as time went on. For all her grief and despair throughout the recordings came what is now seen to be her best album, and also is seen as a very good listening experience as well. Regardless of if you are a fan or not of her music, Adele has some significant musical presence today. Let’s hear this album and see where it takes us.

Rolling In The Deep begins the album with muted acoustic guitar parts, some very Amy Winehouse styled singing and some great sounds abound. Adele presents herself as a really excellent singer and deals with internal emotions and struggles very well, penning them in a great and literal musical sense. Soon enough, the chorus hits and it takes you to a pseudo-Disco arena. This is immediately and undeniably very good to listen to, Adele does a great job here and she articulates musical emotions very nicely. One of the greatest songs by Adele, this is an enjoyable and fantastically moving tune. For all her claims of the album being written whilst being wasted (probably not), Adele delivers an enjoyable and great listening experience. A great song, even if it was played in public to death after its release. A real joy to hear.

Rumour Has It begins with a kick drum beat, some looped harmonies and goes straight into a good song about losing a lover with mixed feelings on the subject. Nonetheless, the music here, although very commercial sounding and dumbed down, works quite nicely on this song. The sounds are varied and diverse, with electric guitars and pounding drums, along with handclaps to keep one going. A good effort, and something that especially millennials will enjoy. This is a good song that sounds rather Nine Inch Nails-esque musically in its grandiosity. The instrumental break in the second half changes it all, and Adele launches into full flight with her singing and sounds. A great and interesting listen, going back into the chorus towards the end, before concluding with a good boogie-woogie conclusion. Nice to hear.

Turning Tables begins with some lovely piano that is well played. Adele sings emotionally and deeply about difficult circumstances the name of love and relationships. It is an underrated and pretty tune that definitely deserves hearing. It erupts into a mammoth tune with some strings, professional sounds and melodies and a very pretty ballad indeed. It’s a breakup song, which is a great style for Adele’s powerful voice. Quite honestly, this music is amazing compared to future efforts by her, and Adele sounds wonderful and lovely as a singer. She has a naturally gorgeous and lovely delivery that articulates the musical experience perfectly. Sure, it is fairly miserable lyrical content, but all the same, Adele sounds magical. If you need to hear some heartbreaking music that works well, this should be a good starting point for listening. Great music from start to finish. Adele is a truly amazing and talented singer. It ends with a lengthy string laden fade out.

Don’t You Remember begins with dual tracked acoustic guitars and a mellow listening environment for Adele to enter in with a dry sounding vocal. Again, although this music is very formulaic and commercial in its approach, it does work excellently. A really enjoyable and refreshing listening experience about the pain and terrible nature of a failed relationship. This is a really quality tune with lyrics referring to being “erased from one’s memory”, this is a great piece of music about what love does, at its worst. A very pretty and illuminating tune on failed love, Adele is the answer as the female version of Frank Sinatra’s break-up albums. Her songs are an excellent joy to hear, and the music is tremendously good. A sad reflection of losing a lover, and a postmodern symphony ballad. This does sound great, good one Adele.

Set Fire To The Rain begins with some classical and ballad style piano, quickly launching into another good song about romantic ideals with rich sounding production and sounds throughout. Again, this is very much breakup music in relationships, which is fairly dreary lyrically. Still, this song is an amazing effort and Adele articulates wonderfully the angst and pain of being in a love based relationship that hurts badly. A melodramatic and pretty tune, this is not happy music, however. A great listen for this style of music, Adele sets the scene perfectly using imaginative lyricism and clever sounds to make you feel sad, along with her as well. Her multi-octave vocal delivery here is amazing. Great effort.

He Won’t Go begins with some basic percussion based sounds, more piano flourishes and a different piece that sounds very sparse. Adele eventually launches into a piece of music that is dramatic and punchy, showcasing a neat, polished and well produced sound. The chorus has intermittent piano parts and Adele singing rather rhythmically, with verses about a man who refuses to leave behind a broken relationship. It’s good music, even if it is a bit too commercial sounding for its own good. It’s an excellent piece of music to hear regardless, and the sounds present are very refreshing and pseudo-Classical in appeal. The lyrics portray broken hearts and emotional torment very well. A cool listen, this indeed sounds very close to the bone. It concludes with some dramatic piano, nice work.

Take It All begins with some high range vocals from Adele, simple piano and a euphoric listening experience at hand. This is more Burt Bacharach styled female breakup music that works extremely well, even if this isn’t breaking any musical boundaries present by its release date. Adele has a tremendously excellent and powerful voice, and she sings about ending a relationship that wasn’t ever going to work in the first place anyway. A great tune, Adele pushes her voice to the limit in its range and scope present. A very lovely listen, even though this isn’t exactly happy music. Wonderful tune to hear, this is fantastic. A great song. “Take it all…with my love…” is repeated at the fade out. Another golden tune.

I’ll Be Waiting begins with a basic drum beat intro, followed by more piano that sounds upbeat and quite jolly. Soon enough, this launches into a pseudo-Disco music groove that sounds very upbeat. This is, again, a very good quality tune that has an immediate impact upon the listener. Singing again romantic love and the lessons learned from a failed relationship that will heal, as time goes on. A wonderful and euphoric listening experience, this does deserve hearing. By this point, this album has done exceptionally well and has made an album that shows even through the toughest of times in love, one can make it through to the next step. Adele promises to be a better person at the end of the day, and her voice floats and flutters nicely above it all. A tremendous effort, and such an underrated and underappreciated song. Great song that is a good four minute piece of postmodern Pop music. Nice work.

One And Only begins with some more slow and Beatleseque Pop styled piano, with Adele launching into her vocal part fairly quickly. Again, this is a gem from start to finish that just delivers an unique and dynamic sound present for a style of music by Adele which shows broken hearts and destroyed love. Adele does a tremendous job, over clean guitars and organ, and she is genuinely well deserving of praise for her music and singing voice. This extended piece at nearly six minutes long doesn’t wear out its welcome, either. A really awesome and lively listen, Adele launches into a pseudo-Soul singing style in the chorus, with her voice verging on a raspy nature, but in a very good way and tuneful way. In the second half, lone piano is played along nicely, and Adele resumes singing with some choppy hi-hats. Chanted dual tracked lyrics then follow, and one is honestly quite blown away by the results. Eventually, this switches back into main song mode and Adele sings about give broken love another chance. A fantastic song, definitely worth hearing. Great music to hear, and not a boring nor dull moment on this lengthy piece. Excellent music.

Lovesong begins with some crisp acoustic guitar in the left channel, followed by more acoustic double tracked guitar in the right channel. Adele sings in a simple and Jazzy sort of way that sounds dramatic and subtle. Soon enough, this launches into a classy Jazz based groove that is really interesting and fresh sounding. Adele puts her heart and soul into this monumental piece of craftily constructed music. “However far away, I will always love you…however long I stay, I will always love you” is sung here and the music is gorgeously dramatic. It is the postmodern equivalent of musical Shakespeare and there are some subtle sexual references here, which are interesting to find. There is a real bossa nova styled music listening experience here that just works well and is a bit different to the rest of the album. Great music, and a touching tune. It ends with some viola droning in the background and the acoustic guitar parts playing away. Good job.

Someone Like You is the most popular song off this album, and the final song here as well. It has some melodic piano that sounds very Classical in its approach. Adele launches right into singing and articulates about a long lost love from the past. A really powerful and interesting statement that is interesting and moving. “Never mind, I’ll find someone like you. I wish nothing but the best for you, too…” says it all and Adele puts in another outstanding performance. A truly great listen, this song is an amazing and gorgeous listen that music describes better than words can ever describe. Adele isn’t simply an one hit wonder, her music is a great symphony combination of cleverness and gneius in her own unique way. A serious and pretty piece about moving on from heartbreak, Adele does extremely moving vocals and a great listening experience here. Fantastic tune to hear, towards the end, it gets subtle before concluding. Nice, once again.

This is a groundbreaking and masterful Pop album that, not only is Adele’s best listen to date, proves that her unique voice and luscious sounds to match are a combination indeed that cannot be matched by others. Soon afterwards, Adele was cemented into music history as this album took off and she sang the James Bond theme to the 2012 Skyfall movie. An excellent listen and something that both women and men can relate to.

An enjoyable postmodern masterpiece.

9/10