Adele Page 9
After the aforementioned ‘Chasing Pavements’ comes ‘Cold Shoulder’. It is here that the album takes a musical step up, as is fitting given that the man at the production desk was the legendary Mark Ronson. Lyrically and thematically, the album springs into life. Having started wistfully, introduced elements of heartache and then mild frustration, Adele here is angry and defiant. Backed by a full band in fine funk fettle, she berates her man for gracing her with a cold shoulder, and showering her with cutting words. She also sings that, when her man looks at her, she wishes that she could be the other woman in his life. In the process of which she dismisses his suggestion that she is imagining the problem. While she acknowledges that he may not have felt satisfied by their relationship, she adds that she is starting to share that feeling.
This is the sound of a woman who has seen her man for what he is. She has also seen her own faults and realises that she has repeatedly acted dumb, even in the face of clear evidence of his misgivings and errant behaviour. Just four tracks into the album and the gentle, sweet Adele of the opener has turned into a furious, determined woman. What happened to the Adele of ‘Daydreamer’? She returns, in part at least, in ‘Melt My Heart to Stone’. Musically, this is a gentle, softly sung effort. The tune is not remarkable in itself, but Adele’s vocals carry it home. The sense of a woman wising up to the realities of a flawed relationship remains. She mournfully admits that she is forgiving her partner’s behaviour, as well as pretending he is different. This is her favourite song on the album. ‘I just love singing it. When I wrote it, I was crying,’ she said. ‘The song is about breaking up a relationship.’
In a curious turn of phrase, she feels this denial on her part melts, then burns, her heart to stone. She concludes that of the two she is the only one in love. At the end of ‘Melt My Heart to Stone’, she confronts the object of her song with the fact that, as she stands her ground, he takes her hand – thus depriving her of the self-confidence she is trying to establish. She closes with the accusation that he builds her up, only to leave her dead. Having shown the power of her ability to make recriminations, Adele is in a different mode in ‘First Love’. She sings sweetly and admiringly of her first love and asks him to forgive her as she needs to end their relationship. Accompanied by just a keyboard and triangle, she announces that she needs to experience a kiss from someone new.
The defiance of ‘Cold Shoulder’ is reprised in ‘Right as Rain’. This is a happy tune, detailing the upside of heartbreak. If there is an ‘I Will Survive’ on 19, it is here. In this up-tempo song, Adele and her backing singers ask the listener, who wants to be firing on all cylinders? There is an excitement about the drama of heartache. Anyway, at least she can tell herself that she chooses to be alone. Having cried her heart out, she is in no mood to make up with her ex. She is tired, she announces in the song’s percussion-less middle eight, of playing games. She has decided that life is harder when you’re on top. The defeatist sentiment is contrasted by the happy and funky soundtrack.
The ninth track is her cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’. This was a song Dylan released in the late 1990s. It has since been covered by artists including Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, Garth Brooks and Bryan Ferry. Adele’s cover came about at the suggestion of her manager, Jonathan Dickins. He explained that he ‘played [it] to her, and she loved it and that got on the record’. This, he added, was not a rare intervention on his part: ‘I like to be hands on and be creative and have a musical opinion, even if the artists disagree with it sometimes.’ On 19, Adele takes Dylan’s track to new, gospel-infused heights. It is the album’s most tender, warming track. As we shall see, it is also a song that – through Adele’s cover of it – has had a significant impact. ‘The song is so convincing,’ she said. ‘But when I first heard it, I couldn’t understand the lyrics. When I finally read them, I thought they were amazing. The song just kind of sums up that sour point in my life I’ve been trying to get out of my system and write into my songs. It completes the shape of the album which is not sad, but bitter.’
It is back to original material for the remainder of the album. Track ten is ‘My Same’ – a song she wrote about a friend when she was 16. If there was a mission statement behind the song, it would be an acknowledgement that opposites attract. It is a jolly song about a friendship that should not work – but does. For years Adele did not sing the song live, as she had fallen out with her friend and did not want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she was singing about her. As of 2011, Adele added the song to the set list for some shows at least, after making up with her friend. ‘It was probably over something stupid, I can’t even remember why I stopped talking to her, that’s how pathetic I was,’ said Adele. She added that the irony of her initial refusal to play the song live was that it showed her stubborn streak – a major theme of the song.
‘Tired’ is a song that expresses how Adele feels after trying to make a relationship work, only to find that she gets nothing in response. Why bother? she wonders. During an anomalous, almost psychedelic middle-eight, Adele reproaches herself by whispering that she should have known. Then it’s back to the simple but catchy main melody. The music has a strong beat and is one of the more energetic tracks on 19, though the electro-pop beeps are a strange inclusion on this otherwise impressive tune. Yet, while she might indeed sound a little tired in ‘Tired’, she certainly does not seem exhausted. Indeed, she sounds more tired on the album’s closing song, the aforementioned single ‘Hometown Glory’. The theme of this song is different to those of the album’s other songs, but the mournful air and haunting melody make it very much at home on 19. It is a short song, but one that lingers in the memory and the heart long after it has finished. So does 19 as a complete piece of work.
Many listeners responded to the end of the album by simply clicking ‘Play’ on whatever equipment they used so they could hear it afresh once more. But would the critics be as impressed as Adele and her team hoped they would be? In the main part, yes. The Observer’s brilliant Caspar Llewellyn Smith noted that, for a lady her age, Adele had produced a surprisingly mature record. ‘Of course, “mature” might be a synonym for “boring”, but this is also a perfectly paced record – not one to dissect for the MP3 player – and there are enough contemporary notes struck in the production to make it feel anything but retro,’ he said. Perhaps the highest praise in his review came in the shape of his comment that Bob Dylan would ‘envy’ her for her cover of ‘Make You Feel My Love’. The reviewer also compared her to Dusty Springfield and Aretha Franklin, ‘albeit of [London] SW2’. The BBC website said: ‘19 is a great start, a solid base to build a career on and a wonderful reminder of just how great our home grown talent can be.’ On Amazon UK, the staff review said Adele was ‘in possession of something special’. Looking ahead, he wondered, ‘Who dares to dream what bigger numbers could bring.’ Within days of the album’s release the Amazon page would be bombarded with glowing customer reviews as the punters had their say. Elsewhere in the online publishing world, Digital Spy’s Nick Levine wrote that the biggest strength of 19 was Adele herself: ‘She’s an engaging presence – alternately sassy, vulnerable, needy, apathetic and even, on “Hometown Glory”, a little bit political,’ he wrote.
Above: Adele in full flow in 2011.
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Bottom: Barnstorming the Brits in 2011.
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Above: The BRITS school helped to make Adele a star.
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Below: The young Adele with her name in lights.
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Left: Adele with collaborator Eg White.
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Right: Another associate is Mark Ronson.
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Inset: Legendary producer Rick Rubin helped Adele’s sound.
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Above: In the BBC’s Maida Vale studios in early 2011.
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Below: A (mostly) new gen
eration of divas in 2009 – Adele (second from right) on stage in New York with, from left, Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Paula Abdul, Jennifer Hudson and Leona Lewis.
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Right: Designer Barbara Tfank, an invaluable fashion resource for Adele.
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Left: Will Young with his early admirer Adele.
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Above: Jonas Brothers – Kevin, Joe and Nick – and Adele backstage together.
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Below: Mark Ronson and Adele at the Electric Proms in Camden, London.
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Adele performing at the Grammys in February 2012 and going home from the ceremony with two armfuls of awards.
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The main negative review came in Uncut magazine. It was written by Barney Hoskyns and, though it made some valid and fair criticisms, it started from a peculiar place. He pointed out that the early 1980s saw a raft of new white soul singers, including Mick Hucknall, Marti Pellow and Alison Moyet. ‘Nobody gives a toss about ’em today,’ he said. Not entirely true, but also an irrelevant point. It is an extremely rare chart artist who is still followed and popular three decades after their heyday. Though he humorously described himself as a ‘gnarled rock-scribe veteran’, this seemed to be very sceptical. He said ‘Make Me Feel Your Love’ was ‘emotionally vapid’ and ‘Crazy For You’ ‘wants to be Patsy Cline via Etta James but isn’t’. Given the middle-aged male demographic of Uncut, perhaps this publication was never destined to be a cheerleader for a young woman like Adele. NME, too, was lukewarm, giving 19 just five out of ten. ‘It’s clear that, for all the hype, Adele is not yet ready to produce an album of sufficient depth to match her voice. Popular wisdom holds that Winehouse didn’t hit her stride until after her debut: perhaps that’s the case with Adele,’ wrote Priya Elan.
This was one of several reviews that concluded with a comparison to Amy Winehouse. The Times’ review was peppered with similar points, speaking of ‘a post-Winehouse thing’ and Adele’s ‘nu-Amy status’, though also conceding that there might be laziness in applying that label to her. Leaving, appropriately enough, the best of his review until last, Peter Paphides wrote that, as he listened to 19, he wanted to give Adele some warm milk and biscuits and tell her that no man is worth all the heartache she was expressing in the songs. He speculated that she may well agree with such a thought. ‘But would she believe it if you told her that no album is worth this sort of heartache?’ he continued. ‘Probably not. And, when you hear 19, neither will you.’ He gave the album four out of five stars.
Refreshingly, Dorian Lynskey, of the Guardian, wrote that the Winehouse comparisons ‘are as misleading as they are predictable’. Welcome words, but the rest of his two-star review was damning. ‘There is scant emotional heft behind Adele’s prodigiously rich voice, little bite to her songwriting,’ he said. Having dismissed the Winehouse comparisons, he nonetheless made a gin-flavoured one himself, saying that, if Back to Black was ‘Tanqueraystrength heartache, 19 is more of an alcopop.’ For the red-wine-favouring Adele, this might have been a hard analogy to swallow. However, his review was almost positive compared to that on the Sputnik Music website, which concluded that 19 was ‘music for fat, pubescent girls to get dumped to’. Thank goodness for Q magazine, which cheered that ‘Adele’s songs possess an ageless classification’. However, Q also reached the same conclusion that many other critics of 19 had: that the best for Adele was yet to come. There was a definite feeling that she had only scratched the surface of her talent. It was as if many listeners felt more impressed with Adele herself than they did with 19. The critical response would be so much more positive for her next album, as critics took note of her undoubted improvement and also scrambled to add their names to the bandwagon that Adele was now majestically travelling in. She could then have afforded a smile as she noted the urgency with which the critics chased her, suddenly keen to glorify her. In part, this reflected a tangible improvement in her work, but it also reflected the fact that, despite doubts expressed by many of their number about 19, the record-buying public had given the album a far less ambiguous response. It came in straight at the top of the charts in its first week on sale. Adele was delighted.
Although she was a fan and lover of music, she was also possessed of a shrewd, commercial mind, and the fact that 19 was a UK No 1 was of huge significance. Adele is the people’s pop singer and therefore it is the people whose verdict means most to her. Though in general she has drawn much praise from reviewers, it is the verdict of the girl browsing the shelves of HMV – as she did as a teenager – that means more to her than that of the jaded, middle-aged critic.
As for the music industry itself, it had been waiting some time for an artist that would create ‘events’ in terms of sales. Though it would be her follow-up album that saw her break records and shift units in terrifying numbers, the word had already got round the industry in 2008 that Adele was a major prospect. But it wasn’t just about product – she was mindful that in writing about her own heartbreaks she could assist others in coming to terms with theirs. She hoped she would. Nobody was more aware than Adele, as she has said, of the healing potential of music. While she was frank enough to admit that this was not her primary motive, it was a side effect that she was aware of and delighted by. ‘To help me get over something and be able to help other people is the best thing ever,’ she said. 19 earned a Mercury prize nomination, announced in July 2008. Up against her was a fine mixture of talent, including Elbow, British Sea Power, Radiohead and Rachel Unthank & the Winterset. The winner was Elbow, with The Seldom Seen Kid. However, to have even been nominated for such an award was an exciting honour for Adele. In just a few years, she would be nominated for even more – and would win many of them.
Meanwhile, she was also dealing with a process familiar to many who have become suddenly famous and successful. As soon as any person becomes known publicly, people often want to join in. This can either take the form of hangers-on, eager for a place in the spotlight or simply people keen to make a bit of money. Adele has said that the latter trend afflicted her after 19 became a hit. During a chat with the Sun, she claimed that the ex-boyfriend that influenced 19 had been in touch with an audacious request – he wanted a cut from the royalties. ‘For about a week he was calling and was deadly serious about it,’ she told the newspaper. ‘Finally, I said, “Well, you made my life hell, so I lived it and now I deserve it.” He really thought he’d had some input into the creative process by being a prick. I’ll give him this credit – he made me an adult and put me on the road that I’m travelling.’ Again, the Winehouse comparison was striking: her debut album Frank was influenced by an ex-boyfriend she had met while working as a trainee reporter.
Given her feisty nature, the media sometimes tries to drag Adele into spats with other female artists. Such conflict always makes for entertaining stories. She rarely bit, as was seen on one of her early television appearances. By the summer of 2011, the consensus was that BBC light-hearted music panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks had probably seen better days. It had peaks during the successive reigns of presenters Mark Lamarr and Simon Amstell. Since the latter host departed, the show has rotated hosts and guests regularly have to contend with outrageous mickey-taking as part of the game. Back in its heyday, things were quite different. For instance, Amy Winehouse made two appearances on the show, one of which became legendary. She joked, spat and traded wisecracks with Amstell, providing the sort of entertainment and irreverent wit that many a stand-up comedian would have been proud of, let alone a musician. Since then, no musician had approached the level of fun that she had created.
However, when Adele first appeared on Buzzcocks, in 2008, she was entertaining enough. Amstell, introducing her, said, ‘She normally spends her time chasing pavements. Well, pavements can take a night off because tonight she’s chasing points!’ Joining her on guest captain Mark Ronson’s team was Australian
comedian and singer Tim Minchin.
In the opening round, her team was asked to name what had once caused a delay to a Kylie concert in Brighton. She took the opportunity to comment, ‘I love Kylie.’ Amstell continued his chat with Adele saying, ‘Do you want to know why I like you? Because you’re down to earth, you’re likeable, you’re like the perfect human being. You’re real, you tell it like it is, and you’re honest.’
Sensing she was being set up by Amstell, Adele said, ‘Yes?’
He added, ‘So tell us who you hate most out of Lily Allen, Kate Nash and Duffy.’ As she giggled, Amstell added, ‘Tell us why you hate Duffy so much.’
Adele said, ‘No, I don’t hate Duffy. But I’m Welsh as well and I wish people would know that, because my nanna gets quite upset. No one recognises that I’m Welsh. But she is full Welsh, but then she’s north Welsh.’
At this point Phill Jupitus chipped in to quip, ‘Yes, because I can tell from your accent that you’re more south Welsh.’
Amstell pursued his quest to encourage Adele to be controversial, saying, ‘Also, in interviews you feel that Duffy comes across as a bit fake, right?’
With a sheepish, uncomfortable smile, Adele replied, ‘Why are you doing this?’
Amstell continued to press, asking Adele if she thought Duffy was older than she claimed to be. To her credit, Adele laughed along with the banter, rather than taking it at all seriously. She certainly was never going to let fly about her so-called rivals in the same way Amy Winehouse did on Buzzcocks when she said she would ‘rather have cat Aids’ than work with Katie Melua.