19

Such a beautifully powerful surprise, Adele's debut album `19' is still lingering on my skin days after listening to it for the first time. Yes, like everyone else I have heard `Chasing Pavements', but it was a brilliantly sung forgettable song for me. It just didn't have this "YOU MUST BUY MY ALBUM" quality about it. All this `Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash' comparisons got me interested, simply because I consider `Back to Black' and `Made of Bricks' to be two of the best albums I own. Eventually, it was a nice MP3 sale on this site that urged me to actually purchase the album, and THANK GOD FOR THAT!Honestly, I would have paid $20 for this.First of all, I want to say that Adele really does sound like a more polished version of Kate Nash. I adore Nash and consider her one of the most talented artists we have working today (hurry up with that sophomore album!) but Adele's vocals are superior (even if I still prefer the artistry surrounding Nash's brilliant debut album). There is a crispness about Adele's voice that folds into the flaws, the rasp that permeates and creates that luscious jazz feel to her album.Her voice leaves me in awe.Right from the very beginning, all the way to the very end, Adele keeps my attention, deservedly so. `Daydreamer' was a stunning way to open the album. It is simple, sure, but it establishes her as a vocal act. Her voice shines so beautifully, bouncing through the repetitious musical arrangement and cutesy lyrics with a real attention grabbing authenticity. The closing track, `Hometown Glory', instantly rests heavy on your heart. Everything about the song is so moving, from the heartfelt lyrics to the piano laden musical arrangement (aching of longing) to Adele's glorious vocal presence. These two tracks are beautiful bookends to this beautiful album.Some of my favorite tracks on the album are the ones that lend a spunky edge to Adele. Songs like `Cold Shoulder', `My Same' and `Tired' have a cheeky hip-hop influence that meshes marvelously with her smoky jazz scene aesthetic. `Cold Shoulder' may be my favorite track on the album. It has such an infectious vibe, it is instantly gravitational. The way her voice cracks ever so slightly on the chorus is so earnest and endearing. The slinky vibe of `My Same' is equally as infectious. The lyrical content (updated version of `Opposites Attract', nearly) is fun, fresh and honest (in a playful way). `Tired' is one of the songs that automatically calls Kate Nash to me. I could see Nash singing this song (maybe that's why I LOVE it so much). `Right as Rain' feels like an Amy Winehouse song, and Adele pulls it off marvelously. She just really has the genre wrapped around her finger.`Best for Last' runs right off of `Daydreamer' beautifully. It has that simple opening that picks up pace at about 40 seconds in. Adele establishes her musical stylings on this track, and jump starts the rest of the album. Like I said, `Chasing Pavements' is a beautifully sung track, but it still doesn't `hit me' like it has so many others. It is probably my least favorite track on the album (which says a lot for the album, since the song is still very good).The lullaby feel to `First Love' is brilliantly used. I just love the delicacy of the musical arrangement, for it lends itself marvelously to Adele's vocals.Adele's take on `Make You Feel My Love' is beautiful, if a little conventional. It doesn't have a spark that causes it to stand out, but the song is still beautiful, and her vocals are outstanding. `Melt My Heart to Stone', for me, is a more affective ballad. I love the lyrical structure, and her voice dances around the words so earnestly. `Crazy for You' has a simple structure, but Adele's complex vocal styling adds so many layers to this track. It's easily one of the best on the album, for it captures a style ages old but brings a modern feel to it.Since I like to do this, I'll go ahead and list the tracks from my favorite to least favorite:1) Cold Shoulder2) Tired3) Melt My Heart to Stone4) Crazy for You5) My Same6) Hometown Glory7) Daydreamer8) First Love9) Right as Rain10) Best for Last11) Make You Feel My Love12) Chasing PavementsIn the end, this is one of the best albums I've heard in a long time, and can rest next to `Made of Bricks' and `Back to Black' as one of the best albums I own.

Sounds great! Love it..

Very good cd!

Calidad de sonido, justo como lo esperaba

All of the songs on this album are so pleasing to the ears. Adele is truly phenomenal at not only singing, but writing meaningful lyrics about love and the like. "19" is a great addition to anyone's vinyl record collection!

If you have several personalities, everyone will probably like at least one, or some of them, right? This must be the theory applied by Adele and her collaborators when choosing the material and production for these 12 tracks. Avoiding the stylistic consistency of Duffy's "Rockferry" and Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" (Adele's 2 UK soul sisters), they opted for an eclectic variety which left me feeling, after hearing it for the first time, that it was the oddest album I had ever heard. I want to say right off that Adele's talent is not in question here. She has a strong, smoky, supple voice, and she wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on the album, so she's got the goods. It was the lack of consistency that threw me at first, until I stopped expecting it and just listened to what was there.I don't care for the first track, "Daydreamer". Not at all. I find it too soft and mellow, devoid of any spark. Thankfully, it only gets better from there. The next one, "Best For Last", sounds a little like what a lounge singer might sing. I like that. Then, with "Chasing Pavements", we get something in the realm of normal pop music. It resembles the retro style Duffy has cultivated. "Cold Shoulder", grounded by a basic hip-hop beat and decorated with very inventive vocals and production, is one of the best tracks. "Melt My Heart to Stone" has the general feel and spirit of Macy Gray's "I Try". In "First Love", Adele's vocal blends sweetly with the accompaniment of what can only be (in my head, anyway) a humongous music-box. "Right As Rain" and "My Same" abound in energy and would probably delight a Vegas audience. Adele sings Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" better than anyone I have heard; her sincerity of feeling for the song is very evident. I think "Tired" could probably be a hit for the current Duchess of Pop, Fergie. And finally, I like "Hometown Glory" for its solid, thick piano sound and the cultural/political implications in its lyrics.I hope I have given you some idea of this CD's variety. Adele shows a lot of promise. She has proven that she can sing just about anything and do it justice. But I feel that for long-term success, she needs to narrow her focus a little and "define" herself a little, as they say on American Idol. Otherwise, all of those different voices might just blur in people's minds and make her too vague to remember.

Llegó bien y en tiempo

Les meilleurs morceaux! Super CD!

Veio super rápido, a tiragem é antes de 2010 (o que é maravilhoso). Foi presente e ele amou!

Nice cd

The Start of an incredible Career ❤