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159 of 176 found the following review helpful:
 The Amy Winehouse comparisons are as misleading as they are predictable. Aug 12, 2008
By latejazzlover
There's no disputing the gifts of Tottenham-born Adele Adkins, the latest BRIT graduate to stroll into the charts. As we know from her single Chasing Pavements, she has a sensational voice: rich, robust, voluptuously bluesy.
Is she the new Amy Winehouse?
It is not quite right.
True, both are white girls who owe a debt to black soul, both sing with a London twang ("I don't get nuffin' back," rasps Adele on the punchy "Tired"), and both are in pieces because their man done them wrong.
Eleven of the 12 songs on Adele's debut are about heartbreak (the other, "Hometown Glory", is about how cool London is).
Adele, though, is easier to listen to than Winehouse. Her music is cleaner, less menacing: there's the bright acoustic-guitar chime of "Daydreamer", the lullaby twinkle of "First Love", the plush strings of "Melt My Heart to Stone".
Her mesmerising singing tone, honest lyrics, jazz and soul influences, and brash Cockney speaking accent, echo Amy. But Adele's delivery is far more delicate.
Lyrically she's simpler, too, occasionally even soppy: "When there's no one there to dry your tears, I could hold you for a million years," she gushes on "Make You Feel My Love".
Where Back to Black sounded emotionally and musically true, almost everything on the covers-all-bases "19" sounds like it was absorbed by osmosis at the London's BRIT School for Performing Arts (where she, Katie Melua, Leona Lewis, Kate Nash and Winehouse are alumni).
Some will find Adele rigidly old-fashioned. Her influences (Etta James, Dusty Springfield, Billie Holiday) are from another age.
A cursory listen may lead you to conclude that Adele has a voice way in excess of her years. In terms of technical ability, that's true.
The instrumentation seems designed to usher you to that conclusion: a dash of jazz bass, the odd string arrangement that seems to take its cue from Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy".
"Sumptuous one moment then fragile the next, this is an album dripping with beauty and class.
Adele's voice caresses and inspires, and is superbly supplemented by piano, guitar and glorious orchestration".(Lee Davis)
All that we can say is that she sings with unabashed passion about a kind of pain we can all recognise, and that sort of thing doesn't date.
Made of Bricks
Piece by Piece
Spirit
Always
Rockferry
58 of 66 found the following review helpful:
 Adele is a breath of fresh air. Aug 09, 2008
By J. Taylor
"JacPo"
I found Adele about year ago on Myspace. I was instantly taken with the single Best for Last. I searched online for the CD because I had to here more from the person who posessed this voice I can only describe as "chunky butter"; unexpected and smooth. I absolutely couldn't find her anywhere not even in the record stores. I waited patiently because I knew she would not get away in the age when her type of music is such a breath of fresh air. I've had the CD in my hands for 3 days now and it's been all I expected. I can't stop listening to it. I still enjoy Best for Last but I seem to repeat Chasing Pavement, Make You Feel My Love which was one of my faves from Garth Brooks. But, I'd have to say Melt My Heart to Stone and Right as Rain are my favorites and touch me personally. I haven't listened to a CD this much since Corrine Bailey Rae. I didn't think to compare Adele to Amy Winehouse until I read a comment here. Although I understand the comparison there is something in Adele's voice that is so well rounded. Her voice reminds me of Sunday afternoon; patient, comfortable, strong but peaceful and not tormented. Her voice makes you want to play her in the background when you're entertaining friends or someone special for the evening. It's nice to see there are at least 12 songs in this world that maintain class, heart and beauty. I can't wait to hear more from Adele.
34 of 37 found the following review helpful:
 Great songs... poor quality... Jan 20, 2009
By Jennifer White
My partner's and my love affair with Adele was a slow-starter. We first heard her on SNL. As we heard "Chasing Pavements" every now and then, we'd say to one another, "I think I like that song, " then "I'm really starting to love that song," then "We have to buy that CD."
Well we bought the CD at Christmas time. I have got to say we love all the songs. LOVE THEM. We are the kind of people who will listen to something over and over until we are sick. The back buttons on all our CD players are worn from repeatedly listening to the same tracks over and over.
It would be the same with 19 if the quality of the recording wasn't so damn poor! It's horribly distorted and difficult to listen to unless the equalizer is set to flat. I thought it was our stereo at first, then perhaps that the CD was damaged but I have seen a few other comments on the web about the quality of the recording. It's a shame because it really distracts from the pleasure of listening to the album and robs her great voice of its depth.
35 of 40 found the following review helpful:
Angelic Apr 25, 2008
By Naoki
"Naoki"
Adele's voice is fantastic and emotive. She blends British acoustic with blues and soul like Lauryn Hill(unplugged) meets Tracy Thorn and Etta James.
This is the only album I have listened to for the past month. My favorites are (soulful) Melt My Heart to Stone, (folk/country) Crazy for You, (blues vocal) First Love and (motown-ish) Right as Rain.
Her style is NOT the Amy Winehouse raspy attitude type of voice. Adele's niche is with her guitar and her voice.
I can't get enough.
24 of 27 found the following review helpful:
Amy can sleep easy... Feb 11, 2008
By Nse Ette
With declining album sales, and with the smashing success of Amy Winehouse (millions sold, 5 Grammys won), it seems every British record label has been on a major quest to discover the next Amy Winehouse as a solution to their woes. One of the names being touted for that post is Adele Atkins, who had every major and minor music critic jostling to outdo each other in lavishing her with plaudits. Heck, she's even getting a Brit award later this month, and all this before she had even released her debut.
While most girls her age grew up listening to Britney, Spice Girls and Kylie, Adele was listening to some of those too, as well as to Eva Cassidy, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, and some Amy also. She does have a rich, smoky world-weary voice to boot. Listening to "19" (titled after her age), I didn't find it as immediate as Amy's CD was, but it is a grower and there is an attempt at sonic variety. The album was produced by Mark Ronson (who also did Amy's, and just won a Grammy for producer of the year).
I guess in an attempt to deflect too much comparison, Adele's disc isn't restricted only to smoky retro jazz/blues sounds in the 12 tracks. In fact, opening cut "Daydreams" is an acoustic ballad as are "Best for last" (though this has jazzy phrasings), and the sparse bluesy "Crazy for you".
Lead-off single (and #2 UK hit) "Chasing pavements" is a lush, sweeping jazzy power ballad. Similar is closing cut the stirring "Hometown glory" (an ode to Tottenham), a stunning piano/string ballad and my favourite. "Melt my heart to stone" is a downbeat blues tinged string filled ballad, while "First love" is lullaby-like, complete with tinkling bells. "Make you feel my love" is a sombre (almost hymnal) piano ballad with weeping cello/violin.
Upping the tempo are "Cold shoulder" with skittery beats, "Right as rain" (Jazzy and bluesy, very Amy Winehouse), the catchy "My same" (with a snappy jazz/pop feel, I love it!) and "Tired" (lovely change in tempo midway).
The new Amy Winehouse? Not quite (one listen to "Back to black" puts paid to any such notion), but she should be able to carve a niche for herself in a field that promises to get even more crowded as the year progresses (with people like Duffy coming). Not bad at all for a 19 year old.
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