For some reason, everyone has been going crazy over Duffy this year; who is just continuing that foray into the “sounds of the past” that really hit the mainstream last year with Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black.
I feel compelled to mention this, because for me, Adele so far outshines Duffy at playing the same game, that it really makes me wonder where all the Adele love is hiding (well, the Grammys took notice, so I am not THAT bitter). From the first time I heard Hometown Glory back in January, I knew that I had to get my hands on everything that this AMAZING singer was going to release; her vocals are massive and so sweetly beautiful. She really harnesses the classic style that her predecessors like Billie Holiday and Etta James perfectly presented so many years ago. With her music, and amazing vocals, it’s almost as if Adele has the ability to transport you back in time to a bluesy cafe in the 60s, where she performs amazing song after amazing song for the patrons.
This was probably the album that I anticipated the most this year, because I found out about her a while before I could get my hands on any of her amazing music, and I it really created an insatiable hunger for Adele. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait too long to get the goods; Adele’s amazing debut album, titled simply 19
(which was her age at the time of release) was released in the UK, and then finally in the US in the first few months of 2008. It really only took one listen to know that this CD would be perched near the top of my list; and look, here it is. She has made an album that is filled with heartbreaking tales about love and loss, and even though she sings from a place of youth, she really has a way with turning phrase to really hammer home her point. When she sings lines like “whenever you look at me I wish I was her” and “as you tear your way right through me/I forgive you once again/without me knowing/you’ve burnt my heart to stone” you really get the sense that the talent in Adele is not solely focused in her voice. She has made an epic debut, and it really blew me away this year. I will say, that I can not get enough of Adele, and I look forward to seeing her live early in 2009 when she comes to Atlanta.
Seriously, if four Grammy nominations aren’t enough of an indication at the level of talent in this amazing artist, take it from me, Adele is the real deal. She has the voice, the music, the lyrics; she has it all. The way that she uses her voice like an instrument is completely mesmerizing, and totally beautiful. The inclusion of her cover of Bob Dylan’s To Make You Feel My Love (a personal favorite of mine) also shows her ability to take something classic and put her own beautiful spin on it. Adele has made one of my favorite records of 2008 with 19,and I am just glad that she is starting to get some more well deserved attention.
Sparkle Factor: 
Stand Outs: Hometown Glory [audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_14_adele-hometown.mp3]
Chasing Pavements, To Make You Feel My Love, Cold Shoulder, Daydreamer, Melt My Heart To Stone, First Love.
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