Adele: Rolling In the Deep
Sweltering southern root music leads UK singer to her next high point of her career
Adele’s not your conventional pop singer. At 22, she sings with the passion of a Mavis Staples with a heavy burden for Dolly Parton. On her lead single from her 2011 LP 21, this London pop-soul starlet remains true to what she loves, while maturing immensely in her organic craft. When Adele leaps into the first verse after a constant stroking of guitar plunks, you can tell she’s a woman recovering from scorn. She sings with tried-and-true Mahalia Jackson conviction and with the wisdom of a master blues musician when she echoes, “There’s a fire starting in my heart/Reaching a fever pitch, it’s bringing me out the dark.” Luckily, her wounds are treated with a therapeutic salve loaded with gospel summoning and soulful Americana. Excellent drumming and a Rolling Stone-esque blues lead the way to her exodus. Handclaps of freedom and a choir of call-and-response on the chours drive the song’s momentum as Adele belts out her wrath: “We could have had it all/Rolling in the deep.” This is the stuff that the blues was made of and the stuff that keeps it going.
J MATTHEW COBB
LISTEN TO:
ADELE – ROLLING IN THE DEEP
[audio:http://hifimagazine.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/adele-rollinginthedeep.mp3|titles=Adele – Rolling In the Deep]