We are currently a week and a half out from the release of Adele’s 4th studio album 30. For the month of November i’m going to be listening to all of Adele’s albums and breakdown the history of her discography so far. Culminating with a review of the album 30. This week I am covering Adele’s third studio album “25”.
*For these reviews ill be going over each song and talk about subjects like its length, imagery, music video, and creation process. I will then give it my own ranking out of 1–10 and decide weather or not id put it in a playlist or not. All of these rankings are that of my own opinions.
“25” was Adele’s third studio album. It was recorded between 2013 to 2015, and was released on November 20th 2015. The album features 11 original tracks, which were distributed by XL Recordings and Columbia Records. “25” charted in 33 different countries, and earned #1 in 30 countries. It also earned a total of 87 certified platinum titles, 4 certified diamond titles, and 2 certified gold titles. Adele earned a total of 13 nominations for the album, where she took home 8 awards.
1: “Hello”
Length: 4:55
Written By: Adele Adkins, Greg Kurstin
Composed By: Greg Kurstin
Review: The first song on the album serves as an apology towards Adele herself, and everyone she may have hurt from her previous albums. With the themes of this song being forgiveness and reconciliation. Obviously this song is iconic, and had massive successes on the charts. Compared to some of Adele’s other a-tracks this is lower on my list however it has very catchy and memorable lyrics that you wanna scream out. These lyrics complement Kurstin’s instrumentals wonderfully. With my favourite part being between the final bridge and chorus.
Rating: 8.5/10
Playlist Worthy: Yes
2: ”Send My Love (To A New Lover)”
Length: 3:43
Written By: Adele Adkins, Max Martin, Shellback
Composed By: Max Martin, Shellback
Review: The second song on the album delves into the emotions felt by switching from one romantic relationship to another. Specifically in Adele’s case from the previous lover “21” was written about and her (now) ex husband. This song is personally my favourite Adele song in her discography so far. For this song I love that through the verses the instrumentals are simple and easy to listen to which compliment the slowness of Adele’s vocals well. Then the switch of a more upbeat instrumentals when Adele’s vocals sped up throughout the choruses. Overall a very iconic but underrated song compared to her other hits.
Rating: 9/10
Playlist Worthy: Yes
3: “I Miss You”
Length: 5:48
Written By: Adele Adkins, Paul Epworth
Composed By: Paul Epworth
Review: The third song on the album delves into all forms of intimacy. With themes of sex, temperaments, and longing for more be prevalent throughout the song. “I Miss You” is said to be Adele’s most erotic song on her discography so far. This song reminds me of a lot of the music used throughout the fifty shades of grey soundtracks (such as music from Ellie Goulding and The Weekend from its imagery, as well as the instrumentals reminding me of a lot of older The Wanted music (which also featured the same forms of imagery as well). This song is very different from a lot of Adele’s other songs, however it compliments her overall discography very well.
Rating: 8/10
Playlist Worthy: Yes
4: “When We Were Young”
Length: 4:51
Written By: Adele Adkins, Tobias Jesso Jr.
Composed By: Ariel Rechtshaid
Review: The forth song on the album delves into the nostalgia felt with meeting up with old friends and lovers. With remembering of the “good old times” and longing to go back to those happy point in your life. This song is said to be heavily inspired by some of Elton John’s discography. This song is absolutely beautiful and makes me pretty emotional. Adele captures the small details of nostalgia and “the good old times” very well, and describes her experiences in a way where i’m able to connect the lyrics into my own life very well. I also have to acknowledge the usage of background vocalists for this song which is unique compared to Adele’s other songs in her discography because it works well with this song.
Rating: 9/10
Playlist Worthy: Yes
5: “Remedy”
Length: 4:05
Written By: Adele Adkins, Ryan Tedder
Composed By: Ryan Tedder
Review: The fifth song on the album is a song dedicated towards Adele’s son Angelo and her love for him and all closest to her. With the main message of this song is the love from the people closest to her igniting her passion for music again. The vocals and lyrics for this song are nice, and the overall appearance of this song is good easy listening. However I find the lyrics hard to relate to because this songs lyrics are about experiences i’ve never related to or experienced before, so it this case this song is ranked lower then others on the album, however it is still a nice song.
Rating: 7/10
Playlist Worthy: Maybe
6: “Water Under The Bridge”
Length: 4:00
Written By: Adele Adkins, Greg Kurstin
Composed By: Greg Kurstin
Review: The sixth song on the album delves into the uneasy and anxious feeling of believing that every relationship is going to end in sorrow and misery. With the themes of trust issues, and anxiety towards relationships believe very prevalent throughout the song. Honestly this song is personally one of my least favourites from Adele’s discography that I've listened to so far. I feel while listening to this song i find that the lyrics were a bit basic compared to Adele’s other songs, as well as the pop like instrumentals not matching the vibes the lyrics and Adele’s vocals put off. Although before listening to this song i knew that it was originally written about Adele’s now ex-husband, so that could've influenced my opinions on this song as well.
Rating: 4/10
Playlist Worthy: No
7: “River Lea”
Length: 3:45
Written By: Adele Adkins, Brian Burton
Composed By: Danger Mouse
Review: The seventh song on the album is referencing a river Adele use to walk in her home town, it delves into Adele blaming her faults on her hometown life, and the phenomenon of people from a specific area being so one alike from one another. For this song Adele’s vocals remind me a lot of Amy Winehouse’s discography. I feel that this song would be relatable for people who grew up in the same hometown as Adele, or some place similar to her hometown. This song doesn't give me the same emotions and enjoyment as her other songs on the album.
Rating: 5/10
Playlist Worthy: No
8: “Love In The Dark”
Length: 4:46
Written By: Adele Adkins, Samuel Dixon
Composed By: Samuel Dixon
Review: The eighth song on the album delves into the uncomfortable emotions surrounding Adele’s rebound relationship she went through during the production of “21”, specifically her anger and embarrassment towards the rebound as a whole. The vocals for this song are absolutely wonderful, with Adele’s emotions being projected very well throughout the choruses of the song specifically. Although I don’t relate to the scenario the lyrics are about specifically, the lyrics still remind me of times through my life where i also felt embarrassment and anger towards someone. The orchestral instrumentals of this song are also beautiful as well. Overall another very well done song.
Rating: 9.5/10
Playlist Worthy: Yes
9: “Million Years Ago”
Length: 3:48
Written By: Adele Adkins, Greg Kurstin
Composed By: Greg Kurstin
Review: The ninth song on the album is influenced by the emotions she felt returning to a park in her home town. Where this song delves into the nostalgia felt when Adele returned to her hometown and reminisced all of the hard work she put into her music career before the release of her first album “19”. What stood out o me the most for this song is the harmonization used between each verse and chorus, which is something I haven’t really hear yet in Adele’s discography so far. The instrumentals for this song are also very nice on the ears, and complement Adele’s relatable lyrics as well. The song is another good easy listening song in her discography.
Rating: 7.5/10
Playlist Worthy: Yes
10: ”All I Ask”
Length: 4:32
Written By: Adele Adkins, Bruno Mars, Phillip Lawrence, Christopher Brody Brown
Composed By: The Smeezingtons
Review: The tenth song on the album delves into the longing to escape a toxic relationship no matter the actions and emotions felt by the other person in the relationship. This song is said to be Adele’s least favourite due to her believing that this song is cursed from every performance of this song going wrong. Growing up i listen to this song a lot as well, so i personally find it iconic. The lyrics of this song are very pretty, and the piano used works very well to heighten the emotion of the lyrics and Adele’s vocals.
Rating: 8.5/10
Playlist Worthy: Yes
11: “Sweetest Devotion”
Length: 4:12
Written By: Adele Adkins, Paul Epworth
Composed By: Paul Epworth
Review: The eleventh and final song on the album delves into Adele’s devotion into loving her son, and her protectiveness of him from the spotlight (due to having a famous mother). Since the lyrics of this song are that of the same for remedy, i will also give the song the same rating for be nice on the ears. Although with this song i did like the high notes Adele used through the choruses, which i believe really stood out to me throughout the song. .
Rating: 7/10
Playlist Worthy: Maybe
My conclusions:
In conclusion “25” was an album that had a mixture of relationship struggles, nostalgia, and a love for those closest. Like Adele’s previous albums, her continued experience with music is very apparent through her lyrics and vocals. With the instrumentals complimenting Adele’s vocals in a way that projects the imagery and messages behind the song in a way that makes each song relatable to most, and empathetic for others. Overall another very good album from Adele.
Overall Score: 7.5/10
References:
Authors Notes:
Thanks for reading my music review! Over the corse of November ill be covering and reviewing all of Adele’s albums culminating after the release of “30”. All material and links used in the article were taken from the web with the intent to be used for educational purposes. All links and photos are not my own.
