Adele’s “25” is out and it’s the most talked-about album of the year. It’s already sold millions and will sell millions more over the holiday season. The multi-million dollar question is: Is it any good? (Or, rather, the $10 question or so, depending on where you buy.)The answer is a definite yes. If only so you can reply to the question “have you heard the new Adele and what do you think” in an informed fashion. The album isn’t on streaming services. Adele does things her way: few interviews, no rereleases with bonus tracks; restricted touring; no licensing of songs for tacky commercials.Those of us who have reported on and reviewed Adele for a long time have seen her mature. At early sessions at the BBC, your critic saw a stumbling shy girl who still knew exactly what she stood for. She was sweet and charming, drinking mugs of tea, meekly taking direction from the studio managers on the “Later With Jools Holland” show.Wind forward to “25” and that seems an eternity ago. Adele has continued growing up – not exactly in public, because she values her privacy. She still wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to the lyrics.Let’s start by saying what her third studio album has going for it. It’s well produced. That’s not surprising. Brian Burton (AKA Danger Mouse), Ryan Tedder, Max Martin, Bruno Mars and Tobias Jesso Jr. were among the expensive cast drafted in to make this shine. And it shines.It is classy, effortless. While some writers have said it is laid-back, dull or lazy, this isn’t fair: minimalist backing in places and languid ballads take a lot of work to get right. Less is more.Above all else there is Adele’s voice. Amy Winehouse was as striking, Duffy once had similar appeal, but this is Whitney Houston and Florence Welch rolled into one, power with control – in order words, awesome. She could probably sing the dictionary or phone book and it would sound great.Adele is a figure of contradictions. She’s been an overnight success – for more than eight years, since the release of “19.” While she has acclaim, money and a settled personal life, looking to the future, she’s still singing about heartbreak and looking back. Adele suggested in a release before “25” came out that this was to be an upbeat record. We still get lots of regrets. This is “Sadele” singing some slow, smoochy yet uplifting torch songs.It has a huge weight of expectations riding on it. Maybe too much.It seemed only right a few years ago to give 5 stars in my review of “21.” Some other writers get snobby about commercial potential. It was obviously powerful in any event. “Rolling in Deep” led the way, and the pace soon showed to Adele’s more measured beat. It is the best-selling album of the 21st century and lauded with praise and Grammy awards. Still, “25” has gone Platinum within hours, and there are predictions it will pass the more than 30-million-plus sales of its predecessor.We ought to be grateful she made it at all: Adele considered giving up music after the birth of her son and she had writer’s block in getting down to work on this one. If it is a “make-up record,” it is in coming to terms with her new self and the hurts of the past which still circle.So what’s not so good? Well, yes, it is a little downplayed. The first single, “Hello,” rang some alarm bells in that it wasn’t sparklingly packed with pop hooks, just beautifully thoughtful and filled with restrained passion: “I was wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet / To go over everything... They say that time’s supposed to heal ya, but I ain’t done much healing.”Not that music made by happy multi-millionaires necessarily moves mountains or sets fire to the rain. There’s nothing quite of the rocking power of “Rumour Has it.” It may not change the course of music, yet “25” has pleasant enough melodies and hooks that hint at many more singles to come. While it’s consistent, it’s something of a “groove album” with the same feel running through it. No surprises. Probably what the record company XL and many of Adele’s fans want.This has a more electronics than “21,” Even so, there is a lot of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” here. Adele is 27 now and she references some interesting autobiography. “River Lea” is North London with a gospel edge: “When I was a child I grew up by the River Lea / There was something in the water and now that something’s in me.”Adele may save the record industry. Maybe they should bottle the River Lea water and make a few more stars quick. “Someone Like You,” Adele? One hopes, but there will only be one Adele.Prediction: “Send My Love (to Your New Lover)” – potential pop single, Grammy success, and huge in 2016. You read it here first.
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