|
Roger's Best of 2011
Member Since: 10/11/2004
Posts: 28,320
|
Disappointed by Rihanna's album
On the other hand:
21. Katy Perry f. Kanye West E.T.
22. Pitbull f. Ne Yo, Nayer, Afrojack Give Me Everything
24. The Decemberists Down By The Water
25. The Airborne Toxic Event All I Ever Wanted
27. Florence + The Machine Shake It Out
29. Red Hot Chili Peppers The Adventures of Raindance Maggie
|
|
|
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 12/7/2008
Posts: 87,284
|
E.T. , GME, and Shake It Out
Talk That Talk
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/20/2007
Posts: 37,153
|
Talk That Talk
|
|
|
Member Since: 1/26/2006
Posts: 17,384
|
The King Is Dead is a great album!
Quote:
24. The Decemberists Down By The Water
25. The Airborne Toxic Event All I Ever Wanted
27. Florence + The Machine Shake It Out
29. Red Hot Chili Peppers The Adventures of Raindance Maggie
|
4/10
"Shake It Out" and "Down By The Water" are my favorites from this set
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 3/19/2008
Posts: 37,076
|
The Young the Giant, RHCP, and Rihanna albums are all I listened to and they're good.
10/10 on the singles. Shake It Out & Rain Dance Maggie
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/24/2008
Posts: 21,950
|
this is the first c/d that I see the decemberist such an amazing band
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/2/2008
Posts: 22,610
|
Young The Giant I need to download their album.
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/13/2003
Posts: 48,022
|
The Adventures of Raindance Maggie
|
|
|
ATRL Administrator
Member Since: 5/2/2000
Posts: 2,844
|
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 5/9/2003
Posts: 3,779
|
Yay Decemberists and Chilis, two of the years best songs and albums.
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 10/1/2002
Posts: 14,726
|
Thanks for all the messages! Hope everyone had an incredible end to 2011 and an even better start to 2012. We’re about to get things rolling with two huge sets.
------------------------------------------------------------
Top 20 Albums: Part 3
10. Bruno Mars – Doo Wops & Hooligans
Although properly released in 2010, I didn’t give this album a fair shot until “The Lazy Song” came out earlier this year. Mars was now 3 for 3 with his singles, all well written, well produced and executed, so I thought to myself maybe this guy has got something. And damn, I’m glad I followed my hunch. With the exception of one or two true clunkers for ballads, this is a really consistent album which is now getting Grammy recognition. Beyond the core singles we’ve all heard thousands (literally) of times, there is a lot more less conventional Mars type material here, like the brilliant “Liquor Store Blues” duet with Damian Marley, or the Cee Lo Green duet where Mars shows he’s one of the few cats in the game to rival sir Cee Lo’s pipes. With millions of copies sold worldwide and critic fare on is side, I hope he takes his next album to a more Jazz/Soulful type vibe, something akin to when he performed that throwback version of “Grenade” on last year’s Grammy’s. He’s definitely one to watch.
9. The Sheepdogs – Learn & Burn
In a year where the big names of Canadian music (Metric, Arcade Fire, The Hip) were relatively quiet, the time was right for a somewhat established band to get their big break. With the help of a Rolling Stone cover contest win, and the release of the best album of their career, Ontario natives Sheepdogs quickly and surely built a devoted fan base with their brand of throwback, vintage rock and roll which sounds perfectly out of date. I am baffled “I Don’t Know” hasn’t been tested Stateside, it would be huge. And the entire album is much of the same, but never feels repetitive or lost in monotony. I saw them open for Kings of Leon at the 15,000+ ACC – and their booming vocals and guitar licks easily filled the rafters and ever since they’ve been playing bigger and bigger venues. This is one new band to make your first listen for 2012 if you haven’t yet caught the fever.
8. Jay Z & Kanye West – Watch The Throne
Given that Kanye has had three #1 albums on my past year-ends, a collaboration album with Jay Z should surely follow suit? Well, not quite. What I love about this album is that it shows who boss. Even if Drake and Lil’ Wayne and hell even Nicki Minaj sell more records, there is a sense of hip hop royalty when it comes to Jigga and Yeezy. I also like the “throne” metaphor, which establishes the royalty, and it’s fitting because the self-proclaimed king of hip hop would no doubt only ever pass his crown down to his protιgι, Yeezy. What I don’t like about this album is that now that I think of it, I hardly listen to it anymore beyond “****** in Paris”, “Otis”, “No Church in the Wild”, or “Lift Off” – everything else I do like, but it doesn’t really hold up well over time. I think it became really obvious when I went to their show this past November, and the obvious highlights for me and the rest of the crowd were their solo material, with most of the “Throne” material getting a tamer reaction except for the big singles. It’s still an establishing type of record, which makes a statement and show’s how their creative liberties know no boundaries. Nonetheless, with 2012 supposed to be a huge year for creativity for these guys, I hope they can do one even better
7. The Black Keys – El Camino
So many signs pointed to this being a huge album for rock music. “Lonely Boy” was on the first listen, one of the best songs of the year. When you bought the album (which at first I couldn’t because it was sold out everywhere!), it had a sticker that said “play this loudly”. And all of the reviews were suggesting that this was an album where a band who finally found it’s second audience, had fully embraced how good they were and just learned to have a kick ass, liberating time making music. Beyond the infectious lead track, “Dead and Gone”, “Gold on the Ceiling”, “Black Submarine”, “Money Maker”, and “Run Right Back” make for one of the best first half of an album you will ever hear. It’s a constant **** show barrage that never let’s its grip go, and begs to be played on repeat. They will tour North American stadiums this year with the equally raucous (or at least they used to be) Arctic Monkeys, and much like the Muse/Silversun Pickups tour of a few years ago, this is a HUGE show for new rock, and you should get tickets if you don’t already have them.
6. Drake – Take Care
Watch The Throne aside, this was probably the most heavily anticipated hip hop album, if not album in general, for the year 2011. And of course, our homegrown Ontario, Canada native did not let any of us down. Well executed marketing led to really early exposure of “Marvins Room” and “Headlines”, two songs that didn’t go nearly as hard as “Over”, but just didn’t need too. They immediately pleased the fans and slowly but surely found new audiences who weren’t as quick to pick up on them. Finally, in lieu of the album drop, “Make Me Proud” with his go-to-girl Minaj is unleashed and is probably the most thrashing track on the album, with Minaj nearly stealing the show yet again. What I really enjoy about this album is it’s diversity and it’s recognition. He gives a lot of love to The Weeknd, “Crew Love” is a sensational track, and he know that he can do it just as good by not having to go so big. The best songs here, like “Shot for Love”, “Over My Dead Body”, “Take Care”, and “Marvins Room” go head to head and hold their own amongst the more immediate tracks like, “The Motto”, “HYFR”, “Underground Kings”, and “Make Me Proud”. And any album that makes “YOLO” a buzz word, definitely has something going for it. A near 700k bow later, and the train isn’t close to stopping yet, Drake is definitely established in the elite of Hip Hop alongside Lil’ Wayne and the boys of the Throne.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Top 75 Tracks: Part 6
20. Britney Spears – I Wanna Go
Ms. Spears is no longer on the comeback trail and has solidified herself as capable of dishing out several hit singles from her latest string of albums. But that’s about all she did with ‘Femme Fatale’. Beyond the big three, with this being the second of three for her on the year-end, the remainder of the album was a cluster **** of recycled ideas and vision from the too early for it’s time, ‘Blackout’ album. Nonetheless, “I Wanna Go” is trademark Britney nuttiness. Ridiculous lyrics (“lably, lably, lably”), with whistling and an insanely catchy chorus that got thousands of people in the crowds across the world jumping in unison on her highly successful ‘Femme Fatale’ tour. Good thing this was released before “Criminal” and instead of “Drop Dead (Beautiful)”, because that could have been disastrous.
19. Death Cab For Cutie – You Are A Tourist
From an artist who relies on singles to a band that does the completely opposite, with their second of two, DCFC see another great year-end showing with the timeless “You Are A Tourist”. I thought the track did a really good job at grounding the band, bringing them down to Earth after the sky-high ambitious work on ‘Narrow Stairs’, including that brilliant 8-minute epic “I Will Possess Your Heart” which I think was too much too soon for Radio. This track is all things Ben Gibbord that we know and love, and reminds me of the simplicity and ease with which these guys do things. It seems effortless.
18. Coldplay – Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
Speaking of sky high ambition, how about this “Viva La Vida” part 2 effort from Chris Martin and company. VLV was my #1 song of 2008, and although this doesn’t quite match up, it gives good reason as to why Coldplay are selling tickets like hot cakes for their tour in support of ‘Mylo Xyloto’. With their first of two from that album on this year-end, and the album still to come, Coldplay had a really successful second half of the year despite the fact that the album sales took a bit of a hit. Coldplay will always be ridiculed for not putting out another ‘Parachutes’ or ‘A Rush of Blood’, or ever writing a song as good as “The Scientist” or “In My Place”, but they have fully embraced the Stadium-ready sound and appear in good form to fill the shoes at the top of arena rock from U2 when that time should need to come.
17. Drake f. Rihanna – Take Care
Maybe the only individual more successful Stateside than Coldplay this year was this man. One of the many standout tracks on Drake’s outstanding sophomore album of the same name is this low-key Rihanna collaboration. Leave it to Rihanna to drop yet again, one of the standout choruses of the year with lyrics I saw consistently quoted on social media sites from the second the track dropped. Drake and Ri compliment each other really nicely, as we saw on last year’s big hit, “What’s My Name”, and I like that they don’t feel the need to drop a heavy, hard hit like he often does with Minaj. This tempo works perfect for them.
16. The Black Keys – Lonely Boy
What “Take Care” lacked in the heavy and hard department the boys of Black Keys sure as hell picked up and ignited a trail of carnage in their path with “Lonely Boy”. I am of the lot who picked up on Black Keys late, not really recognizing them until ‘Brothers’. Nonetheless, us folk now know what many of have known for a long time, that these guys don’t mess around. So as much as we shouldn’t have been surprised, I was ****ing BLOWN away when I heard this track. It was the sound of a band who knew they had just released the album and song that defines this new phase of their career. It hit #1 on Alternative in lightning time, and although a late release for the year, this definitely rivals the Foo album and the single “Walk”, for as McHobbe’s so brilliantly put it, defining “badassology”.
15. Two Door Cinema Club – What You Know
Switching gears from a band establishing a second, yet new audience – to a band who established their first audience all together. “What You Know” was this years “Take Me Out” for me, an explosive lead single that left too much traction in the dust for any subsequent follow ups to make any lasting impression. But much like the Franz before them, hopefully their next album can deliver a similar, but more consistent punch. Love how this track just explodes from it’s verses into the chorus, transitioning from simple, to electric with a catchy as hell riff.
14. Adele – Set Fire To The Rain
Drum roll please. How do I even begin to introduce Adele to the year-end show? This is her first of four from her game-changing sophomore album, “21”, and everything I really want to say about her will come in a more justified write up for the album and it’s big singles. SFTR was clearly a fan favorite from the second the album dropped, getting radio play and live performance treatment well before it was a single, and now that it is a single, it continues to find a new audience. The track is trademark Adele and showcases the extent of her class-act vocal capabilities, and sensational song writing. One of the many defining tracks from one of the most important albums of the past ten years. I’m sure this track will still be a ubiquitous force in 2012 and (hopefully) a favorite of her live show. Oh, and although I don’t comment much on the forum anymore, I won’t lie, every time I see someone write “Set fire to your Favs”, I laugh a little.
13. Swedish House Mafia – Save The World (Tonight)
Last year, a track from Tiesto/Tegan & Sara very similairly landed themselves a top 20 finish for “Feel It In My Bones”. Filling the void this year, and capping what’s been a sensational year for dance music, is Swedish House Mafia. Quite simply, the track never got tired, the chorus got bigger with every go, and it got insane crowd reactions, particularly from their now legendary MSG show. This is a staple track for my weekends. Check it out if you haven’t.
12. The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow
This was the year for females, dance music, and breakout bands, with this being one of them. The Civil Wars arrive with their second of two, and are reeling in the success of their debut album of the same name. This was the first track I heard from them, and I was mesmerized. What the Decemberists did for Americana and blue grass feel on “Down By The Water”, the Civil Wars did one step better by adding an appropriate Country and Johnny Cash type feel to this track. The track smokes right from the get go, showcasing the duo’s incredible harmonies, which sound organic and never opportunistic. Her voice is haunting, akin to an Amy Lee, while the Johnny Cash comparisons are inevitable for the gent (God damn I wish I knew their names). I love how they ditch the instrument accompaniment for the chorus at first, then let their voices do the work as the track continues to hit new heights as it moves forward. The highlight of their year? Opening in North America and the U.K. for this young lady…
11. Adele – Rumor Has It
Make that 2 out of four for the most unlikely smash off her album, “21”. RHI is now begging to be a proper single. Never thought I’d say it, but the RHI/SLY mash up on Glee was fantastic, and shows that audiences have garnered enough trust and enthusiasm for Adele to accept this as a single. This has an amazing retro soul lounge feel to it, with the back up singers right on cue, and that incredible bridge where she nails it, “Bless your soul you’ve got your head in the clouds”. Then the breakdown near the end with the piano and change of tempo, brilliant. Doesn’t get much better. Actually, hold on, it does.
Next 2 days: #10-3 tracks, 5-3 albums
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/13/2003
Posts: 48,022
|
Bruno Mars
Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall + What You Know
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 7/23/2007
Posts: 35,994
|
7/10
Lonely Boy + Set Fire To The Rain + Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall + What You Know + You Are A Tourist <3
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 5/9/2003
Posts: 3,779
|
Black Keys, Throne, Adele, Coldplay, .. the best. Can't wait to see what is at the top of the list.
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 6/9/2002
Posts: 6,789
|
Wow! What great albums and singles sets! Which is not a surprise, as you have been doing a great job for all these years.
Albums: Nice seeing the Sheepdogs on there! I never heard their album, but I followed their story, and it really did make you feel proud to see those Canadian guys get big exposure like that. Watch The Throne, while I think I like the album a bit more than you do, I totally understand where you're coming from. Conspiracy Theory Corner: I think, with Jay/Kanye on the WTT Tour, they very likely toured with a recording studio on the bus. Could we get another Throne album in 2012? Here's hoping!
Black Keys, fantastic, and great write-up. And nice to see someone putting the Drake album on their list! I really enjoyed it, as well, and i'll putting in my own thoughts on the album in the near future.
Singles: Death Cab, Coldplay, Drake, Black Keys (the kings of badassology is right!), Adele x2. So many great songs!
Can't wait to see what charts next on your list.
|
|
|
Member Since: 1/26/2006
Posts: 17,384
|
Doo Wops & Hooligans is a good album
Also great list of songs: 8/10
Set Fire To The Rain, What You Know, You Are A Tourist
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
|
Watch The Throne, El Camino
From the singles I really love Save The World my fave this set! also What You Know
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/27/2008
Posts: 10,310
|
Set Fire To The Rain
You Are A Tourist
Save The World
Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 12/29/2003
Posts: 6,311
|
I may not agree on the album being a cluster****, I do agree with you on I Wanna Go as a song/single!
"With their first of two from that album on this year-end" SQUEE. EXCITED TO SEE WHERE THE SECOND GOES! /wtfiswrong
I'm pretty sure TPC will have a great new album because they did great covers on their FB and for heavens sake, they toured with New ****ographers!
Save The World (Tonight) ^_^
I so agree with RHI! Glee was quite fantastic, indeed!
Even with these single write-ups, you have such great flow! Your transitions are both descriptive and amusing, haha.
|
|
|
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 10/1/2002
Posts: 14,726
|
Thanks are in order as always for all of the responses. Can you believe its almost over? By Saturday the latest, the top two albums and singles will be posted! Crazy.
----------------------------------------
Top 20 Albums: Part 4
5. Amy Winehouse – Lioness: Hidden Treasures
Despite her well publicized addiction issues, the death of Amy Winehouse was still a complete shock and hit like a hurricane. Although I could only enjoy a few tracks off ‘Frank’, ‘Back to Black’ remains one of my top 10 favorite albums of all time. She sounded like a women in full control, her unique voice infused with jazz and soulful arrangements was one of the most commanding sounds to come from England in a long time. Eventually, the turmoil began to overshadow the talent, and what we had left in the wake of her death was bad memories and a disastrous performance in Serbia. Although many question the necessity of ‘Lioness’, I think it helps provide some, but not full closure. Technically, the album only offers a few new songs, although most of it is new to me. Additionally, the re-vamped ‘Back to Black’ tracks sound new again, with new approaches to favorites like ‘Valerie’, ‘Tears Dry’, and ‘Wake Up Alone’. Although this was meant to be a collection that preserved her legacy, it also acts as an unfortunate reminder of what was lost, and will never again be gained. Such an extraordinary talent can be remembered in such a small collection of music, who knows what this remarkable woman could have accomplished. Simply put, it still feels tragic.
4. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
After yet another highly publicized Oasis blow up, and a slight down from Liam in the Beady Eye project, I have to say this album was a huge sigh of relief to hear. To be honest, I can’t ever have imagined this turning out so good. It reminds me of that good-natured, pop sensibility we heard in Oasis tracks like “Don’t Let Back in Anger”, or the perennial “Wonderwall”. I also felt like I was listening to a Beatles album, particularly in tracks like “Death of You and Me”, “Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks” and “Dream On”. The “AKA!” duo provides a lethal melodic punch, with tight fitted songwriting. Noel Gallagher pleased critics, and fans alike, as the album sold quite well in the UK and is actually doing really well in Canada too. Like I said before, this album was just a nice surprise, and it’s a pleasant listen from start to finish.
3. Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto
As if any Coldplay album would not make the top ten at the very least on my year-end chart. They consistently put out stadium ready music that yes, has lost the profound touch we came to expect from them with their first two albums, but what they’ve acquired is an extraordinary sense of confidence and showmanship. ‘Mylo Xyloto’ is an album that needs to be listened to as a whole, and I noticed it especially when I heard tracks like ‘Hurts like Heaven’ without the ‘Mylo’ instrumental to follow in. There is a really nice segway that flows throughout the album, which establishes a lingering and consistent atmospheric feel to the album. The heavy churners, like ‘Heaven’, ‘Charlie’, ‘Teardrop’, ‘Major Minus’ and ‘Paradise’, are all obvious winners – while the Rihanna collaboration, which could have been disastrous, makes true use of the talent present and resulted in a genuine and natural feeling track. I also think some of the mid-tempo tracks, like ‘UFO’, and ‘Us Against The World’, strike a better balance between melody and mood, something that was often lost or miscalculated in some of their older hits like ‘Fix You’. Essentially, Chris Martin and co. seem like they can do no wrong, and they continue to please. But when will the album come that they do more than that? That they excite those who do not expect to be excited? Much like U2 needed “No Line on the Horizon”, Coldplay need another jolt, because it’s really easy for them to just keep coasting at the top.
Top 75 Tracks: Part 7
10. Coldplay – Paradise
How many ways can Coldplay make a stadium ready hit? After the global phenomenon that was “Viva La Vida”, they may have finally found a worthy successor. “Paradise” has been a lingering type of hit, although immediately embraced by fans, it’s recent ascent to the top of the UK charts and the recent re-interest in the album is likely fuelled by the enduring nature of this very track. All requisite elements for an audience sing along and to set stadiums a blaze compose this track and I would not be surprised to see this be a big hit on Top 40 in the first quarter of 2012.
9. Rihanna f. Calvin Harris – We Found Love
Capitalizing on Euro-dance (what else is new) and serious momentum from ‘Loud’, Rihanna unleashed this mammoth at tit-lightning speed just in time to steal honors for best song of the fourth quarter. Calvin Harris finally gets the appreciation he deserves, with an electrifying beat that builds, and builds, and yes, BUILDS, into an explosive breakdown which makes this one of Rihanna’s best singles since “Umbrella”. In fact, I might even go as far to say it’s her best single ever. Although there’s not much meat to the lyrics, the message is huge, embracing love and one another in times of despair and loneliness. The accompanying music video was surprisingly prophetic, and the few live performances I saw embraced the energy that the song instills in everyone. Rihanna looked like she was having the time of her life. This song is just fantastic, enough said.
8. City & Color – Fragile Bird
Here was one of my favorite surprises of the year, as Dallas Green introduced his forthcoming ‘Little Hell’ album with a intimidating, bass-driven hit that steered very clear of his trademark brooding, acoustic fare. “Fragile Bird” also showcases the simplistic beauty of Green’s songwriting, “All that I can do, is make sure she makes it through, through the night”. After years of good, but depressing songs like “Save Your Scissors” and “Waiting”, this was a breath of fresh air and the originality paid off as this was one of his biggest hits ever on Canadian Alternative radio.
7. Jay Z & Kanye West – ****** In Paris
It was without question from the first time I heard ‘Watch The Throne’ that this was going to be THE song to define it. Although it stands apart from most of the album, its perhaps that defining characteristic which makes it so great. Alongside some of the best quotable song lyrics of the year: “You know how many hot bitches I own?”, “Cos I was him I wouldda Mary Kate and Ashley”, the Blades of Glory interlude, and then the royalty confirming ending, where the speakerboxx vocals are used so well to ensure everybody that these two are definitely in their zone. I think Kanye outdoes Jay Z here, especially on his first solo verse where he nags out the rhyming bars. The best thing about this song? The fact that they know it’s huge. Why else would they perform it from anywhere between 4-8 times as an encore every night? Because everybody in the crowd was more than okay with it, and wanted it even more
6. Britney Spears – ‘Till The World Ends
A post-apocalyptic, futuristic dance romp that showed Britney has some brilliance left in her yet; the best we’ve definitely heard since “Toxic”. But to be fair, was it really Britney at all? Here is where I will take the chance to voice my change of opinion on Ms. Spears. She’s never been a song writer, she’s never been much of a vocalist, and let’s face it, she’s never been much of a musician at all But what she always has been, was a fantastic performer and entertainer. The choreography, the spectacle, and the investment, was all once rewarding and expected. All that seems to be gone. I could give her a break during the ‘Circus’ era since she was re-finding her groove, but what’s the excuse now? This song should have SMOKED live, and instead, it fell flat and was only saved by the fact that it’s such a perfectly produced pop track it still has some oomph behind it. How much longer will her fans actually put up with it? She’s damn lucky that she has some of the world’s best giving her songs like this – because quite frankly I’m not sure she deserves them.
5. Foo Fighters – Walk
These next two tracks made rock music very exciting in 2011. First up are the Foo Fighters, who released the album of their career in ‘Wasting Light’. It invigorated their fans and gave hope that traditional and no holds barred rock and roll could still be done, and done ****ing well, a point later confirmed by the Black Keys album. “Walk” is an absolute rampage. When David Grohl goes insane at the final verse, “I’m on my knees…”, I don’t think any song has gotten me that pumped up since System of a Down’s “B.Y.O.B.”. It was also really great that this got to follow up “Rope”, because usually it’s their first singles that came out extremely hard (“Pretender”, “Best of You”), so it was almost a relief when I first heard it. While this stomped and thrashed everything in it’s path, the next track did things in a slightly different way …
4. Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks
Cue the breakout story of the year. I remember hearing this song for the first time and thinking damn, now that’s different. With it’s whistling, smooth acoustics, and megaphone vocals, the song comes across as light, cheerful, and all the mellow vibes associated with a summer SoCal jam. On the contrary, the track tells a very different story with messages of bullying, and school violence – a strange but effective dichotomy which I think resonated with a lot of listeners. This song became a perennial hit, a staple for the year on Alternative radio, and a not so surprising multi-format smash. Although robbed of a Best New Artist Grammy nod, ‘Torches’ is out and selling, and it has this single to thank for it.
3. Adele – Someone Like You (the LIVE version)
Talk about a cultural phenomenon. This is spectacular music doing what it does best, selling itself. After “Rolling In The Deep” was introduced, “Someone Like You” quickly followed, and it immediately won the hearts of those who knew where to find it. Adele’s stunning, soaring vocals tell a story of the most descriptive heartache in an unexpectedly convincing fashion. Single piano accompaniment was all that was needed here, as her voice, the lyrics, and the overall vibe of the track do so much more than any more tangible music could ever do. Once the album dropped, I heard the album (radio) version and was really disappointed to hear that they sped up the tempo, and upped a falsetto in the chorus – the track is still good, but the original live version and the way she continued to sing it remains far superior. What I loved about this song was how it was live performance that won it an audience. First, the Brit Awards – a landmark performance that sent shivers down the spine of everyone watching. And much like what that did for her in the U.K., she did it yet again in the U.S., this time on the MTV VMAs, and a whole new audience was found yet again. I don’t think anyone will sell this song the way Adele does – her body language, the way she sings “How bittersweet this would taste”, you believe everything she says. For just a few minutes, you empathize with her. That connection between listener and artist, is everything.
|
|
|
|
|