Upon its release, 21 received positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 29 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".BBC Music called the album "simply stunning" and "genuinely brilliant",Australian newspaper the Herald Sun also gave the album a favourable review, saying that Adele's voice is "never-forgotten" and saying that the album is "further evidence that Adele is something special".The Guardian's Will Dean declared the album "a progressive, grown up second collection," and gave the album a four out of five star rating.The Telegraph's Bernadette McNulty gave the album five out of five stars, claiming that Adele has "a voice that goes straight to the heart," and positively compared her to other female performers: "on this album she out-divas them all".Jim Farber of The Daily News also praised Adele's voice, comparing her to various other vocalists. Giving the album 5 stars out of five, Farber writes "From start to finish, it shows Adele in alpha mode, ready to outshout any big-mouth singer of the last two decades, from Celine to Christina to (sigh) Whitney... On "Turning Tables," Adele's voice barrels out of the speakers like a provoked bull. But she can also hone that power into the most delicate phrase at will. Likewise, the gospel-soul "Take It All" shows equal parts muscle and dexterity."21" draws an unequivocal line in the sand that announces to every other diva around: Beat this
In addition to praising Adele's voice, 21 also achieved acclaim for its songwriting and composition. John Murphy of MusicOMH compared Adele's material to Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, noting the similarity of the singing styles and overarching themes of heartbreak and unrequited love. Giving the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, Murphy states, "As the old adage puts it, from great pain comes great art. And it really seems as if Adele has been through the emotional mill here. Almost every song oozes pain, sadness and anger, but with enough swagger to banish any accusations of self-pity... Adele Adkins seemed manna from heaven from those looking (musically at least) for 'the new Amy Winehouse' back in 2008... 21 really is one of the great 'break-up' albums, and the first truly impressive record of 2011.... It's desperately sad and utterly, utterly gorgeous. Here is a timely reminder that British soul hasn't lost its mojo. Similarly, Dot Music's Ash Dosanjh writes, "If Adele's debut 19 marked her out as a young chanteuse with a booming voice, her follow-up 21 has shown a maturity in her songwriting that makes her the de facto authority when it comes to soundtracks to broken hearts. NME's Chris Parkin said "Adele’s ‘21’ is frontloaded like a steamroller sent to flatten all memory of her debut with the roiling gospel thump of ‘Rolling In The Deep’ and ‘Rumour Has It’, a swamp song so perfectly shadowy David Lynch might be fond of it". The Metro said "Overall, the album is a love story laced with regrets and cliffhanger climaxes; some numbers, including Turning Tables with its moody piano backdrop, evoke her breakthrough hit, Hometown Glory, though that’s no bad thing.
21 also garnered mixed reviews. While commending Adele's voice, Slant Magazine's Matthew Cole writes that "Adele's voice has a compelling mixture of character and sheer magnitude, such that the blandest arrangements on the album seem to disappear behind her. It's easy to imagine a studio session in which she absolutely demolishes one of 21's lackluster ballads, prompting her producers to okay a mediocre song whose faults would've been much more apparent had it been performed by a lesser talent...It's a credit to Adele's finesse that few of the songs on 21 are outright intolerable.Allision Stewart of The Washington Post agreed that Adele's vocals can mask or transcend what would otherwise be considered bland or mediocre material: "after a strong start, the disc yields to a forgettable midsection of mostly mid-tempo tracks that are remarkable only because Adele is singing them.Andy Gill from The Independent said "Three years on from her 19 debut, 21 finds Adele feigning maturity". (from Wikipedia)
There you have it folks! great job Adele! hope the tour rocks as well!!!
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