Released in January 2011, 21 is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter Adele. Named after her age during its creation, the album marked a dramatic artistic leap from her debut 19, drawing on American soul, Motown, southern blues, and country influences to craft a record of remarkable emotional depth and commercial power. Recorded across studios in London, Hollywood, Denver, Malibu, and New York, it brought together an exceptional roster of producers including Paul Epworth, Rick Rubin, Ryan Tedder, Fraser T Smith, and Dan Wilson.
21 became the world's best-selling album for both 2011 and 2012, spending 23 weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart and 24 weeks atop the Billboard 200. It has sold over 31 million copies globally. At the 2012 Grammy Awards it won six trophies including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, and Adele swept the BRIT Awards the same year. The standout tracks are formidable: Rolling in the Deep opens the record with propulsive energy, Someone Like You strips everything back to piano and voice, Set Fire to the Rain builds into one of the defining anthems of the decade, and Rumour Has It brings a raw Motown stomp that suits the warmth of vinyl perfectly.
Why Vinyl?
Played on a good turntable, 21 rewards the format handsomely. The sparse acoustic production on tracks like Someone Like You and Turning Tables gains a natural, open quality on vinyl, while the dynamic range of Rick Rubin's recordings on Lovesong and One and Only comes through with a presence that compressed digital streams cannot match. The standard black vinyl pressing on XL Recordings is a faithful representation of a genuinely great record.