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Adele’s ’25’ Stops the World in Its Tracks

  • November 20, 2015
  • 4 min read
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Adele’s ’25’ Stops the World in Its Tracks

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Well it has finally arrived. Today is the day that music fans around the world have been waiting for: NEW ADELE!

An artist like Adele, who has been absent from the music scene for over 4 years and has such a world-wide following, is aware the scrutiny her newest album will be facing. Much like Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller‘ being such a smash, record-making success, Adele’s ‘21′ from 2011 broke almost every music industry record there is (a lot of which were set by ‘Thriller’). Like Jackson’s release of ‘Bad’ 5 years after ‘Thriller’ there was an immense pressure on himself to outsell the massive album. Adele decided long ago that her only mission is to please her public while being true to herself. The major success she found with ’21’ could never be calculated to be outdone. What she may not realize is that with her withdrawing from public eye to raise her first child, Angelo, and to have a bit of a life to herself gave her public a hunger for her music. She has definitely delivered quite the feast with ‘25‘ for all who are ready to fulfill their craving.

The album is exactly what I was anticipating and what others may be disappointed in; new music with a very familiar sound. Too often have we seen artists like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry fall victim to the industry needing too much too fast and risking their musical integrity by changing their sound to make a quick record. Both Gaga’s ‘Artpop‘ and Perry’s ‘Prism‘ delivered soft singles but nowhere near the success or acceptance their previous albums had. With ’25’ being the follow-up to the “album of the decade’ there is a risk factor that luckily Adele has avoided. The record is wistful, thoughtful, sad, jubilant and passionate. It is human emotion. Her voice has never been more controlled, and that’s not saying that she holds back, it means she knows exactly when to let go and set her voice free. There are those that will be annoyed with her still as this atypical sad singer that everyone will play only when they need to. I say that is exactly what music is supposed to do to us. It makes us react. It makes us weep, dance, smile, think, love and celebrate. Adele has merely continued to pave the road of originality that she had created in 2008 with the release of ‘19‘.

I have found the reflection of youth being portrayed quite a bit on the album. In the first single “Hello” she makes mention to her old love about “what it was like when we were younger” which is also the title to my personal favorite track “When We Were Younger“. In it she lists all the reasons why she wants to keep her memories alive and will always remember the subtleties of her subject while in their youth. There is a track about her roots “River Lea” which has a great groove and soulfulness (not mention a catchy chorus). She dabbles in the upbeat and more produced backing with the track “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)“. In this track she sends her warning of heart-break to the new love her man has moved on to; Adele is unaffected and makes sure to have it known with her sweeping falsetto. I can almost hear her lip curling in disgust when recording it. The song “Million Years Ago” bring us the Adele we all want to see in a small cafe with only her voice and a guitar. It has a slight Janis Ian influence to it; bare, moving with a touch of Spanish melody. As a whole the album delivers the facets of Adele that the world loves. From a grandparent to a teenager, American to Japanese, boys to girls she connects and emotes with the public. While every track deserves a listen I’m sure that ’25’ will be criticized by those who want to see it fail, but time will tell how successful the album will be. And even if this record never got a single accolade I am proud to see that real music that affects the human soul on every level is being made. That is all we can ask of an artist.

The album is currently unavailable for streaming but can be purchased on iTunes and in store.

Kevin Charles Ross

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Chris Ryan

Chris Ryan is an accomplished promoter, event planner, producer, activist, counselor, poet and blogger. Within the course of two and a half years Chris Ryan has worked with some of NYC's most established promoters/event planners, been named 2007′s GaySocialite of the year, granted a promoter of the year award from NYC's most famous gay establishment, Splash. He's worked in some of NYC's top venues including; Avalon, Capitale, Cipriani, Cielo, Pacha, Element, Le Poisson Rouge, XL, G Lounge, Plumm, Hilton Hotel, Indigo Hotel, Spirit, Myst/Quo, Splash, The Ritz, Vlada, Roseland Ballroom, Heaven, etc. In 2008, Chris Ryan has begun to unveil some of the most innovative & unique parties New York City has ever seen. The Fusion events "fuse" together all disciplines of art into an event that remains diverse yet cohesive at the same time. ChrisRyanNYC.com won best gay promotions website from NYC Event Patrons in 2008 & he was granted an award from the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, Gov. Patterson & Michelle Clunie (QAF) saluting him for his hard work in nightlife. Chris Ryan has also begun working with many renown companies, including; doctors, lawyers, physicians, modeling agencies & more. Chris Ryan has been responsible for wide-scale promotions for all these companies & generating tremendous business. Chris Ryan has even started to become National with events taking place in LA & Miami this year. In May of 2009 Chris Ryan received the very prestigious honor of being named a "40 Under 40″ Gays in America by the Advocate Magazine. He also created three successful parties that generated over 1,500 patrons each. In January of 2010 Chris Ryan was featured as one of the top promoters to look out for in Noize Magazine Chris Ryan joined forces with legendary promoter/event producer, Lee Chappell and created one of the most talked about events of all 2010, Desire @ Capitale. Chris Ryan and Lee featured one of the most outstanding artists NYC has ever seen, "Oh Land." Her performance coupled with an exquisite and unforgettable set design added to this extravagant event that held over 1,000 patrons in one of NYC's most successful PRIDE events! Chris Ryan then joined forces with legendary Pacha promoter, Rob Fernandez in addition to Jake Resnicow and Tommy Marinelli to bring one of the largest and most successful parties worldwide to NYC, MATINEE. The event on Governor's Island saw over 2,000+ attendees and one of the most ambitious productions ever. In 2011 Chris Ryan started Emerge Music Promotions with business partner Darren Melchiorre. Emerge Music promotions began signing artists with plans to develop and market the artists to the community at large. Emerge Music promotions has big events planned for 2012 and 2013. Chris Ryan debuted the IMAGE events which took place on top of two of NYC's most beautiful rooftop venues, Rare View and Indigo Hotel. The events were blogged everywhere and featured the fashion designs of several clothing designers, artists and photographers. Chris Ryan felt that fashion and art should be displayed at every event and attracted the likes of Malan Breton, Calvin Klein and even Katy Perry. Chris Ryan began an extremely successful event which incorporated the concept of a house party into a nightclub atmosphere. The event Twist'D at G Lounge has been one of the most talked about events in NYC and allows it's audience to play nearly-naked Twister, beer pong, flip cup & more with other attendees. Chris Ryan was granted an excellence in volunteering award from AVP (Anti-Violence Project) for all his efforts in supporting the organization. 2013 has a very promising landscape on the horizon and Chris Ryan is complacent in saying "you haven't seen anything yet!"

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