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Winner of this years Brits Critic's Choice Award – a hugely prestigious accolade, presented to the most hotly tipped music newcomer – Adele has big shoes to fill. Last year's winner, Mika (remember I said big shoes, not necessarily good ones) had the third best selling UK album, whilst previous winner Corinne Bailey Rae was invited to perform at the Grammy's after notching up three nominations.
A famous quote that has been thrown around after Adele is Q Magazine's suggestion that she possesses a voice which could 'stop traffic'. She may be able to stop a fleet of cars with her vocal chords, that cannot be denied, but Adele – it seems – has not been able to slow down the dreaded Express train of hype. Tonight's show then, should be about proving to the audience (most will have booked whilst just hearing a small handful of songs) that she is as good as they say.
First up though, comes support artist Natty. He struts on stage with his somewhat 'chilled out' band to moderate applause that grows in decibels after each track he plays. Natty proves himself worthy of comparison with artists such as Damian Marley, with his chilled out reggae soul. The twist for this solo artist however, is that being from London he has inherited a very 'now' sound of songmanship – consider Jamie T with dreads, more bass, more beats and a bongo. Unfortunately, Natty did not make the list of tipped newcomers as Adele did, possibly for a reason that only he could suggest. That reason is portrayed perfectly and beautifully on performance highlight 'If I'. Brilliant.
Adele arrives on stage alone, collects her guitar and launches into 'Daydreamer'. She appears to make eye contact with every member of the audience and sings every syllable as if it has just been written backstage. As just nineteen years of age, Adele has developed the soul of a woman who has lived a life in a soap opera; one full of drama, heartache, misdirected love and loneliness. And we believe every single word of it.
And then comes the voice. Although we all know what Adele sounds like by now, it is still surprising to see that voice come out of her. Much like her soul, her voice sounds much older than her teenage years. Like an Etta James for the new millennium, it yells emotion and is utterly fantastic.
Between the songs – performed in the same order as '19', her debut album – she offers brief insights into her life. She is tired, you see, and rain-soaked. The Glasgow audience, has however, brought her out of her bad mood, and made her smile in her "favourite gig yet". Many of her band members look happier than Adele – perhaps they are dreaming of the much larger venues they will play in the future? Or perhaps they are just proud to be part of a campaign that has now produced a number one album. One thing is for sure though, and it particularly stands out through the strings section, comprising of four attractive females – they all really like this music. During songs that they do not feature on, they sit patiently, often swaying but always mouthing every word. If the hired-in band likes the music, chances are so will the audience.
'Chasing Pavements' comes third in the set as it appears on '19', and receives a rapturous applause, as do 'Best For Last' ("Oh, I’m glad you like that one") and 'Hometown Glory'. The real stand out moment of the set arises in Bob Dylan cover 'To Make You Feel My Love' in which the audience stands so quietly you can hear the beer pumps ticking over. It is a performance of beauty and fixation as we all stare into the same person's eyes for four minutes as they begin to fill with tears.
All the songs are executed brilliantly in a live setting, but (and it is quite a large 'but') not all the songs deserve such a brilliant performance. Put simply, some of the tracks on Adele's album are not good enough for such a talent. Specifically 'Crazy For You' and 'Right As Rain' are below standard and this stands out more during this setting. No one will ever know if the blame of this should be placed on Adele, or if it should be placed upon the hype machine – maybe the age old chicken and egg scenario is called for. What people will know, however, is that Adele is as good as we have been told to believe. This realisation will (fingers crossed) be confirmed come album number two.
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article by: Jamie Stuttard
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| published: 19/02/2008 14:20 |
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