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Even without all the hype, Adele's 25 has staying power

Adele’s 25
Adele’s 25

A- Adele 25

Columbia

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The Count Basie Orchestra's album "A Very Swingin’ Basie Christmas Concord Jazz".

Four years after her last album, 21, the Adele frenzy exploded anew with the release of the single "Hello" on Oct. 23.

When it was announced that day that a new album, 25, would be out Nov. 20, One Direction and Justin Bieber's new albums got out of the line of fire, moving to a Nov. 13 release. Rumor has it that Rihanna's new album was also delayed; Fortune magazine reported that Anti will hit stores Friday (after its Black Friday debut at online service Tidal).

A new album by crooner Michael Buble, a powerhouse in his own right, was also delayed. It will not come out until next year, according to online music newsletter Entertainment Music News.

"Hello" debuted at No. 1 on the charts, where it still resides. It was the first single to sell more than 1 million downloads in a week.

And in a week-long blitz, starting Nov. 17, Adele performed at Radio City Music Hall (recorded for a Dec. 14 NBC special), and visited Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show and Today.

Social media exploded, fueled to a fever pitch by savvy Internet placement.

There were live performance videos from Adele at the BBC, including a prank with Adele impersonators; and SNL's funniest skit in ages, "A Thanksgiving Miracle," in which the singer's "Hello" calmed a fractious family Thanksgiving, was hot on YouTube.

Perhaps best of all is a live raw mike feed from Saturday Night Live of the singer's performance of "Hello." It was mostly the voice, very little backing music, which focused attention on what sparked the frenzy to begin with: Adele's voice.

The result? In its first three days, 25 sold 2,433,000 copies, setting a new record for the most albums sold in a week in the Nielsen Soundscan era (since 1991), besting 'NSync's No Strings Attached. Sales in the first week soared past 3 million.

So, are we obsessed with Adele? (Guilty)

Fans clearly have missed her. Her 2011 album, 21, is still on the charts and has sold more than 30 million worldwide.

25 is bulletproof in terms of reviews, but it is a good album. Adele radiates a relatively calm center as she sings of regret, nostalgic yearning and time's passing ... especially on the haunting "Hello." Song titles "Water Under the Bridge," the Jacques Brel-esque "Million Years Ago" and "When We Were Young" underscore this shift from the raw, ripped-from-the-heart devastation that imbued 21 and hits such as "Rolling in the Deep" and "Set Fire to the Rain."

Songs are sometimes inspired ("Hello," "Water Under the Bridge," "Million Years Ago," "All I Ask"), sometimes less so. But the singing is inspiring throughout. As Billboard stated in its review, "the pop audience craves catharsis even more than it does a hot dance beat."

And Adele delivers. Lost love and lost time are a diva's wheelhouse and, while she's only 27, the voice makes the regret and melancholy believable. In a time of processed vocals and polished music, Adele sounds authentic, real.

Which brings us to 25 at Target, which has an exclusive version with three bonus songs: the piano ballad "Can't Let Go" (co-written and produced by Linda Perry), the gospel-tinged "Lay Me Down" (produced by Mark Ronson) and the rockish "Why Do You Love Me."

The three tunes are more than worthy, due largely to the singer's performance. They may not be the album's best, but they are worth a few extra bucks.

-- ELLIS WIDNER

B The Count Basie

Orchestra

A Very Swingin' Basie Christmas

Concord Jazz

Even more than 30 years after its namesake's death, the Count Basie Orchestra swings on and now they've recorded its first Christmas album.

It's an upbeat, cheerful recording of secular ("Jingle Bells," "Winter Wonderland") and sacred ("Silent Night") songs with a heavy emphasis on the former, all given a syncopated, jazzy spin.

The orchestra is joined on a few numbers by vocalists Johnny Mathis, Ledisi and Carmen Bradford and instrumentalists Ellis Marsalis and Plas Johnson.

There is a certain generic sameness to it all after a while and there's nothing particularly earth-shattering to make it stand out from other jazz Christmas albums, but it's a spirit-lifting, fun album and a good one to have as festive mood music at a party.

Hot tracks: "Good 'Swing' Wenceslas," "Silent Night," "I'll Be Home for Christmas"

-- JENNIFER NIXON

Style on 12/01/2015

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