【美国电台节目】聊聊阿黛尔新专辑《30》

[TRANSCRIPT]

Adele is one of the most successful artists ofher generation. Her last two records combined sold more than 25 million copies,and both won album of the year at the Grammys. Now the U.K. pop star has putout her fourth studio album. It's called "30." It chronicles theemotional aftermath of the singer's divorce.

-Joining me is NPRMusic editorial assistant LaTesha Harris. Hello, LaTesha.

-Hi,Stephen. Good morning.

-It is great to haveyou here. So Adele's studio albums all have numerical titles that roughlycorrespond with the age she was when she recorded them, and all of them havebeen blockbusters. In 2008, "19" made her a star thanks to hits like"Chasing Pavements" and "Hometown Glory." "21"made her a superstar on the strength of modern standards, like "Rolling InThe Deep" and "Someone Like You." "25" was anothermassive record back in 2015, with huge hits like "Hello" and"When We Were Young." And now "30" has already producedanother blockbuster hit with "Easy On Me."

-The songs on"30" find Adele reflecting on her divorce in songs that don't shyaway from emotional vulnerability or deep melancholy. "30" alsofollows her recovery from the damage to her vocal cords that forced Adele tocancel dates on her 2017 tour. LaTesha, you have writtenabout Adele for NPR Music. Give us your thoughts on "30."

-Yeah, of course. Sowhen "Easy On Me" came out, I was like, OK, this is more of Adele asAdele - you know, nothing new, no new sound. That's OK. But this album actuallyis a huge 180 from what we expect from Adele in a good way. I feel like this isAdele as we've never really seen her. You know, she's no longer leaning just onthose powerhouse vocals, like you said, Stephen, but really trying to experimentwith pairing her voice and this, like, new rendition of her voice to new soundsand exploring what feels good to her.

-I really enjoyed this album, mainly 'cause I'ma sucker for music made in a Saturn return. You know, that's when the planetsare back where they were when you were first born. You got to reparent yourself(laughter), learn how to be a human being again. And Adele is really feelingher Saturn return on this album.

 -Yeah, I like this record, too. Ithink that it was a little bit slow to grow on me. I think "Easy OnMe" - when "Easy On Me" came out, that was familiar. That wasthe Adele that I know. This is kind of the latest incarnation of "SomeoneLike You" or "Hello," this very familiar, big, booming ballad. Ifound, like, the song gets stuck in my head, and so I find myself sort ofsinging along with it or singing it afterward. It is a very easy song to singalong to, but it is not an easy song to sing along to quietly.

-No, you have to bevery, very loud.

-Yeah, exactly. Andso - yeah. So this song feels very familiar, and I think the rest of the recorddoesn't as much. You've got a song like "Oh My God," which does kindof fit into that "Rolling In The Deep" model. It's a little bitbigger and, again, more familiar. "Can I Get It" sounds like anotherbig hit.

But a lot of this recordrolls a little bit more slowly. Five of these songs run more than six minuteslong, and as such, it can feel a little bit meandering, especially late. Ithink there's some unusual pacing going on where the third track on this recordis this six-minute song. It's called "My Little Love," and itincludes a lot of spoken word passages...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MYLITTLE LOVE")

-And, like, clipsof her talking to her son. And it really, to me, just pulls you out of the paceof this record. I think it's a weirdly paced record. But listening to it overand over again, it did get its hooks in me a little bit more. I do think it's alittle bit front loaded. I think that some of that kind of longer, moremeandering material late kind of loses me. But on balance, I really appreciated it, and I think that it is her strongestalbum vocally. 

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CAN I GET IT")

-Like, that whistlesounds like an early 2000s song. Like, (laughter) I don't know what that'sfrom, but it's just so specific and fun. It just feels like she's just trying abunch of different things, and I really appreciated that about this album.

-what do you think of this asa breakup album?

-Stephen, I'm so gladyou asked me that. I actually don't consider this a breakup album. Like, Ihaven't been through a divorce. I don't know what it's like. And clearly, thisis inspired by her divorce. But I feel like there's only a couple of songs thatare like, oh, that divorce was so sad. It feels like more like Adele is tryingout her "Emancipation Of Mimi" era. Like, exploring a tonof different feelings. Like, to me, this is like a falling apart, puttingyourself back together album. It justdoesn't seem like a sad breakup album to me, even though it is very emotionallyheavy.

-This is not an angry divorce album or an angry breakup album. This isnot somebody processing a lot of negativity. It's much more of a kind of"Eat Pray Love," I needed to find myself and explore and grow on myown, and I needed to get out of this because I wasn't happy. And that is adifferent perspective to bring to a breakup album. 

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