Writing and production
editAborted early sessions
editIn 2009, 20-year-old Adele, who had recently embarked on her first serious relationship with a man 10 years her senior,[1][2] set about composing songs for a highly anticipated follow-up to her debut album 19.[3] However, except for a few occasional writing sessions with various producers, her year-long stint promoting 19 had provided little in the way of inspiration for the singer: "I was panicking, thinking what was I going to write my second album about: hotel rooms and air miles? No one can relate to that ... I write about my own experiences, [so] life has got to happen. You can’t hurry life."[4][5]
The traditional production and heartbroken pathos of Adele's debut had prompted the media to typecast the young singer as an "old soul",[6] and as a response, she decided on a more upbeat and contemporary second album.[3] In April 2009, she attempted additional writing sessions with her collaborators. However, two weeks in the studio yielded only one song that was recorded to the singer's satisfaction—the Jim Abbiss-produced "Take It All", a slow and sentimental piano ballad not unlike the songs featured on her debut.[3][7] Disillusioned with her lack of writing inspiration and the slow progress of the studio sessions, she cancelled the remaining recording dates.[4]
"Take It All", which Adele wrote as a response to feeling unloved and unappreciated by her boyfriend, was one of the first signs of a deteriorating relationship. More adept at communicating her emotions through music, the singer played the song for her partner. The ensuing arguments culminated in the termination of the 18-month relationship,[8] sending the singer into a state of alcoholism and depression.[9][2] Adele channelled her rush of emotions into her music, crafting songs that examined her failed relationship from the perspective of vengeful ex lover, wounded victim, heartbroken soul, and nostalgic old flame.[10][9][11]
Sessions with Epworth, Smith, and Tedder
editWriting for the album began immediately after Adele separated from her lover. On the morning after the altercation that ended the relationship, Adele contacted Epworth, with whom she had cancelled her sessions, intent on capturing her emotion in a song: "We'd had a fuming argument the night before ... I'd been bubbling. Then I went into the studio and screamed."[3] Although she had wanted to write a ballad, Epworth disagreed and told her to "be a bitch about it",[12] and to aim for a more aggressive sound.[13][14] The song that became "Rolling in the Deep" had been partially composed during previous sessions with Epworth, and was shelved for over a year.[13] However, Adele restructured the song and tailored the lyrics to her recent experiences.[13] During its composition, the singer asked Epworth to feel her "racing heartbeat", inspiring the song's own martial beat.[13] She then proceeded to sing the first verse a capella, as Epworth improvised a melody on his guitar. The pair finished writing the song in three hours, and completed recording in two days.[3] Although the track went through many vocal iterations, the demo was used as the final version after subsequent takes failed to re-capture its raw emotion.[3]
After recording "Rolling in the Deep", Adele, bristling with vigour and inspiration, scheduled sessions with British musician Fraser T. Smith. When Smith turned up at the studio, he had already conceived a potential chord progression and a thumping, persistent beat. After Adele arrived, the two collaborated on the lyrics and recorded the vocal demo to what became the album's fifth track "Set Fire to the Rain". Although the song was originally meant to be produced by Rick Rubin, Adele was impressed with its potential and enlisted Smith to record the song in its entirety. Smith attempted unsuccessfully to rerecord the vocal, but, like "Rolling in the Deep", subsequent sessions failed to match the emotional depth of the original. Ash Soan provided live drums on the song's final version, while a string section, arranged by Rosy Danvers, was recorded separately.
Back in February 2009, Adele had met Ryan Tedder at the Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles and approached him about a possible collaboration on her upcoming record.[15] Impressed by her first album, Tedder was excited at the prospect of working with the singer. His opportunity arose when he travelled to London later that year for a radio show, and was contacted by the singer. Tedder arrived four hours early to the session and spent this time listening to Adele's previous single "Chasing Pavements", studying her vocal style and the chord changes of her songs. Although unaware of Adele's recent break-up, he also composed the opening piano sequence as well as the opening lines to what became "Turning Tables": "Close enough to start a war/All that I have is on the floor". Coincidentally, it perfectly described Adele's own experience. When she finally arrived in the studio, she had just gotten into another argument with her ex-lover. Agitated and unfocused, yelled her frustration at her ex-lover's tendency to "turn the tables" on her during their arguments, an expression that Tedder decided he would reference in the song's lyrics.[15] Adele recorded the demo with Jim Abbis the next day.
"Turning Tables" struck an emotional chord with both singers and the two agreed to meet for a second time. They reconvened at Serenity West studios in Los Angeles, where they wrote and recorded "Rumour Has It", on which Tedder aimed for a more bluesy, retro-inspired sound. Adele recorded the main vocals in ten minutes, much to the astonishment of Tedder and his team. Tedder recalled, "She sang it once top to bottom, pitch perfect, she didn’t miss a note. I looked at the engineer then at her and said, 'Adele I don’t know what to tell you but I have never had anyone do that in ten years'."
Working with Rubin in Malibu; Wells and Wilson
edit
At the suggestion of Columbia Records group president Ashley Newton, Adele met with American songwriter Greg Wells at his studio in Culver City. Wells attended the session with the melodies for two songs—the first had a jazzy, upbeat New Orleans feel; the second, a piano progression of four chords in a 6/8 meter, was the blueprint for "One and Only", the album's ninth track. In the studio, Wells played the chord progression while Adele paced the room with a pen and notepad in hand. After about 10 minutes, she stopped and sang the song's first chorus. Two songs were composed during their three-day session. However the other was deemed inconsistent with the album's tone. The lyrics to "One and Only" was tweaked by Dan Wilson, and the song was produced by Rubin.
An avid fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication (1999), Adele had long expressed an interest in working with its producer Rick Rubin, whom she first met in 2008 through her appearance as the musical guest on the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live.[16] In February 2010, Epworth reported that Adele had completed most of the writing for the album, and that Rubin was slated to produce all of the songs. However, it was later revealed that Adele had decided against the original concept of the album that Rubin envisioned and, after her break-up, proceeded to record many of the songs with her co-writers in London.[17] In April 2010, she headed to Rubin's Shangri-La Studio in Malibu, California to produce the rest of the songs.[7][13]
After attending many of performances between 2008 and 2010, Rubin decided that Adele possessed a better "live" sound, and aimed to "capture her live show across on [her] record".[13] To achieve this end, the recording sessions were completed with a live band that Rubin assembled, which included drummer Chris Dave, guitarist Matt Sweeney, James Poyser on piano, and Pino Palladino on bass.[18][3] Adele praised Rubin's free-form approach, which included isolating her in the studio and encouraging her to approach the production process with more spontaneity and unrestraint.[10][19] This approach also framed the instrumental and melodic arrangement of the songs, which were often the result of improvisational jam sessions.[18] Rubin stated:
"Her singing was so strong and heartbreaking in the studio, it was clear something very special was happening ... The musicians were inspired as they rarely get to play with the artist present, much less singing ... Today, most things are recorded as overdubs on track. This was truly an interactive moment where none of the musicians knew exactly what they were going to play and all were listening so, so, deeply and completely to figure out where they fitted in.
Rubin also decided against the use of music samples and electronic instruments.[19] Adele recorded five songs with Rubin—"Don't You Remember", "He Won't Go", "One and Only", and the U.S. bonus track "I Found a Boy". Adele also covered INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart" and planned to include it on the album. However she was unsatisfied with her perceived lack of believability in the song after listening to the recording.[20] A band member suggested an unused demo of The Cure's "Lovesong", which Rubin had initially arranged for Barbra Streisand. The song was the last to be produced during her stay in Malibu. By this time, the singer's voice had grown fatigued, and she recorded the song in one take. She commented that her vocal imperfections suited the song, and that during its recording, the band was moved to tears.[21]
In May 2010, Adele completed her stint with Rubin. Late one night, she received news about her ex-lover from a mutual friend; the news inspired the composition of the album's final song "Someone Like You", which she composed on her guitar: "I wrote that song on the end of my bed. I had a cold. I was waiting for my bath to run. I'd found out that he'd got engaged to someone else." Days later, she approached musician Dan Wilson for the song's finishing touches. During their day-long session, the duo converged around the piano brainstorming melodies and lyrics, and ultimately decided to keep the musical production to a minimum. The song's composition was cathartic to the singer, who said she wrote it to "free herself."[22]
Titling
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It's [21] different from 19, it's about the same things but in a different light. I deal with things differently now. I'm more patient ... more forgiving and more aware of my own flaws ... Something that comes with age I think. So fittingly this record is called 21 ... Like a photo album you see [my] progression and change ... throughout the years. I tried to think of other album titles but couldn't come up with anything that represented the album properly". | |
—Adele, on her personal blog, discussing the inspiration behind the name of her second album.[23]
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Adele originally intended to title the album Rolling in the Deep,[5] her adaptation of a slang phrase "roll deep", which summarised how she felt about her relationship; in her loose translation, the phrase refers to always having someone "that has your back", who will always support you.[24] The singer decided against the title because she deemed it too confusing for some of her audiences.[5] Although she had wanted to avoid the number motif of her debut, Adele considered "21" the most fitting title as it represented her age at the time of the album's composition, serving as an autobiographical period piece, and also symbolized the personal maturity and artistic evolution from her debut.
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