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29 January 2008

CHASING PAVEMENTS

...and Number Ones

'Chasing Pavements' is the first single from the South London, teenage songstress Adele. Entering the charts at number two it has been kept off the top spot for the last two weeks by Swedish DJ Basshunter. Everything about the song is an absolute joy. The writing, the production and last but by no means least – that voice. Just when you think it sounds like Corinne Bailey Ray you hear a bit of Billie Holiday with tones of Amy Winehouse. You can't ask for much more than that. Adele is also consorting with some very credible industry types, playing a couple of gigs in Japan next month with Jack Penate.

The single is taken from her debut album '19' and I must admit that I wasn’t holding out much hope. So often in the past we’ve seen a new female artist release a great single that is packaged along with another nine mediocre recordings on the album, (yes I do mean Joan Osborne and Sandi Thom) but that is certainly not the case here. As you listen to '19' you can hear the influences, Carole King, Roberta Flack, Alicia Keys – the list goes on. Perhaps the best testament that can be paid to this album is that it is one of the first albums for a long time that I've listened to without skipping a single track. Is the album as good as 'Back to Black'? – I don’t know yet. What I do know is that Adele is a serious competitor for Amy Winehouse’s crown with a fantastic career ahead of her. Lets just hope she doesn’t have a friend with a video camera!

MCB

Buy Adele CDs here »