passionate, breakup, female vocalist, melodic, angry, sentimental, anthemic, serious, rhythmic, longing, bittersweet, energetic, anxious Language English Share “Rolling in the Deep” sometimes gets hailed as the quintessential Adele track, but I’m not exactly sure why. It’s not as forlorn, piano-driven, or (controversially) as boring as the material that followed it on most of 21 and on parts of 25, 30; rather, it’s what should have been the blueprint for Adele’s then-budding career. Following Amy's untimely induction to the 27 Club and Duffy’s quickly waning relevancy, the British blue-eyed soul revival was practically over by the time “Rolling in the Deep” dropped. But that song had the potential to start a brand new revival all on its own, with notes of Phil Spector’s production and Dusty Springfield vocals, all packaged in a girl who was bigger, both in size and in soul, than pop culture would seemingly allow at the time. Even if, as a song on its own and not as a representative of Adele’s introduction to the public eye, its most statistically significant contribution was an increase in vocal lessons among tween girls, it single handedly created the mythos of Adele as a force and a voice to be reckoned with. Published perfect I will never forget the first time I heard this. My son was a senior in high school and he was watching the VH-1 countdown on TV on a Sunday morning and the video for this record had made a big jump to number 16. From the opening instrumentation, it caught my attention and I watched it along with him. When it finished, I told my son "she will be huge." Everything here is excellent - the words, the arrangement, the musicianship, and, of course, that powerful, masterful singing voice that knows how to interpret lyrics for maximum emotional effect. Adele went on to do many songs and achieve great success, but, for me, this is her jewel - the one that she will probably never be able to top because it's a perfect pop recording. Published Interesting, noteworthy, full of character. Am I talking about an Adele song? Yes, but only this one. She stretches the vocals as per usual, but this instrumentation really brings out a lot more impact. Published Yeah, it’s momrock, but it’s genuine, catchy, and sounded unlike anything else on the radio at the time. I’m not a huge Adele fan but I think it’s hard to complain about this song. 7/10. Published
I see "Rolling in the Deep" being a massive hit so naturally I'm curious what's it all about... With all those billions of views and whatnot, it has to be something special, right? HAS to be catchy, that's for sure. I mean, 1.5 BILLION views on Youtube, this HAS to be insanely unforgettable. Doesn't matter if annoying or bad, but still unforgettable, right? Throughout the history, all pop hits, either loved or hated, had at least staying power thanks to their catchiness. Thoroughly disappointed. The "hit" leaves no dent in my memory. How did a song this unmemorable and underwhelming get so big? And I don't have a problem with pop music either, just this particular one doesn't make sense being so popular, or be called "pop" for that matter. There had to be some massively desperate marketing behind it (obviously), otherwise I wouldn't expect more than a measly 1 million views. I mean, WHAT's with this one? Otherwise good vocals wasted on a dull song, meh. Other than that, if you want great poppy vocals AND unforgettableness, go for Sia. Published Picture this. You're a junior in high school, almost completely disillusioned with popular music. One day, as you're scrolling through the radio stations in the car, you hear a faint whiff of a soul melody on the pop station. Thinking it to be yet another Alicia Keys ballad, you decide to pass it up for the classic rock station... though you remember somewhat liking it. Suddenly, you hear this melody permeating your hallways: a tuneful yet subtly crafted piece. Determined to know what all the buzz of this song is about, you realize it's by that neo-soul musician who won the Best New Artist Grammy a while back. You give it a try. You load up the music video, wearing headphones... and have your mind blown. That was my experience. In my view, "Rolling in the Deep" is so far the best song of the 2010s and the best 1 hit song since 2003. I held its rating at a 4.5 for so long, wanting to see if time would dull the song's impact or excellence. Eight years later, and the song still sounds as fresh now as it did when I first jammed out to it in 2011. It's such an original sound. It's as if Etta James paired up with an atmospheric indie rock and recorded her percussion in a barn jam. The song structure is akin to the California singer-songwriter scene of the early 70s, but the production is so cryptic and atmosphere it could not have come from such a bright environment. Add on top the cryptic choir, the pained guitar solo in the finale, and the completely downtrodden final line... and one's got a song like nothing that had ever come before it. Even today, I cannot think of a single song from quite the same genre as "Rolling in the Deep," even as dozens of pop crooners and indie rock bands have striven to imitate the success of "Rolling in the Deep."Nor can the importance of "Rolling in the Deep" to the pop charts be denied. 2008 through 2011 had almost completely purged the pop charts of emotional urgency or intellectual songwriting: club anthems were king, and no one could get a foothold. However, out of nowhere comes this song - searing anger, unrelenting drums, giant piano rock sound, and raw vocal power. The song put traditional instrumentation and song arranging back on the pop map almost singlehandedly. And that's not to discuss the excellence of the lyrics or the composition as a whole. I could rant for hours of the effectiveness of the melody, the song's limited yet highly evocative imagery, the subtle moments of melodic counterpoint, the alterations to the piano work in each chorus, the overall song structure. People knew "Rolling in the Deep" was going to be a part of the rock and roll canon from the moment it was released, and it's more than made a place for itself. It's a masterpiece of pop music that turned a new page in the chapter of modern pop music. Published Powerful, Dramatic, Passionate - Welsh chanteuse Adele tries to expel those relationship demons with an energy that is as glorious in its reach as it is resentful in its passion. Scars, Revenge, Despair have ignited the fire that started in her heart, the fire which illuminates the aching of her soul and the growing rage consuming her emotionally as a relationship is ended. Needy, Exposed, Defeated - her cries of personal melodrama are reduced to petulant misery, an affliction for those who cannot come to terms to the fact that love probably doesn't live there any more. And now she is going to tell the whole world just where the blame for all of this lies. Published What a powerful song! You can feel every drop of emotion poured into the signing of this song. Sadness, emptiness, loneliness, and disparity are common themes that reoccur in soul music. “Rolling in the Deep” is no exception. What differentiates this song so much from others like it is the manner in which Adele conveys the topic. The topics, though “blue” in nature, are brought together with such beauty and power it is almost unfathomable. Adele's vocals meld this song into a endless black void filled with torrents of colossal waves engulfing everything. This genuine, heartfelt performance stands at the pinnacle of contemporary soul music. |
