Adele

“Should I give up / or should I just keep chasing pavements?” Cool chorus … now what does it mean? Going by urban slang, it ponders a certain type of booty call (literally)—but this isn’t from a Prince album or 2 Live Crew, it’s by British lass Adele Laurie Blue Adkins. She refers to running down an empty street following a fight with the boyfriend who caused the heartache chronicled in her debut album. That makes a lot more sense. With 19 (her age when recording last year), Adele has drawn comparisons to Amy Winehouse and Duffy. Actually, she’s better … just not as, shall we say, videogenic. She unleashes passionate vocals on songs—almost all self-written—that flit across genres: jazz, soul, lounge. The second track, “Best For Last,” starts a run of exceptional artistry that hits an apex with her cover of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love.” The recently released limited edition includes a live CD (four songs from the album, plus Sam Cooke’s “That’s It, I Quit, I’m Moving On”). Chasing pavements, hitting the pavement—Adele won’t need to either for quite a while.