Adele’s ’25’ a master class in authentic pop

It’s not surprising that Adele‘s album would be launched “unofficially” ahead of its November 20 release date, considering that many of her fans have been waiting for so long for the multi-Grammy award victor to release new songs.

While earlier it was being said that the “Someone Like You” hit-maker was considering limited “25’s” release to Spotify Premium users only, but it seems she ultimately made a decision to pull the plug altogether on streaming. In a statement issued by the streaming service, Spotify stated, “We love and respect Adele, as do her 24 million fans on Spotify”. Taylor Swift did the same thing past year with “1989”, though she did allow the album to stream on Apple Music after the service’s debut. A representative for the singer declined comment.

Pulling the highly anticipated album from the streaming platforms will force listeners to buy it digitally and at stores, driving its sales. The last album to ship more physical copies was NSYNC’s No Strings Attached, with that record shipping 4.2 million copies in 2000.

Adele’s 25 is the followup to 2011’s 21, which has sold 11.23 million albums in the United States. The lush song sounds like Enya with a pulse and Adele’s layered background vocals provide an airy feel even though she’s again singing while looking over her shoulder (“We got to let go of our ghosts…we both know we ain’t kids no more.”). It’s still dramatic as hell, of course, Adele is many things, but she’s no Pharrell Williams.

Much more gratifying is “Million Years Ago”, a wistful lament coated with Adele’s smoky tones that are a handsome complement to the gentle, Latin-tinged guitar that drives the song.

Adele has tangled with Spotify before over free music.

Those are two of Adele’s new collaborators on “25”, along with Greg Kurstin, who brings an ’80s-R&B vibe to “Water Under the Bridge”, and Danger Mouse, who sets “River Lea” adrift in waves of his signature organ haze. She initially withheld her album “21” because the service refused to limit the songs to paying subscribers. Swift scored the biggest week of sales in 12 years with “1989”. The song was still available on Spotify as of last night. Surprise! It’s Adele herself.

The “Target” rumors started when a fan who’s using the name of Florence + The Machine frontwoman Florence Welch tweeted a picture of what looked like the new CD, still wrapped in cellophane with a black and white photo of Adele on the cover.