Recorded during the summer of 2011, this EP collects six songs from
Adele’s appearance at the iTunes Festival.
Adele had lost her voice earlier that summer, requiring a monthlong break from singing as she recovered from a bad case of laryngitis. She isn’t back to 100 percent here -- the crowd has to help her sing the high notes in “Rolling in the Deep,” and she seems to run out of breath during other songs -- but a partially rehabilitated
Adele is still more powerful than most vocalists operating at full capacity. These six tracks include blustery anthems and piano-based ballads, running the gamut from “Rumor Has It” to “Turning Tables.” Also featured is a cover of
Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” made all the more tender by the rarely heard frailties in
Adele’s voice.
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Andrew Leahey, Rovi