Adele (3) – 30

It’s baffling to see 30 being dismissed as anything less than a triumph. To call this album anything but brilliant is not only misguided, but it also shows a fundamental misunderstanding of songwriting. This record is a masterclass in emotional depth and narrative craft.

From the aching vulnerability of Easy on Me to the haunting introspection of My Little Love, Adele delivers a body of work that transcends mere pop music. Every lyric cuts deep, and every melody serves a purpose. It’s the kind of songwriting that reveals layers with each listen, a quality only true artistry can achieve.

Anyone critiquing this album would do well to first understand what great songwriting actually entails. 30 isn’t just one of Adele’s best albums—it’s a testament to her ability to turn personal pain into universally powerful music. Dismissing it? That’s missing the point entirely.

Sounds excellent. The record is quiet and the master feels natural and dynamic (at least as much as it can be)

A pretty solid album from a musical and artistic view point, but not Adele’s best album.
The vinyl was well made with low surface noise but I didn’t like the production. Overuse of compression, artifice, distortion and more. Overall a slew of poor production choices, gives it a much less organic feel than her previous albums, something even mastering onto vinyl couldn’t fix.

I fall into the loving this camp. It just sounds magic on my system. So smooth and beautiful.

As a business owner this is a bad record on all s, First it's not the best from what adele could do.
Too many fillars, and then comes the price plan.... First 5 months the prices could not be dropped because of the record company.
We had to put more than 40% on top and that's on a return.. We're getting srewed by everyone sideways.

Now we are left with a ton of LP's Nobody want anymore.... I have a total of +100 vinyl :(

Has anyone else got a copy that has a b side label on each side of the first vinyl, instead of an a side and a b side label?

I have to echo the other reviews that this pressing sounds pretty good. Though largely quiet, there are occasional minor crackles, but they’re very minor. Regardless, the sound is still good and holds it weight, and the clear vinyl is probably the clearest one I own in my collection, so beautiful.

my copy sounds so bad, full of cracks and pops!!

I have this (Pallas, clear pressing) & the US (RTI, black pressing) - both have surface noise and some clicks along both sides. The listening experience is beautiful nevertheless and the records are great.

I also noticed that on both of the copies: “Woman Like Me” has vocal sibilance and distortion that is present on both copies / so I guess it’s a mastering issue. [I don’t know if anyone noticed this]

I honestly finding hard to believe that most people praise this record for it's audiophile merits. It's one of the most dynamically compressed records I have ever listened to. I found it sounded better on my first listening at a friend's house on a Sonos speaker. I played this on my system and it's so blunt. A voice soars, a piano hits hard, a drum and it's all the same. Just no dynamic peaks. But maybe it's just me.