When we first heard Adele she was an unsigned BRIT School grad attempting to make her extraordinary voice and better-than-anyone-her-age-should-be-able-to-write songs heard above the din of a disinterested Camden pub crowd. At the end of her set we stomped out, disgusted with our fellow man's inability to hear what we could hear, and the bouncer on the door stopped us and said, "She's going to be very successful, isn't she?" We don't mind admitting we shed a bit of a tear.

Five years later and we're moist of eye once more thanks to the now very successful Adele having produced a second album that's far better than we ever expected or even needed it to be.

Having been erroneously attributed as the author of Bob Dylan's 'Make You Feel My Love' by numerous X Factor auditionees and YouTube karaoke-ists, Adele's comeback was assured. She could easily have coasted to number one with a retread of the MOR prettiness and breezy soul pop that padded out the majority of debut album '19'. Providing she could write at least one more song as prodigious and moving as London hymn 'Hometown Glory' and turn in another performance as devastatingly resigned as her cover of the aforementioned Bob tune, we'd be happy.

'21' is not that record. In terms of steps up, '21' is to '19' what that fella in '127 Hours' who had to cut his own arm off is to our breathless jog to the top floor of TK Maxx this lunchtime (only without the arm cutting. And we bought a stripy jumper, if you're interested). This is a serious and frequently astonishing album.

There are three types of song on '21':

1. Big fuck-off  (and "fuck you") monsters as characterised by jaw-dropping first single 'Rolling In The Deep', the Ryan 'Bleeding Love' Tedder co-write 'Rumour Has It' and the barnstorming power ballad 'Set Fire To The Rain'.

2. Mid-tempo smoulderers such as the country soul imploring of 'Don't You Remember', the pure, live-band, soul groove of 'He Won't Go' (reminiscent of 'No More Drama' era Mary J. Blige. Yes, that good) and the Rick Rubin produced and deeply personal interpretation of The Cure's 'Lovesong'.

3. The saddest, most heartache ridden ballads of modern times. '21' is dominated by Adele's reflections on a recently shipwrecked relationship. And while we wish her future happiness we selfishly dread the day she has to write happy family songs, or fake the heartbreak. She's just so very good at why-don't-you-love-me-well-screw-you-dickhead type songs. On '21' she delivers two truly extraordinary and award-deserving examples of that particular genre with 'Turning Tables' and 'Someone Like You' (featured here in demo form since they apparently couldn't replicate the intensity in the studio). On the latter, Adele imagines a future in which the love she's just lost is living a happy life, married with kids, while she remains alone and most definitely not over it. We've all been there. Dear god, we've all been there.

This is, at heart, a soul album, whilst avoiding any of the cliché, predictability and vocal affectations that have come to be associated with the genre of late. And while Adele's musical influences clearly still reside in the 60s, '21' doesn't attempt to replicate "vintage" sounds, as producers Rubin, Paul Epworth and Jim Abbiss confidently restrict instrumentation to only what's required to support THAT voice.

And what a voice. Soaring, crumbling, surprising, consoling...  On '21' she sounds capable of anything, and frequently proves it. In Adele, this generation has their first truly great singer; she's now world class with few who could compare.

We can't imagine we'll hear a better album this year.

Adele - '21' is released on January 24