Soul

Performer: Seal
Engineer: David Reitzas; Jochem Van Der Saag; Jorge Vivo; Chris Owens
Producer: Jochem Van Der Saag; David Foster
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Seal (vocals); David Foster (keyboards, bass guitar); Jochem van der Saag (synthesizer, drum programming). Audio Mixer: Jochem van der Saag. Audio Remasterer: Brian "Big Bass" Gardener. Unknown Contributor Role: Jochem van der Saag. Arranger: David Foster. The title of this 2008 release, and the cover art--a b&w photo featuring Seal in a suit and tie crooning into a microphone--should give listeners a fair idea of the album's nature. A glance at the track list, which includes soul classics by Sam Cooke, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, and Otis Redding, confirms the supposition. Seal has been settling more comfortably into his role as an adult contemporary singer, and SOUL, on which the British vocalist interprets 12 American R&B gems in elegant fashion, finds him fully inhabiting the niche once and for all.. Seal may yet join the mainstream ranks of Rod Stewart and Michael Buble with his sophisticated covers and accessible sound, but his singing on SOUL is still full of the passion and intensity that characterize his earlier material. His take on Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" is a case in point, as is his heartfelt reading of Mayfield's "People Get Ready." Veteran producer David Foster gives the album a sleek yet natural feel, further heightening the compelling nature of Seal's performances.

Entertainment Weekly (p.72) - "As always, Seal sounds great; age has relaxed his singing, and that lends the material an appropriately lived-in vibe." -- Grade: B-

Seal helped put heart and soul back in pop music during the 1990s. His music is often full of electronics yet always organic (thanks in no small part to super-producer Trevor Horn). The UK singer/songwriter started out trolling around the British acid house scene and collaborating with Adamski, but before long he'd emerged as a full-blown pop artist, turning out highly accessible tunes with a grand, orchestral production aesthetic. His 1995 "Kiss from a Rose" was a massive international hit, and made him a multiple Grammy winner.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.5