Seal (2nd Album)

Performer: Seal
Artist: Jeff Beck; William Orbit; Joni Mitchell; D'Influence; Wendy & Lisa
Producer: Trevor Horn
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Seal (vocals); Gus Isidore, Jamie Muhoberac, Bill Benham, Mike Brittain, Nick Busch, Laurence Cottle, Ben Cruft, Mike De Saulles, Charley Drayton, Andy Duncan, Joseph "Amp" Fiddler, Roger Garland, Luis Jardim, Pat Kiernan, Chris Laurence, Martin Loveday, Mark Mann, Harvey Mason, Perry Montague-Mason, Andy Newmark, William Orbit, Pino Palladino, Anthony Pleeth, Maciej Rakowski, Eddie Roberts, Jackie Shave, Roger Smith, Tony Stanton, Ian Thomas. Engineers: Tim Weidner, Carmen Rizzo, Steve Fitzmaurice, Steve MacMillan, Gregg Jackman, Robin Barclay, Paul Wright, Sean Chenery. Includes liner notes by Seal. All songs written or co-written by Seal. "Prayer For The Dying" was nominated for a 1995 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. SEAL was nominated for Best Pop Album and Best Engineered Album. "Kiss From A Rose" won 1996 Grammy Awards for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. British native Sealhenry Samuel is a tall, strikingly handsome son of Nigerian/Brazilian lineage, with a richly evocative voice that at times suggests the milieu of great song stylists such as Marvin Gaye, Peter Gabriel and Milton Nascimento. SEAL is decidedly sexy yet never descends into the ooh-baby smarminess so prevalent on top of the R&B charts; it is boldly eclectic yet never loses its tight, poppy stylistic focus; and it exudes real spiritual warmth without becoming sappy or preachy. Together with producer Trevor Horn (Art Of Noise, Rod Stewart, Yes), Seal has created a spacious sonic canvas that is as big and exotic as the singer himself, a colorful mixture of moods with a classic touch. On "Prayer For The Dying," Seal celebrates the ongoing dance between the living and the dead from both points of view, seeing it all as part of the natural order of things--not strictly tragic. On "Dreaming In Metaphors" he enunciates another personal journey of faith, and wonders aloud why we "Try to hold onto something we couldn't understand." On "Fast Changes," he mixes and matches folk, jazz and Indian sensibilities in an acoustic guitar flavored love song that recalls the Joni Mitchell of HEJIRA. Joni returns the favor by harmonizing with Seal on the hymn-like changes of "If I Could," the langour of the arrangement standing in stark contrast to the pleas of lovers drifting apart. All in all, SEAL is a vibrant, original vision of pop that should propel Seal to international superstardom.

Rolling Stone (10/6/94, p.90) - 3.5 - Good - "...His voice--soulful, raspy, a little dark--can make even the maudlin seductive..." Entertainment Weekly (6/3/94, p.60) - "...This British neo-soul singer's gift flows from his ability to transform dance-floor tracks into spine-tingling magical experiences....Unlike most dance albums, SEAL is more than a collection of singles...." - Rating: A Musician (7/94, p.88) - "...Seal manipulates mood the way James Brown works a groove, but that doesn't always work to his advantage. Because it's so easy to get lost in the luxuriant warmth of Seal's music, you may not even notice how great the songs are...." New York Times (Publisher) (1/5/95, p.C15) - Included on Stephen Holden's list of the Top 10 Albums Of '94 - "...[An] impassioned and majestically produced...suite of songs..."

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.

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