Seal – Seal (I): …in a sky full of people, only some want to fly
Written: Nov 08 '04 (Updated Nov 08 '04)
Product Rating:
Pros: Seal has talent, that voice, the musical skills- all the things this snarky critic desires
Cons: familiar "Crazy" hooks in several songs; there are a few songs I'm not crazy about
The Bottom Line: in a world full of singers, only some want to SING – isn't that crazy? Oh you're never gonna survive unless you have Seal in your music collection…
bob_tomato's Full Review: Seal (1st Album) by Seal
Sealhenri Samuel is quite probably the most improbable birth name of anyone in the music business, so it was awfully nice of someone (whoever thought of it) to shorten this awkward moniker to the much more manageable Seal. "Sealhenri Samuel" would also have been very difficult to fit onto the cover of the singer's eponymous debut recording, so "Seal" is definitely an improvement over that option… In fact, nearly everything about Seal is an improvement over the options you'll find in today's music scene, and he proved it from the start with his first album.
Of course, it's nice to have some skilled assistance when you're starting out with your music career, and Seal was blessed to have a top British producer working on this recording. Trevor Horn has written singles and produced albums for the likes of Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Cher, Tina Turner, Art of Noise, Tori Amos, Moire Brennan, Sinead O'Connor, Simple Minds, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and many others. Horn's expertise is largely responsible for Seal's wonderful sound quality and diversity of instrumentation, especially for what is essentially a dance album.
But let's talk about talent for a moment…
For those who are familiar with my particular brand of epinion, you're well aware that I have some disdain for many of the pre-fab, bleach bland wonders foisted upon the snoozing public these days. I tend to spend my music money on artists who write their own material, who have voices that don't require studio tricks to make them interesting, who have a certain gravitas of their own. Seal has all of these qualities – his debut album contains nine songs that he wrote or co-authored, and his throaty baritone has a raw edge that is instantly memorable and intriguing. Seal's talents are obvious from the start with his first recording, and he has only continued to improve since this very good start.
My only complaint with the record is that most of the songs contain similar melodic hooks – listen to Crazy several times and then listen to the rest of the album. You'll hear certain themes repeated in the other songs – but honestly, it's a minor nitpick that only a snarky music critic with an unfinished music degree would really care about, so don't listen to me.
You do need to listen to Seal, though. You're probably already familiar with Crazy – back in 1991, it was the biggest U.S. hit from this album, and served to introduce Seal to the 'States. U.K. readers may remember that the song Killer was actually the first radio hit from Sealhenri Samuel (I just like seeing that name from time to time) – it was composed by dance club impresario Adamski and Seal provided the lyrics and the voice. Both songs illustrate the early direction of Seal's music – much of this initial album is dance oriented, house tracks that throb and pulsate with strong bass and electronic effects.
The album kicks off in high gear with a true house track, but The Beginning has a little more to it than the typical house song of the era. I love the little touches, like the jazz chord changes near the ending, the a cappella section, and the acoustic guitar that takes the song out. While most dedicated electronica would focus solely on synthesized sounds for the entirety of the song, Trevor Horn kept his eyes and ears on the overall structure of the album. The changes in the song that happen near the end set the listener up for the opening of the second song.
Acoustic percussion and a slide guitar lead into Deep Water, and the intricate chorus features a largely isolated vocal ensemble, all parts voiced by Seal himself. At the halfway point, Horn foreshadows elements of Crazy - in fact, at about the three minute mark, it sounds almost as if a new track has been cross-faded in, but the Deep Water is still running. This new verse and chorus is a secondary version of those found in the first half of the song, but it sounds more like a descant for the end of Crazy. Even with all of these changes, there is another change that occurs in the last minute as the song takes on a sort of baroque feel – I think that the change was done to introduce the synthesized tones of Crazy, but also to serve as a definite separation between the two tracks.
The version of Crazy on Seal is not the one that was heard on U.S. radio – I don't know if the version presented here is an extended edit (which is what it sounds like). It's quite similar, but as it winds on through it's six minute length, astute listeners will pick up on the differences that begin just before the three minute mark. I'm torn between the radio and album edits – I like them both for what they are. I like this one, but I'm just not convinced that it's the best one available.
Killer enforces my belief that the Brits do house better than US - this track kicks boo-tay. It's nicely layered with all it's synth effects and cool guitar sounds (courtesy of Yes legend Trevor Rabin). Killer is definitely the most manufactured track on the album, and as such, I should probably shower it with my famous disdain. But hey, we critics need to get our groove on too…
The remainder of the album showcases both Seal's softer side and his deft soulful touch. Whirlpool is a gorgeous, atmospheric vocal wail accompanied by guitar and piano – it is truly one of the hidden gems in Seal's discography. Future Love Paradise is a bit of Kravitz-esque floating in flowery sentiments accompanied by a light bass groove – Seal's done this sort of thing better in more recent albums. I'm not particularly crazy for Wild as it's a fairly pedestrian pop track, and Show Me doesn't show me much at all – it's a weak forerunner to Kiss From a Rose.
The eight and a half minute long Violet closes out the album, and rescues Seal from ending on the sour notes started by it's two predecessors. There's a certain quality to this song that puts me in mind of Sade and other light jazz artists of this type. Of course, I also like the oddly included speaking voices seemingly lifted from TV and radio – I'm still trying to work out why these things are included in the track. I'd venture to guess that most people won't like this track, but I think it's pretty interesting. Maybe they are the sounds of Seal's life filtering into his music, the ambient noise from the living room as he worked on the songs for his debut recording…
Regardless of the deeper meanings of Violet or any other track, I find that all of the songs illustrate the fact that Seal is a very talented individual, not afraid to be himself, singing his meandering melodies in his own sometimes off-kilter way in that raspy, super cool voice he owns. Seal proved from the start that he had the skills to make it in the music business on his own merit, rather than having to rely on the machinations of the industry to mold him into just another Product. Seal isn't a perfect debut album, but it has a lot of grit and character that at least make much of it interesting. There's a world full of singers, but only some want to SING - isn't that crazy?
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Seal - Seal (I)
Originally released June 11, 1991 by Sire Records
Track Listing
The Beginning / Deep Water / Crazy / Killer / Whirlpool / Future Love Paradise / Wild / Show Me / Violet
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