Customer Reviews

Best: 1991-2004

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This three time Grammy Award winner finally edits a Greatest hits album. The strange thing is that it happened only a couple of months after the release of his latest studio album "Seal IV".
In this cd you can find his biggest hits (there are some modest hits that are missing but that happends in every greatest hits album) but other than that I think that they made a good selection. Besides his biggest hit, the #1 "KISS FROM A ROSE" you can find the Top 10 singles "CRAZY" and "FLY LIKE AN EAGLE". Then comes the Top 50 like "PRAYER FOR THE DYING" and "DON'T CRY".
There's also a new song. "WALK ON BY" which is very good. This album debuted at #47 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums and there are also two versions. This one and the one with the golden cover. The difference is that the golden one is a special edition with some other versions of the songs.
If you like Seal you will definitely not be sorry with this album, is very good but the only thing that I don't like is that it doesn't contain lyrics in the credits book.

Best 1991 - 2004, Seal


Seal's genuis is evident is this career retrospective. Over the past decade, Seal has entranced us with his silky and soulful voice. Through original compositions and cover versions of classics, Seal has made each song he records his "own." The tracks on this hits collection remind fans worldwide that Seal is an artist in its truest meaning.

The low-down on the track listing is detailed below:

1. "Crazy": Seal's first exposure to American audiences came in 1991 with his first Top 10 single, "Crazy."

2. "Kiss from a Rose": Seal's sole number one single, "Kiss from a Rose," was featured in the motion picture Batman Forever and winner of the 1995 Grammy for Record of the Year.

3. "Killer": Taken from his debut CD Seal (1991), this upbeat tune was later covered by George Michael.

4. "Prayer for the Dying": Taken from his sophomore CD Seal (1994), "Prayer for the Dying" reached the Top 40.

5. "Waiting for You": Paired with "Get it Together," "Waiting for You" made waves on the Club Play charts. Remixes of both songs assisted in creating buzz for Seal's fourth CD Seal IV.

6. "Don't Cry": Also taken from Seal's second CD Seal (1994), "Don't Cry" reached the Top 40 and garnered additional attention following Seal's 1995 Grammy victory.

7. "My Vision": Previously unreleased, "My Vision" is an up-tempo tune which is accompanied by female vocalists, Jakatta.

8. "Love's Divine": This is squarely the highlight from Seal IV. "Love's Divine" is a pure delight.

9. "Walk on By": Remixed by Soulshock and Karlin, this Dionne Warwick remake is given new life. The arrangement transcends time and makes this classic sound brand new.

10. "Get it Together": Suited with a retro 70's vibe, "Get it Together" is an enjoyable smooth groove. [Also see #5 above.]

11. "Fly Like an Eagle": Included on the motion picture soundtrack for Space Jam, Seal transforms this Steve Miller classic by adding a hot jazz groove and his signature soulful voice.

12. "Lips Like Sugar": 80's fans may remember this as Echo and the Bunnymen's biggest hit. Seal take a new wave record and adds a reggae flavor. This song is included on the motion picture soundtrack for Adam Sandler's 50 First Dates.

13. "Human Beings": Taken from the somber CD Human Being, this is pretty much the only stand out track from the 1998 release.

14. "Future Love Paradise": Another track ripped from Seal's 1991 debut CD.


This CD is superb from start to finish. No need to skip any tracks. They all shine.

Often at times, an atist from overseas really doesn't get credited with reflecting on a good sense of soul. That really seems to happen quite a lot. For an artist like Seal, that really is one good reflection by a longshot. Since his career started in 1991, he has dominated a true, rich sense of mixing the feel of Pop, Soul, and contemporary vocals in complete unison. Yet, with a lot of corporate pop artists, and manufactured wannabes ruling the airwaves, it is just too simple to forget just how meaningful his songs actually are felt. They are just remarkable.

Seal: Best of 1991-2004, is a very good reflection of his 4 studio albums, and his soundtrack works from Batman Forever and Space Jam. Yet, ther songs here are just worked out her very well, with most of the songs of those records really reflected quite well. The collection does include some remarkable pop songs here including hits like Prayer For The Dying, Seal's breakthrough hit Crazy, Waiting For You, his dynamic cover of Steve Miller's Fly Like An Eagle, and his latest Grammy-nominated song Love's Devine.

Yet, with the goodsides with this record, there are a few downsides with this record. One of them is that the album does overlook a few songs,including This Could Be Heaven, which was featured in the Nicholas Cage movie, A Family Man. Another downside is that the cover of the album is an exact duplicate from Seal's 1994 second self-titled album, which to some might be a little bit confusing to some people.

All in all, Seal's Best of 1991-2004 is a very well put greatest hits album. While some may seem more interested in the deluxe version with the acoustic recordings as well, the single disc version fairs much better simply by itself not just in price, but in the feel of Seal's passionate music. Hopefully, if you buy this record, you'll feel the same way.

Album cover: C-

Remastering: A-

Collection of songs: A-

Overall enjoyment: B+

Seal's greatest hits finally arrives 10+ years after his debut on Adamksi's UK #1 hit single "killer". Covering his 4 studio albums and soundtrack work, "Best/ 1991-2004" puts together 14 tracks. This album is an excellent compilation for a casual fan who likes Seal's high profile songs like "crazy" or "kiss from a rose" but is a huge disappointment for serious fans.

Being a serious fan I am disappointed by two major things. First, like most greatest hits, there are tracks missing that should have been included. At 14 songs there were was certainly room for missing singles "the beginning", "newborn friend" and "lost my faith." My second disappointment was the use of almost all album versions for the greatest hits. "Crazy" is the album version as is "killer". It would have been nice to get the single versions of all the Seal I singles. I was surprised to see the dancier Jakatta version of "my Vision" included as oppossed to the minimal back verion on Seal IV.

Overal "Seal Best 1991-2004" is an okay purchase featuring all his biggest hits plus new track "walk on by".

I bought this CD by mistake... I thought it had the song "Raincloud" original from Lighthouse Family.

Fortunately, after giving a short listening I found Seal to be a very good singer. "Kiss From A Rose", "Crazy", "Prayer For The Dying" and a wonderful remake of Steve Miller's "Fly Like An Eagle" (from that weird WB movie SPACE JAM) are included in this CD.

No doubt, for all those "Best Of" and "Greatest Hits" collectors, this album will make you happy enough!

I picked this, my second Seal cd up over the weekend, and I really enjoy it. His voice is smooth, the arrangements are great and in all but one instance (in my opinion) the songs here are great. I love his cover of Walk on By. How fantastic to breathe life into that song, which had always sounded rather flat to me. I also enjoyed hearing his song Human Being for the first time. And as many have commented, it is so nice to hear something of substance being performed by a pop musician! I hope he continues in the same vein (style wise) for a long time to come.

I was hesitant to purchase this CD when I saw it originally released. After all, I already had the four albums, and the extra songs were covers. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Then I heard that there was going to be a deluxe version with a bonus disc of songs performed acoustically. Now THAT piqued my interest. I consider Seal to be a rare vocal talent, and an ace songwriter with a gift for empathy that few can match. The thought of hearing him without the gee-whiz production of Trevor Horn (who really does understand how to produce Seal) made me grab this the week it was released.

I was not in the least bit let down. Stripped of the glossy synths of their album counterparts, songs like "Killer," "Don't Cry" and "Prayer For The Dying" take on a stately elegance. Even Seal himself states in the liner notes that he feels acoustic is his natural setting. Having this disc in addition to the originals is like a piece of Bavarian Chocolate after a lavish meal; it's the perfect after dinner topper.

As for the "Best" disc's main course, there are a couple delights. Rescued from soundtrack obscurity are Seal's covers of Steve Miller's "Fly Like An Eagle" from "Space Jam" and Echo and The Bunnymen's "Lips Like Sugar" from "50 First Dates." His gentle rendition of the Bacharach/David chestnut "Walk On By" holds its own to any other well known version. I am also glad that "Human Beings" made the cut, even if I wished another song or two might have snuck from that CD into the list. (All the more reason to hang on to that vastly underrated, personal work.)

The most important thing about Seal is that he keeps a utopian world view that also maintains a pragmatists' edge. A song like "Prayer For The Dying" holds up years later, maybe taking on more weight, given the current regime's narrow world view. And when all else fails, "Crazy" and "My Vision" can still make you dance.

I simply love his voice, this collections is what you need in your disc librery

I heard this album when a friend gave me some stuff he was listening to. I thought it was good enough to buy this copy. I wish I had heard this when I was going through those years, not many years later. He's good. Mostly, I get in a good feeling place and put his CD on and just move (dance)as the mood strikes me.

Excellent CD and well worth the money. After I purchased this CD I took my husband to see him in concert. You just can't go wrong with his music, it's for everyone.