Customer Reviews

Seal IV

5 star:		(124)
4 star:		(55)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Seal IV is growing on me. When I read that Trevor Horn and Seal would be working together again, I waited with anticipation, and had hoped of the same magic wrought from Seal's landmark debut. Seal I was/is one of my top 5 works of all time. Unlike some others, I love the rich textured danceable production often found on Trevor Horn produced tracts.
Which brings us to the present. The rich textures are definitely in effect on Seal IV, but the sound has matured. At first I was hoping for the energy of "Crazy" (My personal theme song if I decide to become a super hero), or the raw power of "Killer," but then it dawned on me that I have aged and so has Seal. The sound, the words, and the music have aged in a graceful soulness that slowly seeps into your musical psyche as you listen to this CD. I no longer want to just groove to Seal, I am now listening. Instead of pumping this through my tower speaks, I'm grabbing my headphones, dimming the lights, and sipping something smooth and mellow.
Cuts that I'm looping over and over again are: "Loneliest Star" (my favorite cut), "Heavenly...(Good Feeling)", "Tinsel Town", "Touch", and "Love's Divine." Not to say the other songs aren't impressive, but these five touch me deeper than the other cuts. I'm sure we all have songs that move us in a way, and these are mine. Seal fans will be happy with this one. New Seal fans will want to explore some of his previous works after listening to this new production. Add Seal IV to your collection.

Let's be honest: Seal could sing the phonebook and we'd all still listen. His voice is soulful, distinctive, and a welcome breath on the radio from the usual vocal gymnastics and overblown production. True, Seal IV isn't as complete as his first two CDs or as moody yet atmospheric as Human Beings. But this is still great Seal. The Motown sound suits his smoky vocals well. The 1-2-3 punch of Get It Together, Love's Divine, and Waiting For You is a promising beginning. The CD does seem to lag toward the middle, while remaining enjoyable. Luckily, Heavenly is reminiscient of Violet (one of my favorite Seal tracks) and Tinsel Town ends the CD on a smooth note. Not innovative Seal. But well worth the wait, like an old friend coming home.

Like millions of others, I was seduced by "Kiss From a Rose", but otherwise had not been a follower of Seal's career until hearing this CD, and wow! These songs just boil with sweat and conviction. None of them have the melodic complexity of "Rose", with its Beethovenesque shifting of major and minor, but many are equally memorable and may prove more durable. The songs of "Seal IV" range from tough and gritty ("Waiting for You", "Let Me Roll"), to exquisitely romantic ("Touch", "Love's Divine", "Tinsel Town"). Seal draws from the American R&B tradition ("Get It Together"), and also from reggae ("Where There's Gold") but some songs are impossible to classify, and seem to just well up from inside him, like "My Vision" and "Heavenly". My two favorites are almost polar opposites of each other, the soul-shouting "Let Me Roll" and the delicate, aching "Touch", tracks 6 and 7. Although Seal IV is expertly mastered, wrapping Seal's sound with polished competence, Seal himself is hot, sizzling right through his packaging to emerge as a passionate performer who puts his brains, heart and guts into every song. I'm not sure who Seal's core audience is, but this is a major achievement and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves.

I have been a Seal fan since the first album. I will say that upon my first listen of Seal IV I was a bit disappointed. I guess after waiting for 5 years for this new release I was expecting something different. After listening to this disc over and over in the car and on headphones it has grown on me to the point that I just love it. I enjoy almost every track (except #5- it just has yet to grab me -thats why I give 4 1/2 star rating). Especially outstanding and now one of my all time fave Seal tunes is track#10 'Heavenly'. I do also love to listen to Seal on headphones to capture the crisp and clear production and subtle nuances of Trevor Horn. I don't know why some have given such negative reviews but to each his /her own. Overall if you like Seal I recommend getting this CD. He still has that voice
we all love. Just give it several listens and let it grow on you if at first you have mixed feelings.

After a 5 year hiatus, at long last the one and only Seal returns and to form with the melodically alluring and captivating "Seal IV". To begin, this seems to be his most diversified and eclectic collection of songs yet. Seal maintains his hallmark orignality and engages in some musical experimentation...all to good results. He gets points for his uplifting, lucid, and spiritually genuine lyricism alone. As with previous releases from him, this is truly a collection that just ripens with repeated listenings. Not a bad one in the bunch though the standouts from my vantage point are the funk inflected "Get It Together", the enchanting "Love's Divine" and "Touch", the forlorn and subdued "Lonliest Star", the smooth pop punch of "Waiting for You" and "My Vision"(there is another version of this tune featuring a singer named Jakatta that is more dance oriented), and the absolutely heavenly and hypnotic "Heavenly(Good Feeling)". The aforementioned tune is worth the price of admission alone, with Seal in his element and in full force with his vocal stylings juxtaposed against an atmospheric synthesized cacophony of sonic delight. An unbeatable combination of meticulously produced tunesmithing with an evocative soulful vocal delivery...Seal is second to none. In the dozen years I've listened to him, he has yet to disappoint. A true diamond in a field of present day musical mediocrity, don't deny yourself another minute of missing out on this most unique and legitimately gifted performer.

Seal really tries on some different styles on this album - reggae, classic R&B - and for the most part succeeds. The best tracks are "Don't Make Me Wait", a beautiful Ray Charles-esque soul ballad whose arrangement is quite traditional (piano with string flourishes), and "Where There's Gold", a downtempo, somewhat ominous track with a reggae bassline and a great lyric.

Overall this does feel like a compromise record - keep in mind that Warner refused to release the "Wonderland" album because they couldn't market it(maybe someday it'll see the light of day), and certainly a lot of tracks here feel like they're intended for the pop charts. There's few weak tracks (the syrupy "Love's Divine" and the bland "Touch") but also few standouts - nothing that grabs you on the first listen like the tracks on his 2nd album.

I wish Seal would try a different producer - I've always felt that Seal's best tracks are the ones where his voice can stand out the most & the backing music is spartan ("Whirlpool" being the best example), and unfortunately Trevor Horn feels the need to bring the synth in at every point (I would have loved to see them keep the acoustic-y feel from the intro & break of "Get it Together" through the entire song rather than ladling on the disco synth-strings & horns).

Although this album does stand up to his previous work, overall I would say that this album is the least enjoyable of the four. Still, the man could sing the phone book and I'd listen, and so even a below-average effort from Seal is still worth buying.

Well... what can I say? Finally, a new Seal album. I've been waiting a long time for this. When I found out it had finally come out, I came here to check out the reviews. After reading some of the reviews, I was wondering just what kind of album Seal had put out. Well, I went out to seal.com and up popped the Seal Player with all the songs on his newest album waiting there for me to listen to. Awesome. I wasn't too sure the first time I listened to it. Unfortunately I allowed the negative reviews to cloud my perception. After listening to the album again a second time with an open mind, I was quite pleased with what I heard. Very good music. I usually pop this on while I'm at work and listen to it over and over and over.... You get the Idea. Love's Divine is probably my favorite. And the music on Don't Make Me Wait usually gives me chills. This is a great album. If you like any of Seal's other albums, you will definitely like this one.

..any of that Brittany/Christina/Clay nonsense. I mean, really, why is'nt this guy more popular in the states? A good MUSICIAN and singer who does'nt need to lip-sync his way through a performance and has a GREAT voice, can't make it big in the US any more? Wow, that mass-produced pablum cannot hold a candle to a CD like this. Seal's stuff sounds like it should - music created by an adult with a brain and taste.

Buy this CD, its good.

I admit, I have not always been a SEAL fan, meaning that I have not really took a big interest in his music (but had nothing against it). In fact, I had only heard one song by SEAL (Kiss from a rose). Many years later I was in a grocery store in NC and the song "waiting for you" began to play. I was captivated. I started hearing snippets of the song in random places around town. I was DETERMINED to find out who was the singer of the song, but since i had only heard parts of the song, people had no idea who I was talking about. One day, I listened very closely to the song and even though it had been YEARS since I had heard that ONE song by SEAL I was able to match his voice....the rest is history. I got the cd, and was flabbergasted! This has got to be one of the greatest artists of all time PERIOD!

Making us pine for so long for this new album has finally paid off! My hat is off to Seal for not releasing what he considered
a so-so album years ago waiting until he could give us his very best and that is what he has done exactly!!
Every song is beautifully crafted. One of my favorites is "Heavenly" It is so inspirational that it brings a constant
uplifting to me every time I sing along. He is one of the artists who played a major role in the development of my own singing voice! It all started in the summer of 1994 with the release of the album that contained "Kiss from a Rose". "Could", "Prayer for the Dying" and "Metaphors" were songs that I practiced over and over to create my own unique sound. That album will always rank at the top as one of my very favorites!
Yes, Seal is quite a performer. And I thank him for composing songs from the heart instead of songs that would net him a larger bankroll. God has blessed him over and over for his tremendous talent and he will continue to be one of my very favorite artists. He is already rich with blessings! Buy this album. If he does not get nominated for a Grammy this year, it will be a tragedy indeed!

Jerry G. Dollard, Shreveport-Bossier City, La.