SealRevisited

Human being album

This is the album that people seem to love or hate. If I have to admit that this one was not promote at all, as a real Seal's fan, this one is probably my favourite. For me it seem like this album is more in harmony with Seal's conscience. This album is excellent. This album does seem darker, weighter, whereas the second album seemed full of hope. That's not a bad thing, but I suspect the darker tone has alienated some fans. I would take anyone to task that said the songs aren't of the same high quality of the last album. They are just different, more ruminative, more solemn. Human Beings is a solid rock song even if I'm not quite sure with the Mix of this song, State of Grace, Just Like You Said, No Easy Way, and When a Man is Wrong are all similar in tone but they are first rate. The highlight of the album for me is Still Love Remains, which sounds like it came straight from the score of a film noir picture like Chinatown. Colour is also a highlight. A different type of record, but the same high quality production, singing and lyrics.

He seems to have forgotten the hooks this time around however, which may well affect the success of the album. There's really nothing as immediate here as the classic dance tracks "Crazy" and "Future Love Paradise" from the debut, or the atmospheric ballads like "Prayer For The Dying" from 1994's follow-up.

The first single "Human Beings" stands out as a strong opener in the style of 1992's "The Beginning", and "When A Man Is Wrong" sees Seal's voice leaping to the high register that is its true strength over an effective acoustic guitar and piano arrangement backed by a string section, but much of the rest of the album runs together as undistinguished mid-tempo balladry, spiced up here and there with the odd break beat or trip hop keyboard as a slight concession to Seal's original arena, but otherwise unremarkable.

A well-documented falling-out with producer Horn (some of which is reproduced in a heated conversation found in the sleeve notes, bizarrely), threatened this album for a time. Perhaps now is the time for Seal to strike out on his own. A remarkable voice and a huge songwriting talent continue to flounder under the weight of overproduced dinner party soul/pop.