E. Honda

Anyone else love this album as much as I do? It's another great entry in his anthology. Though I still prefer his early material (1991 album is best) .. his versions of the Al Green standards on this album are fantastic.

iggystar

I actually haven't gotten it yet, but I will now. I am a HUGE Seal fan...my favorite is also the 1991 album (the song Violet is probably in my top 5 favorites of all time).

bunkaroo

You know I am a huge Seal fan too, but the clips I heard don't sound very inspired to me. Of course his voice sounds great, but I was hoping for something a little more adventurous with the arrangements. As it stands, I don't hear much of a difference between these versions and the originals musically.

I also have to say System was a bit of a disappointment for me too. Maybe it's because Trevor Horn wasn't involved. I'll probably check this out if I see it cheap.

iggystar

Wasn't there another album of Seal's that Trevor didn't produce?

I hadn't gotten around to purchasing System, but it's on my to-buy list. I think I listen to Seal at least once a week, seen him in concert twice...he's pretty great, IMO....but so much of his sound has to do with his collaboration with Trevor.

The Bus

And this is why he had that stupid holiday-on-ice special.

iggystar

Meh, I ignored the skating and was just glad to hear him singing "live".

nothingfails

I'm glad this album is doing well. I thought System was really good but it seemed to get lost in the shuffle.

bunkaroo

I think they had a falling out before Human Being was released but they worked it out. TH is listed as producer for the first 4 Seal full-lengths including Seal IV, which may have had some production by others as well.

bunkaroo

That special was actually aired last year too - not sure how old it is.

iggystar

I'm glad whenever he's doing well. It would be nice to see him again in concert, better album sales would help that.

I need to support System.

fiver

I liked System a lot after I listened to it a couple times although I still skip past the duet with his wife - just don't like that track

However, Soul is the only Seal album I got bored listening to - didn't manage to finish it yet. My problems with it are a) that an artist of Seal's caliber should be able to select tracks that are lesser known - I really only want to hear Sam Cooke perform A Change Is Gonna Come, or Otis Redding sing I've Been Loving You and b) Seal really doesn't add any uniqueness to these songs.

It felt like a contract obligation album (maybe it was?) rather than a real reflection of his enormous talent.

For the record, my favorite album is Human Being - absolutely love that record.

Michael

iggystar

It's hard for me to choose a favorite album because there are a few songs on each that are easily among my favorite songs ever, but I guess I'd choose Seal's first album because it was an such an eye opener for me. It was at a time I rarely listened to music outside of the singles that hit the radio.

Anyway, three songs on Human Being that are very close to my heart, I Lost My Faith, When a Man is Wrong and Color (which is one of the most beautiful songs, period).