Seal
Seal II

Seal's music is very unique: a pop that blends contemporary sounds, often flirting with the dancefloor, with almost ancestral melodies and lyricism, giving the whole an atmosphere that is mysterious and captivating.

This album is from 1994, following the self-titled album from 1991 (there will be another self-titled one in 2003, "Seal IV", the guy has a knack for titles, editor's note). Although it's almost a good fifteen years old, the album, for being pop music, still feels fresh and current. Only occasionally does it clearly echo the sound of the "nineties," and never in an annoying way. Produced by the genius of Trevor Horn, the Midas of English pop, and his touch is evident.

The first track, "Bring it on", opens with Seal's hoarse and reverberated voice followed by a pumped-up funk style attack. Particularly beautiful is the bass line intertwined with the underlying guitar riff. It is followed by the first single, the beautiful "Prayer for the Dying", a song built on a series of sweet chords whose intro was embarrassingly reused a few years later in "Due Destini" by the otherwise talented Tiromancino. Also worth noting is "Don't Cry", a soft ballad where Seal's distinctive voice splits into elaborate harmonies.

"Fast Changes" suddenly brings us to an almost new age atmosphere, with guitar arpeggios drawing harmonic lines as beautiful as they are complex. The skirmish between acoustic bass and transverse flute enriching the whole makes this song the best track on the album.

"Kiss from a Rose" was the second single, a multimillion-seller also thanks to its use in the "Batman" soundtrack of that era. In this song, you particularly feel that mixture of ancient and modern I mentioned above, being a ballad with an almost Celtic flavor. In the latter part of the album, the irresistible dance of "Newborn Friend" stands out, which, if I'm not mistaken, was the third release. The album ends leaving you with the impression of a truly well-done work, with four or five very beautiful songs and the remaining ones still high quality, without any weak moments.

One thing that has always struck me about this album is the inner booklet; quite sparse, featuring a close-up of Seal's scarred face and little else on a white background. Instead of lyrics, there are a few lines where our friend explains why they're absent. In those lines, you can sense the intention, generally foreign to the world the singer comes from, to let the listener give their own meaning to what's expressed by the song's words, even risking that they are completely misunderstood. Because in the end, what is more beautiful than letting the music take us to territories that are solely ours, away from any external influence? The only real concrete sense anchor at the end is the written lyrics of a song, and Seal's attempt, whether it succeeds or not, is precisely to remove that anchor from the song. While in pop matters lyrics can be quite disposable, they can still play a subtly manipulative role.

It's ironic that in the end, lyrics that are never stupid and indeed full of meaning like Seal's "pay" for this particular choice.

Rating: 4.5/5