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After a five-year absence, Seal rebounds with perhaps his best album to date. By the sound of things, Seal underwent both a personal and a professional transformation that left him rejuvenated and spiritually renewed. Lyrically, he still sings plaintive pleas for love, peace, and understanding in the vein of his breakout song "Crazy" and the Grammy-winning "Kiss from a Rose." On the uplifting "Love's Divine," the London-born singer croons: "Through the rain storm came sanctuary / And I felt my spirit fly." But thanks to the guidance of longtime producer Trevor Horn, Seal stretches his vocals in unexpected directions, as on the reggae-tinged "Where There's Gold," where he takes a rude-boy stance and sings in patois à la Sean Paul, and the secular love song "Don't Make Me Wait," which Seal lends a hymnlike, gospel fervor. To Horn's credit, the disc's musical palette is also colored by lots of experimentation: "Let Me Roll" is surprisingly upbeat and hip-hop inspired; the horn-infused "Get It Together" has an old-school funk vibe (think Curtis Mayfield and Sly Stone); "Waiting for You" mines the Delta blues; and the ambient, acoustic guitar–laced "Loneliest Star" recalls the '80s pop of the Thompson Twins. Although he dabbles in new sounds, Seal doesn't forget his core audience. On the seductive "Touch," he woos his female fans with steamy lines like, "I remember the times I used to kiss your mouth, your eyes, your face..." As a vocalist, Seal's soul is not quite neo -- his raspy vocals are informed as much by Peter Gabriel as by Sam Cooke -- but his understanding of how to make an enchantingly smooth R&B and adult contemporary pop record remains timeless.
Condition:NEW. Marked upc
TRACK LISTINGS
Disc 1
1 Get It Together (3:59)
2 Love's Divine (4:35)
3 Waiting for You (3:38)
4 My Vision (4:48)
5 Don't Make Me Wait (4:31)
6 Let Me Roll (3:52)
7 Touch (5:20)
8 Where There's Gold (5:12)
9 Loneliest Star (4:04)
10 Heavenly... (Good Feeling) (5:01)
11 Tinsel Town (5:53)
12 Get It Together (Reprise) (1:08)
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