Seal - System

Some artists mellow as they age; Seal enters never-surrender mode and hits the dance floor. System gets at a new way of thinking for the king of the sexy British croon--he's a little less committed to nailing the vocals here and a lot more into manufacturing a mood. Overall, it's one infused with high spirits and an almost dreamy sense of possibility: "Rolling," the only song outside of a weird duet with wife Heidi Klum ("Wedding Day") to avoid elaborate but likable synths, stands its romantic ground without settling into ho-hum balladry, while "Loaded," "Dumb," and "The Right Life" bust out of the speakers determined to raise the profile of house music and electro beats. If he cribs a vial or two of vibe from Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor,, also produced by retro whiz-kid Stuart Price, it doesn't make Seal any less appealing. Even without hits like the super-smooth "Amazing," some guys manage to be amazing just by showing up. And so it is with Seal. Even his superm! odel wife says so. --Tammy La Gorce

The first studio album in four years from Seal, System, with its shimmering melodies, layers of synths and acoustic guitar, and electronic beats, is a return to my roots says the singer-songwriter. To help him deliver a more dance oriented album, what he calls a quintessential Seal album, Seal turned to Stuart Price(Madonna's Confessions On A Dance Floor and Grammy-winning remixes for No Doubt and Coldplay).

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Good Seal, bad tracks

These tracks are the kind of things that remixers do to Seal songs that started out good: house-ify them until they sound better with drugs. I have nothing against a house record, and I think it's brave of him to release a record of straight dance music at this point in his career. It is, unfortunately, sad that he's doing so with such boring, trendy house tracks. Put Seal on almost anything and he can elevate it a little. But this stuff? Ugh.

If he had sung over some better tracks - like some Naked Music stuff (I'll let THAT one sink in, because you and I know that would have been an awesome record, maybe even breathed some life into the genre) - this would have been worth the wait. As it stands, it isn't. November 16, 2008

The only thing amazing about this CD...

Is that several people had to think any of these songs were worth releasing, much less that it would be a good idea to have his wife sing a duet.

If you need a reason why the record company mafia is losing business, look no further than this steaming pile of marketing. Why didn't they have him visiting Hooterville or jump a shark tank with his motorcycle while they were at it?

I've been buying Seal's music and concert tickets for two decades, and one thing I've always appreciated about him as an artist is that he'd take a break when he was out of ideas. Nope, not here. Just in it for a quick buck.
October 30, 2008

Seal's best album?

This album grows and grows and grows on me, as if there's a system to it.

Sure, much has been made of working with a different producer for the first time (the brilliant Trevor Horn produced Seal's first 4 studio albums). But that's not what makes this album so great.

Rather, it's the writing. Whereas every Seal album since his debut seemed to go downhill, the writing here is so consistently strong, with great melodies and thought-provoking lyrics.

And the passion is back. On Seal's debut album, I often felt as if this young man with a huge soul was brought off the street straight into the studio, and laid down all emotions, raw and otherwise. On subsequent albums, the club scene and snowboarding and supermodels took that away. But on System, Seal bellows with passion, as if in a global confession.

This is his most dance-oriented album, so it's a bit thin on mellow songs and ballads, which are often his forte. Nonetheless, it's a brilliant album.

As for the producer question, Horn is the greatest producer of the past 3 decades. On Seal's debut, for example, Horn provided a much broader sonic pallet for Seal to work with. If Seal had given him songs like this to work with, it might have been one of the greatest albums of all time. October 9, 2008

"System" by Seal

I saw a review that almost made me not get this CD. It criticized Seal for not having partnered up with Travor Horn as he has in the past. But two thumbs up to Seal. And if you are a die-hard Seal fan like me, you too will enjoy listening to this CD. It's gritty, sensual and has some outstanding club beats too! Seal's soulful sounds are still in tact. He didn't need Trevor.
July 7, 2008

Marvelous return to form! "System" is one to have.

A long four years since his previous album entitled "Seal IV", the British singer of modern soul returns with his fifth solo album entitled "System" and like he has explained in interviews, it marks a major return to the dance roots of his debut album. Be mindful, if you enjoyed tracks like "Tinseltown", "Get it Together" or "Love's Divine" then you might have to put those yearnings to the test as this album brings back the energy that was present on his 1991 debut self-titled classic with songs like "If It's on My Mind", "Amazing", and the atsmopheric disco of "The Right Life". Many have expressed negative views on "Wedding Day" which featured the suprise duet with his wife, Heidi Klum. Though I was somewhat like "Huh?" when I saw the note, WD turned out to be a suprisingly great song. Actually among my favorites. This could've easily been a disaster but Seal actually generates a future classic with it. "Dumb" is probably the only song that carries any elements of his previous album with the acoustic guitars that we've become familiar with. Those who yearn for some older sounds might find some solace in "Dumb". It took some time to digest but "System" has become another five-star work of art in my book and am glad it's very different from the previous. THat's what makes artists new albums exciting, knowing it will be very different from the old. Highly recommended. :) July 2, 2008

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