Seal IV
| Seal
Seal IV
Seal IV is the fourth studio album by Seal. It follows the aborted sessions for Togetherland, which was scrapped because Seal thought it was not up to the standard of his previous work. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number four. In the United States, it debuted at number three in the U.S. Billboard 200, making it his highest-charting album to date. The album sold over 1 million copies worldwide.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Slant Magazine
Horn never lets the music veer from the middle of the road, which allows Seal IV to fall into a category of adult contemporary some might call “background music.” But call it what you will, background music is rarely this lovely.
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PopMatters
So Seal is back, in a sense. The tunes are there, which is certainly more than can be said for his last outing. But someone should have hijacked the mixing board and given these songs the punch they so richly deserve.
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Common Sense Media
The production quality is a little disappointing -- it feels as though the recording should sparkle more throughout -- but the instrumental and vocal performances are beautifully delivered.
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BBC
. . . this record is slick but lacks the edge of past hits and enters the bland Lighthouse Family camp.
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Rock Music Review
. . . this album earns a 5 not because it has little redeeming qualities, but because it unfairly pigeonholes the artist. maybe this album should have been put into a vault.
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laut.de
"Seal IV" simply disappointed me because I set higher expectations for this musician both vocally and musically. The album does not match the composition and vocal virtuosity of the single "Kiss from a Rose", nor does it reach the catchiness of "Fly like an Eagle".
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AVRev.com
Seal has one of the most distinct, raspy vocal tones since Peter Gabriel. His vocals are warm and inviting, yet something became quite apparent to me while listening to IV. . . . It just struck me that almost all of the vocal melodies on IV seem to not stray too far from his comfort range.
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Gimme Gimme Records
. . . Seal doesn't sound like an alien on Seal IV, which must relieve his family greatly. What he does sound like is a perfectly reasonable, sincere guy, and a lot of the rest of us might start wishing he did sound like an alien, because he's a little boring.
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Sang Tuum Tumb and all that
Tepid return for soul crooner after five-year absence.
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Concert Shots
It’s a shame that the balance of this collection is so edgeless and dated feeling. It’s all good…just not special.
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AllMusic
Despite being heavy with unexceptional tunes, Seal IV has enough going for it to warrant the next four years of anticipation.
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Independent
As with much of Seal's work, there's a vague sense of significance about these songs that evaporates in the heat of one's attention. Seal makes for a pleasant hour or so's listening, though things are strung rather thin in places, . . . .
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Music For Stowaways
But Seal IV does seem to have an unusually bad hit-to-filler ratio – even occasional production deity Trevor Horn seems to have been having a bad day, just pressing buttons on the console without thinking very hard. Or perhaps I’m wrong, and it’s just a matter of taste?
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