Seal is the debut studio album by British singer Seal, released in 1991. It contains the singles "Crazy", "Future Love Paradise", "The Beginning", "Killer" and "Violet". The album debuted at number one in the UK and went on to win Best British Album at the 1992 Brit Awards. Seal's following album, released in 1994, was also named Seal; it is usually referred to as Seal II.
There are two versions of the album, with minor and major differences in three songs. The shorter version of "Wild" is more rock-based and heavy than the original. The shorter version of "Violet" contains no dialogue within the singing. Track lengths of both versions are given for each song affected.
The only way to tell the difference is the CD Matrix; the Pre-Mix matrix is ; the Remixed CD has the same Matrix but with .2 at the end (903174557-2.2).
"Killer" is a re-recorded version of the UK number one single by Adamski, which also features Seal on vocals.
Many of the songs (including various ZTT mixes) were featured in the Greg Stump 1991 film Groove Requiem in the Key of Ski. Later Seal tracks appeared in other Stump films as well. The track "Killer" was also featured on the American crime series Homicide: Life on the Street and was included on the 2-disc soundtrack album.
Critical reception
In Melody Maker, critic Push wrote that although "some of the ideas could be called pretentious and others sound a tad MOR", Seal showcases "Seal's passionate and emotional nature, a rare fusion of strength and sensitivity". Voxs Isabel Appio praised the album's "textured vocals, sophisticated hooks and full and fascinating orchestral arrangements",
Retrospectively, AllMusic reviewer MacKenzie Wilson credited Seal and producer Trevor Horn for the overall sound of Seal, which she said stood out amidst "the early-'90s mediocrity of post-hair metal and manufactured synth bands."
- Trevor Horn, Steve Pearce, Doug Wimbish, Gota Yashiki – bass guitar
- Curt Bisquera, Denny Fongheiser, Keith LeBlanc, John Robinson, Gota Yashiki – drums
- Paulinho da Costa, Andy Duncan, Luís Jardim, Gota Yashiki – percussion
- Anne Dudley – string arrangements
- Maria Vidal – backing vocals
Production
- Trevor Horn – producer
- Robin Hancock, Gregg Jackman, Steve MacMillan, Tony Phillips, Ren Swan, Tim Weidner – engineers
- Steve Fitzmaurice, Richard Lowe – assistant engineers
- Robin Hancock, Steve MacMillan, Brian Malouf, Tony Phillips, Tim Weidner – mixing
- Michael Nash Associates – design
- Richard Croft – cover photography
- Philippe McClelland – additional photography
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for Seal
! scope="col"| Chart (1991–92)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
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Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+1991 year-end chart performance for Seal
! scope="col"| Chart (1991)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
| 21
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! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 11
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! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 45
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! scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| 23
|-
! scope="row"| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
| 21
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!scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)
| 11
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+1992 year-end chart performance for Seal
! scope="col"| Chart (1992)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
| 49
|}