Let’s face it – would Seal still have a career if he wasn’t married to Heidi Klum? Probably not (that being said props to him for nabbing Germany’s greatest export since BMW). Regardless, Seal’s career heartbeat is still softly beating and his latest weak effort is here – Soul 2. 

As the name suggests, this is the second collection of soul song covers by the British singer (who knew he made a first?), with this volume including a mixture of classics by Bill Withers (‘Lean On Me’), Marvin Gaye (‘What’s Going On’) and Al Green (‘Let’s Stay Together’).

Historically, recording a classic soul/Motown covers album tends to signal that your creative career has stagnated and you need to make a quick buck (think Human Nature, Craig David... anything Michael Buble has done) and that trend hasn’t been broken by the ‘Kiss From A Rose’ singer (ahhhh, now that was a good chunk of Seal blubber). 

Essentially, this isn’t a covers album – it’s a recording of Seal doing a decent karaoke session. He hardly deviates from the scores/vocal arrangements of the originals, which some would argue, “He’s remaining faithful to the classic versions”, but I would retort, “Nay! This is just laziness. Playing it safe at best.”

Very occasionally he does break out of the mould – his version of Withers’ ‘Lean On Me’ is an interesting, harmony-heavy interpretation, but as a whole there hasn’t been much creative flair splashed around on this album. 

And honestly, if he were looking to win new fans he would have taken a much more aggressive approach to this record and attempted to stamp his own persona on the tunes. But I think secretly Seal knows the truth – the neo-soul stylings that helped him sell millions of records in the ‘90s (when people still bought albums) are long dated and completely out-of-fashion (although I can understand his aversion to recording in the currently popular dance music-style and hence drawing the inevitable “Seal clubbing” jokes). 

Even in the linear notes he writes, “The only reason I continue to make music is on the off chance that this day could indeed be the day I write another great song or have the opportunity to sing one...” Considering the fact that he’s now released TWO soul covers albums, that mythical creative day seems to be an extremely “off chance” and that luckily for him (unfortunately for soul fans) his marital status will ensure he’ll keep scoring opportunities to sing other people’s music.

Nathan Wood