SEAL: Seal (ZTT)
What a fine set of pipes this lad Seal has. And what a cracker of a debut LP this is. As well as being a big spooky futuristic biker punk with weird facial marks and a penchant for natty black leather trousers, it appears that Seal is quite handy at knocking together an uplifting tune. As his solo hits, “Crazy” and “Future Love Paradise” led us to believe, Sealhenry is fair into his blustering epic tunes. From the deep housey dwindlings of “The Beginning” through the hippy babblings of the dreamy “Deep Water” to the incredibly laid back waftings of “Violet”, the emphasis is most definitely on “bigness” and “mellowness”. Along the way you get the sweet coo-ings of Prince’s pals Wendy & Lisa and an extremely powerful re-recording of “Killer” (a bit weird seeing as though it was also on Adamski’s LP and it’s been over a year since it was No.1). But as folk’s first LPs go, this is a bit of a classic.
(9 out of 10)
Tom Doyle