Album Review: Seal - System (3/5)

I wasn't interested in Seal's latest album until I heard it was produced by Stuart Price, aka Jacques Lu Cont, aka The Thin White Duke, aka the producer that put Madonna back on top of the charts with Confessions on a Dancefloor 2 years ago. Since I love that album, I was excited this might be good.

As it turns out, the results are okay, not great. To be honest, It plays like a lightweight retread of Confessions. Clearly intentionally. Even the cover, featuring Seal's face converted into a mirrorball, is reminiscent of the Confessions cover of Madonna surrounded by reflected mirrorball light. The first track, "If It's in My Mind, It's on My Face," sounds like typical Seal, albeit with a higher BPM. Lyrically, he still favors broadly metaphorical cliches like "If I could fly, I'd spread my wings." Wouldn't we all? It's alright, but nothing special. The remix of current single "Amazing" is the second track, actually preceding the standard version which comes last, likely because the remix fits in with the dance sound of the album better. The regular single mix is better, a pretty decent song in fact.

The tracks that remind me most of Madonna's album are probably my favorites. Guitar-backed "Just Like Before" is engaging, although a little repetitive. Synth-heavy "The Right Life" reminds me of "Get Together," my favorite Confessions track, so of course its one of my favorites here. Title track "System" has vaguely Radiohead-esque touches (I'm talking modern electronic Radiohead here) like the intro and heavily distorted backing vocals. I like the heavy use of electronic keyboards here. This is a decent song, and it's too bad more of the album isn't this good.

In comparison, other up-tempo tracks lack spark though. Take "Loaded." It has a promising bass line, but there's not much to the song, making me feel like there's something missing. "Dumb" has interesting guitars, but a terrible chorus "dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb." Yes it is.

Then there's bland "Wedding Day," which features a guest appearance from Seal's wife, reality TV star Heidi "You're Out" Klum. I do love Project Runway, but this I cannot endorse. If Project Runway Canada host Iman was around she would say, "Heidi, when it comes to pop music, you just don't measure up."

Unlike on Confessions on a Dancefloor, the party ends with "Rolling" and "Immaculate" Ballads heavy on acoustic guitar and synths. Although neither tracks are standouts, they sound more like the familiar Seal of "Kiss from a Rose" AC territory. I know Seal cut his teeth on dance music ("Crazy" is probably his best song), but he made himself a superstar on adult pop.

So Seal tried on the Stuart Price sound and it just didn't fit. He's too middle-of-the-road for this, and I don't mean that as a bad thing. Seal's made some pretty great music--I still love his second album Seal (1994)--but he should stick with what works for him.

Best: System, The Right Life, Amazing, Just Like Before