After nine albums (seven self-penned, hence this album’s title), Seal’s rich, luxurious voice remains a reliable thing of wonder.
7, though, is his first album since the disintegration of his marriage to supermodel Heidi (pointedly the inner sleeve pictures are mainly Seal and his pups) and his sixth with superproducer Trevor Horn. As might be expected, it’s a far from upbeat affair.
The songs which appear to address his own situation, most notably the self-explanatory, marvellously overwrought The Big Love Has Died; the battered Padded Cell and the broken Daylight Saving bare the soulman’s soul like never before, as Horn works wonders on the backdrops behind him.
Elsewhere, the lyrical thrust is less direct, but he never sounds less than pained. Or less than convincing.
(Warner Bros)
