Standards (Deluxe) Seal

• 1 Luck Be A Lady 04:36
• 2 Autumn Leaves 02:55
• 3 I Put A Spell On You 02:56
• 4 They Can't Take That Away From Me 03:16
• 5 Anyone Who Knows What Love Is 04:31
• 6 Love For Sale 03:45
• 7 My Funny Valentine 04:32
• 8 I've Got You Under My Skin 03:14
• 9 Smile 04:31
• 10 I'm Beginning To See The Light 03:06
• 11 It Was A Very Good Year 04:42
• 12 The Nearness Of You 03:52
• 13 Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow 02:39
• 14 Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting) 03:38
• Total Runtime 52:13

Info for Standards (Deluxe)

Over the course of his astounding career, acclaimed singer-songwriter, Seal, has sold over 50 million albums globally and a string of Grammy, Brit and Ivor Novello awards along the way, Seal continues to shine as one of the world’s brightest music stars. His new album is full of musical gems which glisten when brought to life with his stunning voice.

„Standards“combining his unique voice with some of the greatest jazz standards and swing classics ever written. An artist who’s been at the top of his game throughout his 30-year career, Seal’s 10th studio album breathes life into iconic hits, paying tribute to legends including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone.

Seal’s new album brings the glamour of Old Hollywood straight to the present. It is a natural successor to his series of soul records, made a decade ago which sold over 5 million copies around the world. ‘Standards’ hears Seal’s signature, velvety warm vocals bring to life classics made popular by Frank Sinatra (such as Luck Be A Lady, I’ve Got You Under My Skin and It Was A Very Good Year), Ella Fitzgerald (I’m Beginning to See The Light) and Nina Simone (I Put A Spell on You). Elsewhere, there are lush orchestral moments captured on Smile (Charlie Chaplin) and the Cole Porter gem, Love For Sale.

In a career spanning three decades, racking up over 30 million records sales worldwide and a string of Grammy, Brit and Ivor Novello awards along the way, Seal continues to shine as one of the world’s brightest music stars. His new album is full of musical gems which glisten when brought to life with his stunning voice.

When Seal was a teenager in England, a new wave of American soul turned his head.

“I remember songs like ‘Love T.K.O.’ and ‘Wishing on a Star’ and ‘Love Don’t Live Here Anymore’ — I just remember those songs being so unique-sounding when they came on the radio,” he says. “They had a big impact on me, because they were just very different from a lot of R&B that we were hearing. They were huge influences on my life and my outlook on writing music when I was growing up.”

Seal pays loving homage to that vibrant time in his own musical life with Soul 2, his eighth studio album, bringing his immense talents and deep sensibilities to songs that were coming out of Detroit, Memphis and especially Philadelphia, a sound that in England became known as Northern Soul. Working with producer Trevor Horn (who launched Seal’s career and produced his first four albums) and on four songs David Foster (who produced Seal’s first foray into the classics catalog, the international hit 2008 album Soul, and 2010‘s Commitment), Seal at once internalizes and evokes the spirit of such musical giants as Marvin Gaye, Teddy Pendergrass, Smokey Robinson, Bill Withers, the Spinners and the O’Jays.

Recording was done in settings ranging from elaborate orchestra sessions to a few vocals performed in Horn’s garage. The result is a variety of inventive textures, maximizing the spirit of both the songs and the singer. Support came from a wealth of all-star musicians, including Horn on bass and guitar, Foster on keyboards, with orchestral and brass arrangements by Pete Murray, Julian Hinton and Foster.

Seal’s first Soul album captured, by-and-large, the spirit of the ‘60s, with songs of Sam Cooke (a glorious version of “A Change Is Gonna Come”), Otis Redding among others, selling 3 million copies worldwide and standing as the top-selling album of the decade in France. Soul 2 leans more to the ‘70s, digging deep into a time in which artists explored new heights of personal expression and cultural openness with equal measures of inventive creativity and populist immediacy. As a set it features love songs (the Chi-Lites’ “Oh Girl,” Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “Ooo Baby Baby”), out-of-love songs (Pendergrass’ “Love T.K.O.,” Rose Royce’s “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore”) and some that are both (the Spinners’ “I’ll Be Around”).

And threading through it there are songs born of the shifting mores and cultural contours of the times that, in turn, helped define the era (Gaye’s iconic “What’s Going On,” the O’Jays’ angry “Backstabbers”). Where Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” was the emotional center of the first Soul set, a bridge between the civil rights movement and the surge of social consciousness in the U.S. in the late ‘00s, such Soul 2 songs as Gaye’s indelible “What’s Going On” and Withers’ “Lean on Me” bridge their era with today’s uncertainties.

“It was something that we felt we wanted to do, but not in the typical way, so we went more for sort of connoisseurs’ choices rather than the obvious hits,” he says. “Essentially it’s an album of love songs. However it’s such as my habit that there has to be something that inspires me on a social-comment level and there has to be something that inspires me on a — it’s such an overused term, but on a spiritual level.”

As a set, they show a time that defies capsulizing and cliches, a time of complex emotions and issues. And it allows Seal to expand the range and talents he’s shown throughout his career, on such hits as his international Top 10 1990 debut “Crazy” and the 1995 U.S. No. 1 “A Kiss From a Rose,” which earned him Grammy Awards for song of the year, record of the year and best male pop vocal performance.

“When it came to making Soul 2 I decided not to go for the obvious hits, if you like, or more songs of that earlier period. Instead we went for songs that were popular in England when I was growing up and take a slightly different approach in terms of the actual sound, hence Trevor Horn’s involvement.”

Horn, also born and raised in England, shared Seal’s great affection for this material and brought in his sense for engaging musical tapestries that have fueled not just Seal but Yes (as both producer and member), Robbie Williams, Jeff Beck, Pet Shop Boys, Paul McCartney and many others.

This album contains no booklet.