SEAL – DEBUT LP – Nr MINT 1991 ORIG ZTT ADAMSKI

Seal
(ZTT Records  1991  ZTT9)
Matrix No’s: A4/B3

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are a few light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– hype sticker top left

Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel (born 19 February 1963), known professionally as Seal, is a British singer-songwriter. He has sold over 20 million records worldwide, with his first international hit song, “Crazy”, released in 1991; his most celebrated song, “Kiss from a Rose”, was released in 1994.

Seal has won multiple awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards; he won Best British Male in 1992, as well as four Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. As a songwriter, he received two Ivor Novello Awards for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors for “Killer” (1990) and “Crazy” (1991).

He was a coach on The Voice Australia in 2012 and 2013, and returned to Australia to work as a coach in 2017.

Seal is the debut studio album by Seal, released in 1991. It contains the singles “Crazy”, “Future Love Paradise”, “The Beginning”, “Killer” and “Violet”. The album debuted at number one in the UK and went on to win Best British Album at the 1992 Brit Awards. Seal’s following album, released in 1994, was also named Seal. It is usually referred to as Seal II.

There are two versions of the album, with minor and major differences in three songs. The shorter version of “Wild” is more rock-based and heavy than the original. The shorter version of “Violet” contains no dialogue within the singing. Track lengths of both versions are given for each song affected. “Killer” is a re-recorded version of the UK number one single by Adamski, which also features Seal on vocals.

Many of the songs (including various ZTT mixes) were featured in the Greg Stump 1991 film Groove Requiem in the Key of Ski. Later Seal tracks appeared in other Stump films as well. The track “Killer” was also featured on the American crime series Homicide: Life on the Street and was included on the 2-disc soundtrack album.

The song “Crazy” was covered by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their album Take a Break, by Mushroomhead on their album XIII, by Talisman on their 1995 album Life, by Alanis Morissette on her 2005 compilation album Alanis Morissette: The Collection, and by German power metal band Iron Savior.

Track listing

All lyrics and music written by Seal, except where noted.

1. “The Beginning” (Seal, Guy Sigsworth) – 5:40
2. “Deep Water” – 5:56
3. “Crazy” (Seal, Guy Sigsworth) – 4:47 or 5:57
4. “Killer” (Adam Tinley, Seal) – 6:22
5. “Whirlpool” – 3:56 or 3:51
6. “Future Love Paradise” – 4:20
7. “Wild” (Seal, Guy Sigsworth) – 5:19 or 5:28
8. “Show Me” – 5:59
9. “Violet” (Seal, Guy Sigsworth) – 8:06 or 8:31

Personnel

• Seal – vocals
• Richard Cottle, Mars Lasar, Mark Mancina, Jamie Muhoberac, Guy Sigsworth – keyboards/sampling
• Gus Isidore, Randall Jacobs, Chester Kamen, Trevor Rabin, Kenji Suzuki, Bruce Woolley – guitars
• Chrissy Shefts – all guitars (“Crazy”)
• Trevor Horn, Steve Pearce, Doug Wimbish – bass guitar
• Curt Bisquera, Denny Fongheiser, John Robinson, Keith LeBlanc – drums
• Paulinho da Costa, Andy Duncan, Luís Jardim – percussion
• Gary Maughan – Fairlight CMI
• Gota Yashiki – drums, percussion, bass guitar
• Ian Morrow – keyboard and drum programming
• Maria Vidal – backing vocals
• Robin Hancock – programming
• Anne Dudley – string arrangements
• Richard Croft – cover photography