Seal: Seal II Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		5.0

Seal: Seal II Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 21, 2024

It's kind of amazing in and of itself that it's somehow the 30th anniversary of the original release of this album, something that has resulted in this nice package featuring hi-res audio on a Blu-ray disc, and two CDs, one with the original album remastered by Trevor Horn, and another featuring B sides and Rarities. But maybe just as amazing given the hindsight of just how much impact Seal's music has had, especially from the first two albums which were identically eponymous, is the fact that neither album made the Top 10 on this side of the pond, and in fact Seal would have to wait until Seal IV to crack the upper echelons of the American album charts. The first Seal introduced the world to one of the most distinctive singer songwriters and voices (that voice!) of his generation with the fantastically propulsive anthem "Crazy", which was most certainly not your father's Ross Perot campaign song stolen from Patsy Cline. This second album is probably best remembered for "Kiss From a Rose", which actually had a rather interesting (and cinematic) life before it was "stolen" for the soundtrack of Batman Forever.

The album's track list can be seen in the screenshots of the disc menu I've uploaded to accompany this review. The rather interesting CD of Rarities contains the following tracks:

"Bring It On” – Alternate Version *
“Reality” *
“Prayer For The Dying” – Alternate Version *
“Kiss From A Rose” – Alternate Version *
“Fast Changes” – Alternate Version *
“Newborn Friend” – Alternate Version *
“I’m Alive” – Alternate Version
“Don’t Cry” – Alternate Version *
“People Asking Why” – Alternate Version *
“Dreaming In Metaphors” – Alternate Version *
“If I Could” – Alternate Version *
“Love Is Powerful”
“Manic Depression” – featuring Jeff Beck
“Blues In E”
“The Wind Cries Mary”
“Fly Like An Eagle”
*Previously unreleased

Seal: Seal II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Once again, there's really no video content to speak of on this Rhino release, with a static menu as seen in the screenshots. While the colored buttons on your remote won't allow for instant access to any given codec, you can toggle between the three choices without the album starting over, as has been the case with some other Rhino releases.

Seal: Seal II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Seal (II) features three fantastic sounding options, Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Both the "traditional" surround track and the Atmos track amply demonstrate the absolutely gorgeous production luster Trevor Horn brought to this enterprise, and the layering of voices and instruments is instantly enveloping in both of the surround mixes. Seal's voice is nicely aloft throughout the album on solos in particular. At various moments backups can definitely be relegated to the rear channels, as in "Bring It On", a tune which also features clear placement of the organ toward the rear, with the later echo effects in the backup vocals nicely panning from front to back. There are other really wonderfully imaged uses of the side and rear channels, with, for example, percolating bongos emanating from the rear channels in "Dreaming In Metaphors". I was actually kind of surprised to hear the famous a cappella opening of "Kiss From a Rose" firmly anchored in the front channels, and in fact at least some of the surround activity in that particular song tends to be washes of ambient instrumentation. All three tracks offer superior fidelity and fluidity and I can't imagine fans of this album not being wowed by the two surround mixes.

Seal: Seal II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements on the Blu-ray disc, but there's an especially insightful essay about Seal by Jim Farber in the insert booklet, which also contains the original liner notes and lyrics. The CDs are a big plus, and I found the Rarities CD to be really enjoyable.

Seal: Seal II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This album has always reminded me a lot of Peter Gabriel, and that connection was only reinforced in listening to it again in its new Atmos and 5.1 mixes, especially after recently having reviewed Peter Gabriel: i/o. In that regard, for those unaware of a kinda sorta connection, I'd recommend comparing Seal's duet with Joni Mitchell in "If I Could" here with Joni's duet with Peter Gabriel in "My Secret Place" from her Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm album (which I'm actually really hoping will be part of Rhino's new set of Mitchell releases). This is an often incredibly evocative album which is buoyed by Seal's elegant voice and songcraft and some particularly gorgeous production work by Trevor Horn. Highly recommended.