Tim Brough's Black Leather Bookshelf

The Inevitable Return to The Soul Vault
4 Out Of 5 Stars

In the four years since Seal released his first "Soul" CD, it has quietly racked up over a half-million sales. That's a pretty good number in this day and age, and probably more that "6 Commitment" has sold since being released two years ago. Like Micheal McDonald discovered via his two "Motown" albums, there's nothing like expertly executed nostalgia to resurrect a stalled career. While Seal is hardly faded into obscurity, it was inevitable that Seal would ultimately come back for another dip into this well.

Much like the 2008 "Soul," Seal's beautiful voice slides like silk across these 11 songs, and again, he has the smooth production of David Foster (with an assist from Trevor Horn) to assure that there are no flaws in the system. So when Seal wraps those pipes of his around Teddy Pendergrass's "Love TKO" or leans into The O'Jays' "Backstabbers," you can feel the professional commitment all parties bring to the recording. I also like the way they kept the Philly Groove that so enhances The Spinners' "I'll Be Around."

What leaves me a little cold towards "Soul 2" are the same things I felt the first "Soul" could have been better. The song selection is comprised of songs you'd likely hear two or three times a day on your local All Golden Oldies radio station. Seal pulls no surprises out of the bag (ala Ann Peeble's "I Can't Stand The Rain" and Denice Williams' "Free" from the first version), and he could have easily dug deeper than the done to death "What's Goin' On" or "Let's Stay Together." (I mean, really. Even President Obama has covered that one.) Even with the safest material here, Seal's "Soul 2" makes for a pleasant interlude. Be prepared for "Soul 3" likely appearing around 2016.



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