Seal’s new CD “SOUL 2” is in stores. A follow-up to his “SOUL” release, it’s a collection of covers by some of music’s greatest performers. Although Seal has a new album out, he’s singing a different tune in regards to his marriage to fashion icon Heidi Klum. Klium and Seal were a power couple! Two accomplished people in their respective fields that came together by way of commonalities in their lifestyles, they had a tremendous presence.
Yes, yes, the fact that she’s white and he’s black was blatantly obvious, but I don’t believe that out-shined the fact that they at least appeared happy. I believe they were, for a while, look at them.
According to the Huffington Post in an interview this past February on Australian radio station 2Day FM, the 48-year-old singer said he simply felt he owed people — many of whom were “generally saddened” by the split — an explanation. ”While they don’t really have the right to know details of our private life, I felt that those people at least had a right to some kind of explanation,” he said. “When you publicize your marriage as much as our marriage was publicized, when you renew wedding vows, when you do all those things you are giving them a picture of an ideal relationship, of a relationship that people aspire towards, so when it goes south you can’t all of a sudden take the philosophy of Celestine monk and decide to go for a vow of silence, it doesn’t really work like that.” Seal also appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Piers Morgan Tonight, which served as forums to offer an explanation. Seal told DeGeneres — he and Klum simply “grew apart after a while” — the singer said both appearances were booked months in advance to promote his new album, “SOUL 2.” Seal and Heidi’s union defied racial prejudice and negative stereotypes. “Soul 2” is Seal’s eighth studio album.
SOUL 2 features remakes of hits from Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Rose Royce, The O’Jays, The Spinners, Teddy Pendergrass, Smokey Robinson and Major Harris. Seal’s first SOUL CD featured covers of gems from the likes of James Brown, Sam Cooke, Ben E. King, Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Denise Williams, Ann Peebles and Curtis Mayfield. Green’s “Here I Am” and “I’m Still In Love With You” are included on SOUL and the crooner’s “Let’s Stay Together” is covered on SOUL 2.
Both SOUL and SOUL 2 are welcome and well produced presentations for the artist. There’s something about SOUL 2 however that comes across bolder than the the first offering of covers on SOUL. Maybe it’s a different intonation in his voice after having done the first one, putting him in more of a comfort zone the second time around. Listening to the lyrics and his delivery on his rendition of The Chi-Lites classic “Oh Girl,” one might say maybe it’s a new emotion that he’s feeling that’s brought out a blusier dynamic to his delivery. Perhaps it’s the magic of working with Trevor Horn on the second SOUL release that was absent on the first one. Maybe it was just the song selections on the second one being more contemporary that make the performances a bit more compelling. In any case, it’s working… Seal’s new SOUL 2 is a brilliant display of his talents as a singer, harkening to Rod Stewart’s string of standards.
A couple inspired by the union of Seal and Hedi, my wife and I were saying it’s unfortunate that their love wasn’t enough to sustain their marriage, while we fully understand that people grow apart. They’ll undoubtedly continue to flourish individually as their family steadily grows – we wish them every happiness.
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