Seal II

For his second full-length, Seal enlisted pop perfectionist Trevor Horn, whose meticulous production places Seal’s weathered voice at the center of a larger-than-life tableau. “Don’t Cry” is a delicate ballad at its core, but Horn transforms it into a manifesto; “Kiss from a Rose” floats from speakers while tugging forcefully at the heartstrings. Seal’s harmonizing with Joni Mitchell on the spaced-out “If I Could” even more fully reveals his grace. Seal is a stunner: an ambitious, openhearted statement from a one-of-a-kind singer.