Soul 2

{{Quote box

| quote = "One more very important reason why I still make music is the 'gift of collaboration'. I've been fortunate to work with two such industry greats as Trevor Horn and David Foster on this album and they continue to inspire me each and every day."

| source = — Seal on working with the album's producers.{{Cite web |url=http://sealcom.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/Press_Release_-_Soul_2.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=30 October 2011 |archive-date=19 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219092636/http://sealcom.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/Press_Release_-_Soul_2.pdf |url-status=dead }}

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Following the worldwide success of 2008 cover album Soul, Seal teamed up with producers David Foster and Trevor Horn in London and Los Angeles to record Soul 2. The album mainly consists of classic soul songs from the 1970s by artists such as Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Al Green, and Teddy Pendergrass. Seal also recorded Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone", but it did not end up on the album.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/oct/23/this-much-i-know-seal-musician | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Gemma | last=Kappala-Ramsamy | title=This much I know: Seal | date=23 October 2011}} In a press release, Seal said of the album: "In my twenty years on a journey in the music industry, two things remain constants, the voice and more importantly, the song. I continue to make music because of the chance that this day could indeed be the day I write another great song or have the opportunity to sing one. The songs on Soul 2 are a natural evolution in the arc of soul music from the songs on the first Soul album -- and they are all-time classics."

The album cover photo was taken by Seal's friend & photography blogger, Steve Huff, during Seal's performance in Paris.

{{Album ratings

|MC = 70/100

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=soul-2-r2333352|tab=review|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]

|rev2 = BBC Music

|rev2score = positive

|rev3 = Billboard

|rev3score = favorable[http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/1067137/album-review-seal-soul-2 Billboard review]

|rev4 = The Guardian

|rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}

|rev5 = The Independent

|rev5score = {{Rating|3|5}}

}}

Metacritic gave the album 70 out of 100 based on 5 critic reviews as of May 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/soul-2|title=Soul 2 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic|website=Metacritic|accessdate=2012-05-04}} Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian gave the album four out of five stars writing, "His voice and interpretive skills are such, though, that most tracks fit him like a glove, to the point where, on Rose Royce's "Wishing on a Star", his oak-aged vocal seems a better fit for the remorseful lyric than original singer Gwen Dickey's."{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/nov/16/seal-soul-2-review | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Caroline | last=Sullivan | title=Seal: Soul 2 – review | date=16 November 2011}} BBC Music's Mike Diver gave the album a positive review commenting that "there's nothing bad to be said for Soul 2, and with [Trevor] Horn on production everything shines brightly like the first snowflakes of a new winter. Seal the songwriter might never hit the heights of the early 1990s again – but Seal the singer can still hold his own amongst today's clutch of contemporary soul stars."{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/jr28|title = BBC - Music - Review of Seal - Soul 2}} Andy Gill of The Independent felt that the cover versions were too faithful to the originals, while calling Seal's voice "a natural fit" and the arrangements "impeccable".{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-seal-soul-2-warner-bros-6263751.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-seal-soul-2-warner-bros-6263751.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Andy | last=Gill | date=18 November 2011 | title=Album: Seal, Soul 2 (Warner Bros)}}

{{Track listing

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Wishing on a Star

| writer1 = Billie Ray Calvin

| extra1 = Trevor Horn

| length1 = 4:13

| title2 = Love T.K.O.

| writer2 = Cecil Womack, Linda Womack, Gip Noble

| extra2 = Trevor Horn

| length2 = 5:37

| title3 = Ooh Baby Baby

| writer3 = Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore

| extra3 = Trevor Horn

| length3 = 3:01

| title4 = Let's Stay Together

| writer4 = Al Green, Willie Mitchell, Al Jackson Jr.

| extra4 = David Foster, Trevor Horn, Jochem van der Saag*

| length4 = 3:41

| title5 = What's Going On

| writer5 = Al Cleveland, Renaldo Benson, Marvin Gaye

| extra5 = Trevor Horn

| length5 = 4:27

| title6 = Love Don't Live Here Anymore

| writer6 = Miles Gregory

| extra6 = Trevor Horn

| length6 = 4:10

| title7 = Back Stabbers

| writer7 = Leon Huff, Gene McFadden, John Whitehead

| extra7 = David Foster, Trevor Horn, Jochem van der Saag*

| length7 = 3:36

| title8 = I'll Be Around

| writer8 = Thom Bell, Phil Hurtt

| extra8 = David Foster, Trevor Horn, Jochem van der Saag*

| length8 = 3:15

| title9 = Love Won't Let Me Wait

| writer9 = Vinnie Barrett, Bobby Eli

| extra9 = David Foster, Trevor Horn, Jochem van der Saag*

| length9 = 4:24

| title10 = Lean on Me

| writer10 = Bill Withers

| extra10 = Trevor Horn

| length10 = 3:26

| title11 = Oh Girl

| writer11 = Eugene Record

| extra11 = Trevor Horn

| length11 = 3:53

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Digital bonus tracks{{cite web | url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/soul-2-deluxe-version/488807806 | title=Soul 2 (Deluxe Version) by Seal }}Soul 2 (Deluxe Version) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006VA4E3C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_YKKF8343FE89RPKGVYAC

| title12 = For the Love of You

| writer12 = Chris Jasper, Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley, Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley

| extra12 =

| length12 = 4:13

| title13 = Ain't Nothin' But a House Party

| writer13 = Carlton "Dell Sharh" Fisher, Joe Thomas

| extra13 =

| length13 = 3:07

}}

Notes

• (*) denotes co-producer

• Seal – vocals
• Ash Soan – drums, percussion
• Chris Bruce – acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar
• Leo Abrahams – electric guitar
• Pete Murray – keyboards, piano, organ
• Frank Ricotti – orchestral percussion, percussion, vibraphone
• Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards, synthesizer, programming, percussion, melodica
• Jo Buckley – orchestral arrangements
• Trevor Horn – bass guitar, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, melodica
• Phil Palmer – electric guitar
• Lol Creme – electric guitar
• Alex Acuña – percussion
• David Foster – keyboards
• Victor Indrizzo – drums
• Jimmie Wood – backing vocals
• Julian Hinton – keyboards, programming, piano
• Aaron Horn – drum programming
• Jochem van der Saag – synthesizer, programming
• Dan Higgins – saxophone
• Graham Archer – percussion
• Jerry Hey – orchestral and brass arrangements

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{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Belgium|artist=Seal|title=Soul 2|award=Gold|certyear=2011|relyear=2011|relmonth=11}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=France|artist=Seal|title=Soul II|award=Platinum|certyear=2012|relyear=2011|access-date=6 October 2024|source=infodisc}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Seal|title=Soul 2|award=Gold|certyear=2012|relyear=2011|id=8867-1080-2}}

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Category:2011 albums

Category:Seal (musician) albums

Category:Warner Records albums

Category:Albums produced by David Foster

Category:Albums produced by Trevor Horn

Category:2010s covers albums

Category:Sequel albums