6: Commitment

Seventh album marked by six

The titled musician Seal names his records in the way no one really understands. He used to put only his moniker on the first albums, and then he decided to put numbers, again in a very weird manner. Figure six marking his last to date long player, 6: Commitment, may easily confuse any one who is not familiar with many facts about his life and music because it does not mean that this is actually his sixth studio work. It is his seventh. Probably, Seal did not count his previous effort, Soul, a set of covers released two years before. This time, he is offering a CD with entirely original material, and the word Commitment is the best fit for the title. It means responsibility, devotion, loyalty and in some sense may be seen even as a synonym to love. And love is what Seal’s new album is all about. Could it really be any different? Seal is a happy father of four children and a loving husband to the charming Heidi Klum. This family is doing really fine, which is always testified by the star spouses in public. Seal and Heidi are event set to launch a TV show about young married couples on an American channel. So, how can he not sing about love?

Mid-tempo album about love and relationships

6: Commitment is a record where Seal songs about ties between man and woman and family, analyzing his experience and sharing conclusions and impressions. This is a very personal album with some of the tracks dedicated to particular people. For instance, Secrets was penned and performed by Seal for his first son Lenni. Not all of the songs are reflections of the singer’s present life as there are a few which resurrect his recollections about the distant past when not everything was as good. Thus, The Way I Lie touches upon the urgent and unpleasant subject of unfaithfulness. 6: Commitment is not a dance CD to please those who like to party till dawn, but a profound and touching work with accent on mid tempo. Only in Weight Of My Mistakes, and Best Of Me it’s getting a little bit faster to remind you of Seal’s early works. Nevertheless, the most impressive moments here are the slower tracks like Silence, I Know What You Did, and All For Love.

Family life rules Seal’s music career

Maybe, Seal would have produced a more energetic and emotional record is he had gone through something bad in his life because these are tragic events that make people like him remote into arts and spur the strongest feelings. Yet the singer has nothing to complain about today, so we have a very calm, smooth and sweet album. The family has a great power over Seal. There were times when he put all his thoughts and efforts into it leaving nothing for music. At some other moments, the family was the source of strength and ideas for new songs. A big family always goes through a lot of things, and we have to understand that stability is what Seal will miss in his music career. His creative activity is not steady anymore, which makes it impossible to predict when the next album will be released and what this album will be like. For the last four years, Seal has released three records already and this might mean that he has entered another period of inspiration and high productivity. And the music of 6: Commitment shows that the artist will never be young again, that his music has got more mature. It has exorcised the spirit of youth that haunted Seal’s first albums and turns into a sermon of an adult and wise man.