Seal IV is the fourth studio album by Seal. It follows the aborted sessions for Togetherland, which was scrapped because Seal thought it was not up to the standard of his previous work.

Seal IV
Studio album by
Released9 September 2003
Studio
Genre
Length50:57
LabelWarner Bros.
Producer
Seal chronology
Togetherland
(Unreleased)
Seal IV
(2003)
Best 1991–2004
(2004)
Singles from Seal IV
  1. "Get It Together"
    Released: 16 December 2002
  2. "Love's Divine"
    Released: 8 May 2003
  3. "Waiting for You"
    Released: 5 November 2003
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic56/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[1]
Entertainment WeeklyC[3]
PopMatters[1][4]
Q[1]
Rolling Stone[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[7]
Uncut[1]

In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number four.[8] In the United States, it debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, making it his highest-charting album to date.[9]

Track listing

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Standard version
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Get It Together"Seal, Mark BatsonTrevor Horn, Mark Batson[a]4:25
2."Love's Divine"Seal, Mark BatsonHorn, Mark Batson[a]4:35
3."Waiting for You"Seal, Mark BatsonHorn, Mark Batson[a]3:44
4."My Vision"Seal, Dave Lee, Rick Salmon, Thomas NewmanHorn4:48
5."Don't Make Me Wait"Seal, Mark BatsonHorn4:32
6."Let Me Roll"Seal, Mark BatsonHorn, Mark Batson[a]3:53
7."Touch"Seal, Mark BatsonHorn, Mark Batson[a]5:22
8."Where There's Gold"Seal, Mark BatsonHorn, Mark Batson[a]5:12
9."Loneliest Star"SealHorn4:06
10."Heavenly... (Good Feeling)"Seal, Alan GriffithsHorn5:02
11."Tinsel Town"SealHorn5:52
12."Get It Together" (Reprise)Seal, Mark BatsonHorn, Mark Batson[a]1:06
Australian version bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Love's Divine" (Deepsky club mix)Seal, Mark BatsonHorn, Mark Batson[a], Jesse Scott[b], Jason Blum[b]8:48
French version bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Les Mots" (Duet with Mylène Farmer)Mylène Farmer, Laurent Boutonnat4:47

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[a] signifies additional production and remix

Personnel

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  • Seal – vocals, keyboards (2, 6, 9), bass (4, 9-11), guitars (9, 11)
  • Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards (1-12), bass (3, 10), acoustic piano (9, 10)
  • Mark Batson – keyboards (1-3, 7-9, 12), acoustic piano (2, 5), bass (2, 3, 6-9), drum programming (3, 6, 7), organ (6)
  • Pete Murray – keyboards (1, 5, 12), acoustic piano (2, 5)
  • Trevor Horn – acoustic piano (4), guitars (4-6), keyboards (6), bass (5), extra bass (6)
  • Carlos Rios – keyboards (11)
  • Chris Bruce – guitars (1-4, 6-8, 10, 12), bass (1, 12)
  • Tim Cansfield – guitars (1, 2, 5, 12)
  • Gus Isidore – guitars (1-3, 7, 10, 12)
  • Tim Pierce – guitars (3, 4)
  • Alan Griffiths – guitars (10), drum programming (10)
  • Steven Shane McDonald – guitars (11)
  • Heitor Pereira – guitars (11)
  • Earl Harvin – drums (1, 3, 4, 7-10, 12)
  • Ian Thomas – drums (2, 5)
  • Charlie Russell – drum programming (6)
  • Luís Jardim – percussion (1-12)
  • Nick Ingman – string arrangements (1, 2, 6, 7, 9-12), choir arrangements (1, 2, 12), orchestral arrangements (5)
  • Steve Sidwell – horn and choir arrangements (3), string arrangements (3, 8)
  • Gavyn Wright – string leader (1-3, 5-12)
  • Tessa Niles – additional backing vocals (1, 12)

Production

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  • Jeff Aldrich – A&R
  • Seal – executive producer, liner notes
  • Jill Sinclair – executive producer
  • Robert Orton – engineer (1-12), mixing (1-12)
  • Tim Weidner – engineer (1-12), mixing (1-12)
  • Steve Price – string recording (1-12), choir recording (1-3), horn recording (3), orchestra recording (5)
  • Tim Lambert – assistant engineer (1-12), additional engineer (1, 3, 4, 10)
  • Phil Tyreman – assistant engineer (1-12)
  • Dan Vickers – additional engineer (4)
  • Deepsky – remixing (13)
  • Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff – creative director
  • Jeri Heiden – art direction
  • Glen Nakasako – design
  • Robert Maxwell – cover photography
  • Sacha Waldman – inside photography
  • Irving Azoff, John Baruck, Tom Consolo and Susan Markheim – management

Charts

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Chart (2003–2004) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] 65
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 7
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 37
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] 7
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[14] 17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 7
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 23
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 5
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 2
Italian Albums (FIMI)[19] 24
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20] 21
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[21] 23
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[22] 4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 1
UK Albums (OCC)[8] 4
US Billboard 200[9] 3

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[25] Platinum 30,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[26] Gold 50,000^
France (SNEP)[27] Platinum 300,000*
Germany (BVMI)[28] 2× Platinum 400,000^
Portugal (AFP)[29] Gold 20,000^
Sweden (GLF)[30] Gold 30,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[31] Platinum 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Critic reviews from Metacritic
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ "Seal (Music - Seal 2003)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008.
  4. ^ PopMatters review
  5. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on 6 January 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Seal". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 723. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ^ "Seal: Seal IV". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Seal Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  10. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 246.
  11. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Seal – Seal IV" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Seal – Seal IV" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Seal – Seal IV" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Seal – Seal IV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Seal – Seal IV" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Seal: Seal IV" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Lescharts.com – Seal – Seal IV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Seal – Seal IV" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Seal – Seal IV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Charts.nz – Seal – Seal IV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  21. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Seal – Seal IV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Seal – Seal IV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  23. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Seal – Seal IV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Seal – Seal IV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Seal – Seal IV" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  26. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Seal – Seal IV". Music Canada.
  27. ^ "French album certifications – Seal – Seal IV" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  28. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Seal; 'Seal IV')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  29. ^ "Top 30 Artistas – Semana 20 de 2004" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  30. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2004" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011.
  31. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Seal IV')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  32. ^ "British album certifications – Seal – Seal IV". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  33. ^ "American album certifications – Seal – Seal IV". Recording Industry Association of America.
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