Best 1991-2004 (2cd & DVD-a) [Best of]

This is the first best of by Seal, so I will break down all three discs included in this deluxe edition.

Disc One: The Hits

Some Seal fans might debate whether Seal had enough 'hits' to make a best of. He certainly has enough songs from four albums to make a decent collection. Here, is a collection of some of his best work with the obvious tracks being "Crazy", "Kiss From A Rose" and his version of Steve Miller's "Fly Like An Eagle". There are also minor hits (in America at least) such as "Killer", "Prayer For The Dying", "Don't Cry" and "Human Beings". There are a few album cuts such as "Waiting For You", "My Vision (Remix)", "Love's Divine", "Get It Together" and "Future Love Paradise". This disc is mostly Seal's released singles. He adds a cover of Burt Bacharach's "Walk On By" and Echo & The Bunnymen's "Lips Like Sugar" to round out the set at 66 minutes. I think he could have added "New Born Friend" and "Latest Craze" to fill in the extra disc space. The sound quality is exceptional and all the songs sound pristine in their digital remastering.

Disc Two: The Acoustic Album

Seal decided to re-work some of his own songs by stripping them down to their basic elements. This worked more often than not. There are interesting changes in "Killer", "Love's Divine", "Get It Together" and "Waiting For You". The duds are certainly "Just Like You Said" and "Colour" with neutral editions of "Crazy", "Bring It On", "Kiss From A Rose", "Prayer For The Dying", "Touch", "Don't Cry" and "Walk On By". The audio is exceptionally rich and full and digitally remastered. It's a reasonable change of pace if you are tired of listening to the regular versions.

Disc Three: The DVD

This is probably the best disc. You can put it in your dvd player and listen to Seal's hits disc, in its entirety, in 5.1 surround sound. I have to say this was brilliantly done. Likewise, you can listen to the entire acoustic album in 5.1 surround sound, and again brilliantly produced. You also have a select video collection of 10 videos in 5.1 surround sound. I did not mind one bit that "Kiss From A Rose" video was not included. Same with "Fly Like An Eagle". I believe the best video is "Love's Divine". All of his videos have a sophistication and artistic approach like "Crazy", "Future Love Paradise", "Prayer For The Dying", "Don't Cry" and "Human Beings". His newer videos for "Get It Together" and "Waiting For You" fit nicely into the VH1 playset.

So, ultimately, this is a truly great package give or take a few songs. I look forward to another best of 15 years from now. Seal is a rare talent. He makes mature, elegant and sonic soundscapes like no one else and has a smooth silky voice and thoughful lyrics to go with it. Most r&b artists today have come right from the record company Willy Wonka factory and are utterly forgettable. Seal is one of a kind and intelligent. Here's to many more years of great music.

I bought this package to try out the DVD-Audio version in our Acura ELS Surround Sound System and it was AMAZING. I was skeptical of the car dealer hype, but the sound quality was unbelievable compared to the CD version. The DVD-Audio version is a masterpiece.

This is an incredible CD. I have never heard "Walk on by" in a better mix. Seal is at his best. It is cool how these songs can be rediscovered and gets to be so enjoyable. If you like Seal, you will certainly appreciate this CD. I have particularly liked "Touch" and "Colour". The acoustic versions are awesome

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