Starting at Grumpy’s final clue (and I will get to the album itself eventually), over time I have become slightly ambivalent towards Trevor Horn. It would be ludicrous to discount his skills and talent and he’s still fascinating to listen to talking about music; but in terms of his output I tend to oscillate between ‘that works really well’ and ‘enough with your trademark over production'. He’s not in the same criminal bucket as Hugh Padgham and his assorted acolytes of gated reverb but there is still an issue that his approach is fine for a while but there comes a point where you want someone to put mitts on his hands and gaffer tape him to the operator’s chair well away from the consoles. His recent Echoes covers album sums up my issue; on the one hand it has a very good Love is a Battlefield by Marc Almond, a very passable Owner of A Lonely Heart by Rick Astley, an utterly risible version of Relax by Wilcox/Fripp and a version of Teen Spirit that would suggest Horn actually has little understanding of the point of music.
Why is this relevant? Well, he’s not the kind of the producer who feels it his job to get out of the way and let the music speak for itself, is he? So, he’s going to form part of this review one way or another. Now I’m certainly wouldn’t go putting him into egotistical douchebag (© FBISF Enterprises Ltd) territory, because when interviewed he comes across as a nice guy with great intent and who has dealt with personal adversity admirably but I’m always nervous of the degree to which he imposes his will on a record. It works well with somewhat less musically able scallies from down the East-Lancs road, but I’m surprised that for example by the time he reunited with Yes they didn’t top him and bury him under the patio before the completion of the 90210 album or whatever it was called.
Horn is by self-admission a meticulous constructor ideal for producing stuff that sounds impactful in the right environment but given the choice between polish and cleverness versus spontaneity and heart I will always ultimately choose spontaneity and heart. (I can hear Rob muttering well how does that square up with your love of synths? Well, I do love synths but I also want a bit of an organic feel too, which is why though I love Vince Clarke’s meticulous multi-tracking of his analog mono synths (which to me creates a very human feel and texture in comparison to some of the more despicable digital synths) it’s the fusion with Alison Moyet’s smoky contralto that really creates the magic.
Anyhoo, the Seal album? The good news on this album is that Seal himself has enough about him to stop this tipping into an overly shiny but ultimately anodyne exercise. There’s also a decent amount of variety in the songs which helps avoid this trap too. Though it is essentially a pop album we know Seal has been out clubbing and raving a fair bit and though the infusions do feel a bit calculated they also elevate it beyond bog standard fare.
There are even some places where a meticulous approach to production works well albeit then going too far, the revised version of Killer being a case in point. It’s got plenty of Horn bombast but there was no point replicating the original single and what he does with it is interesting. It sounds both less clubby and ironically less digital but arguably this approach gives it a more dystopian and brutalist sound which I think works well with the song overall and provides a meaningful reinvention. Until at 3 mins 30, at which point Trevor can't resist sticking stupid samples in….somebody get the mittens back on Trevor now.
There are other occasional missteps – most egregiously Future Love Paradise is cod philosophical word soup accompanied by tampon advert music, it’s almost redeemed by the guilty pleasure style bassline but not quite.
However, beyond this track and some other passages where the production gets a bit too dinner party or a song overstays its welcome somewhat, I think there’s quite a lot that’s likeable about this. The variety I’ve already mentioned and unlike say other’s views I think the change of pace and even style works well without it sounding too disjointed; maybe that’s the unifying effect of Horn’s production that I have partly decried. I enjoy Seal’s voice too, though good rather than exceptional it has a really appealing character to it. Crazy deserves it’s continued status as a radio staple and is an example where the production works well. There are tracks too like Whirlpool, where the production is dialled back, and the song is all the better for it. It does flag a bit later but redeems itself with Violet which I really enjoyed as a way to close the album. I know Seal has enjoyed Horn’s participation and partnership throughout his career so it’s a relationship that works for them. I would just like the occasional moments of roughness that you hear when you see those videos of him out busking, but then arguably that would jar with the overall tone of the album so horses for course maybe.
For reasons best known to itself, my local council has decided to undertake some form of homage to Boston’s Big Dig and consequently you can’t drive anywhere without sitting in an effing queue. However, I’ve had this album on, and I’ve found it has made the process of getting from A to B a lot more palatable. Overall, I’ve enjoyed the change of style and tone from recent weeks. I’m more likely to re-listen to this than say last week’s effort and I’ve already had a listen to his Live in Paris album to see how it translates beyond the studio.
All that said it does have a ceiling in terms of its ambitions. Though I kipped through a large chunk of the 90’s music scene, even I know that there was some interesting stuff going on in 1991. Though I may have restricted myself to the odd bit of St Etienne and Massive Attack I was aware of the significant changes going on in rock music. Against the backdrop of these changes, this sounds like what it is…a really well-made pop record by people who know what they are doing and an impressive debut album. I don’t think it’s ground-breaking (though it’s easy to get who did what and when mixed up) but it fuses a few things quite nicely and is enjoyable without having to work hard to listen to it, so it gets a nicely relaxing 7/10.
