Written by DAVID KEYES

September 25 , 2007

"Everyone says you're amazing." No, these are not words meant to stress anything in particular about you or me -- rather, they are the primary lyrics of the chorus to the latest release from Seal, the upbeat and swirling sonic odyssey that is "Amazing." Trampling out of the speakers in dizzyingly dynamic matter, this thumping, euro-fueled corker of a number lives affectionately up to its name, vibrantly announcing itself to an audience that has come to know its performer not for club-friendly material, but rather for sublime and beautiful ballads.

The idea of a singer whose career has been primed for the easy listening market making the transition into dance music is not an unfamiliar concept (some might argue that vintage vocalists such as Barbra Streisand got better when they went contemporary), but the prospect of seeing the singer of "Human Beings" and "Crazy" make that leap was, at best, a surprise that some of us would have never anticipated being so instantaneously gratifying. The first single from his upcoming LP "System" occupies the stereo with vigor and enthusiam, putting his delicate voice on display and surrounding it in stirring trance-like echoes that pulsate like some of the great club stompers of our time.

The new song -- as well as the bulk of the new CD, which is due for release in late November -- was produced by Stuart Price, the man who most recently ressurrected Madonna's recording career with her "Confessions on a Dance Floor" record. Price, aka Thin White Duke, aka Jacques Lu Cont, aka Man with Guitar, aka Paper Faces, is a music afficionado who recognizes the difference between popular trends and underground tendsetting, and what he had done for both these established artists is provide a musical canvas that reflects on the history of great dance music without the dillemma of robbing or stealing in order to acquire its merits. The new Seal feels like a throwback to the greater years of Kraftwerk, an idea that is not nearly as strange as it may sound.

Here is looking forward to the remaining results of their undoubtedly amazing collaboration together.