Seal – Authentic Vocals - Marion's Mumblings

What a pleasure to hear a great singer unplugged/live. Just goes to show how he doesn’t need to rely on autotune to shine. Authentic, heartfelt vocals that let the singer shine in his own right. No cold studio processing.

Another interesting fact? Notice how Seal plays the guitar. I was wondering what chords he was playing! At first, I thought he was a standard lefty like Hendrix. But no. He’s not only playing the instrument left-handed and upside down. So, in other words, the strings from top to bottom are: High E, B, G, D, A, Low E. Now that’s unusual and different. Leave it to Seal.

Full, live recording from that studio session.

Inspiration at a new level. It may be time to let my guitar out of its case. Oh, lordie, it’s been a long time.
Listening to the above made me want to hear more, so I’m sharing other performances for the full effect.

Crazy, like you’ve never heard it before. This acoustic version is so beautiful. The opening guitars with the finger-picking intertwined are a lovely touch. Then the bass kicks in with its unforgettable line. It’s perfect. Bet you didn’t imagine it could ever sound this way. Pure, sweet, and simple.

Below, before he breaks into the song, Seal explains his early years when attempting to get a record deal. However, unable to play any instruments, his music suffered. That was when a friend gave him a recording of various artists, including Joni Mitchell and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Now turned onto all the tunes on the tape, he delved further into each artist, learning as he went. The one thing that struck him was that each played an instrument. So, after hours in the studio, when the musicians retired for the day, he would pick up one of their guitars, but unable to re-string them, he learned to play backwards and upside down. The first song that emerged from this inspiration was, Crazy. Isn’t that Crazy?