Seal has been slipping and sliding slowly down the popularity ladder and his previous album 'System' was not salvation many had hoped it might be.

Unfortunately, nor is 'Soul'.

On the face of it the album had tremendous potential: Seal’s raspy, relaxed style and a good selection of 11 vintage songs had all the credentials of a jackpot winning mix.

Trouble is, when you compare Seal’s version with the originals (and the many others in between who also tried their voices at them) they just lack the grit and soul the originals had.

Take that ballsy classic, 'It’s a Man’s Man’s World', done so superbly by James Brown. Seal's version falls far short. And just like other great songs on this album, including 'Knock On Wood', 'Stand By Me', 'If You Don’t Know Me By Now' and 'I Can’t Stand The Rain', it sounds too refined, almost antiseptically cleansed by studio perfection.

A talented songwriter and blessed with a fine voice and feel for soul and blues, one has to wonder why he has chosen to repeat old classics, rather than come up with something new and exciting of his own.

But perhaps it is the time of the year that is to blame, because with Christmas looming record companies — and fading stars desperate for a hit — all hope to make a few extra bucks, even if it means churning out all favourites, allegedly in new guise.

Having said all of that, this is by no means terrible. The backing musicians are good and the whole thing is extremely well orchestrated and produced by maestro David Foster.

Seal does fair justice to some of the oldies and if you liked the original versions this will probably kindle good memories for you, as long as you don’t expect the earth to move.