Additional personnel: Eric Schermerhorn (guitars); Chris Bruce (acoustic guitar); Bill Bottrell (Mellotron).

For SYSTEM, his fifth studio album, Seal hired producer Stuart Price, the man responsible for Madonna's disco-oriented comeback album, CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR. Price's touch is all over the album, which brings Seal's smooth, atmospheric soul-pop back to the house-music roots of his early-1990s debut.

SYSTEM percolates with thumping grooves and electronic beats, but the album still has a dreamy, glossy sheen. Even uptempo tracks such as "Amazing" and "Dumb," wash over the listener like waves, with Seal's emotive, textured voice high in the mix. Despite a misstep (a sappy duet with bride Heidi Klum on "Wedding Day"), SYSTEM proves to be one of Seal's best albums.

Rolling Stone (p.80) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he beats add to Seal's heartthrobbery....'Rolling' is a dramatic acoustic ballad..."

Entertainment Weekly (p.78) - "[H]is lyrics remain grounded in the sort of heart-wrenching poignancy that anchored his most popular ballads."