Human Being (album)

Human Being
Human Being
Studio album by Seal
Released	16 November 1998
Recorded	1996–1998
Studio	Sarm West Studios, Sarm Workshops, Whitfield Street Recording Studios, Air Lyndhurst and Studio 52 (London, UK); Armoury Studios and Whistler (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Sarm West Coast, Cherokee Studios, Record Plant (Los Angeles, California, USA); Andora Studios, A&M Studios and Conway Studios (Hollywood, California, USA);
Genre	Soul; pop;
Length	51:35
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Trevor Horn
Seal chronology
Singles from Human Being
	"Human Beings"; Released: 2 November 1998; "Lost My Faith"; Released: 1999;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B+^[2]
Rolling Stone	^[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[4]

Human Being is the third studio album by British singer Seal, released in 1998. The title track was written about late rappers Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.^[1] Human Being received mixed reviews ranging from being panned for its overtly dark and moody feel,^[3] to being described in terms such as "pop perfection".^[1] The album featured Seal naked on the cover. The album failed to sell in the same way as his 1994 multi-platinum album, Seal, however, it is a fan favourite.

A remix of "Lost My Faith" was featured over the closing credits of the 1999 film Entrapment, and the song's single release was accompanied by a music video in which Seal is integrated into scenes from the film alongside Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones.^{[citation needed]}

The cover art for the album was shot by French fashion photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino.^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Human Beings"	Seal	4:47
2.	"State of Grace"	Seal Chris Bruce	5:00
3.	"Latest Craze"	Seal Earl Harvin	4:28
4.	"Just Like You Said"	Seal Bruce	4:17
5.	"Princess"	Seal	1:58
6.	"Lost My Faith"	Seal Reggie Hamilton	4:38
7.	"Excerpt From"	Seal	3:04
8.	"When a Man Is Wrong"	Seal	4:21
9.	"Colour"	Seal	5:22
10.	"Still Love Remains"	Seal	5:54
11.	"No Easy Way"	Seal	4:48
12.	"Human Beings (Reprise)"	Seal	3:28
Total length:			52:05

Personnel

Seal – vocals, guitars, bass
Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards, programming, bass
Lisa Coleman – additional keyboards
George De Angelis – additional keyboards
Mike Garson – additional keyboards
Grant Mitchell – additional keyboards, programming
Dave Palmer – additional keyboards
David Sancious – additional keyboards
Dave McCracken – programming
William Orbit – programming
Andy Richards – programming
Danny Saber – programming, additional guitars
Chris Bruce – guitars, bass
Earl Harvin – guitars, bass, drums
Gregg Arreguin – additional guitars
Gus Isadore – additional guitars
Chester Kamen – additional guitars
Wendy Melvoin – additional guitars
Ramón Stagnaro – additional guitars
Alex Acuña – percussion
Andy Duncan – percussion
Anne Dudley – string arrangements
Nick Ingman – string arrangements
Wil Malone – string arrangements
Aaron Zigman – string arrangements

Production

Trevor Horn – producer
Steve Fitzmaurice – recording, mixing
Tim Weidner – recording, mixing
Michael Perfitt – recording assistant, additional engineer
Tom Elmhirst – additional engineer
Gregg Jackman – additional engineer
Richard Lowe – additional engineer, mixing (7)
Steve Orchard – additional engineer
Mike Ross-Trevor – additional engineer
Alex Black – assistant engineer
Stuart Brawley – assistant engineer
Rob Brill – assistant engineer
Andre Coulam – assistant engineer
Andy Davies – assistant engineer
Tony Flores – assistant engineer
Gordon Fordyce – assistant engineer
Billy Gibson – assistant engineer
Barry Goldberg – assistant engineer
Mark Lane – assistant engineer
Luis Quine – assistant engineer
Iain Roberson – assistant engineer
Paul Silveira – assistant engineer
Dan Vickers – assistant engineer
Tim Wills – assistant engineer
Don C. Tyler – digital editing
Alexander Areteos – technical assistant
Justin Fraser – technical assistant
Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Precision Mastering (Hollywood, California)
Debbie Caponetta – production coordinator
Pat Dorn – production coordinator
Tom Mayhue – production coordinator
Augusta Quiney – production coordinator
Melanie Niessen – art direction
Matt Coonrod – design
Jean-Baptiste Mondino – photography
Bob Cavallo – management
Rebecca Mostow – management

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[6]	82
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[7]	21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[8]	25
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[9]	24
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[10]	14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[11]	18
UK Albums (OCC)^[12]	44
US Billboard 200^[13]	22

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[14]	Gold	7,500^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[15]	Silver	60,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[16]	Gold	500,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Prato, Greg (17 November 1998). "Human Being - Seal". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
^ David Browne (16 November 1998). "Human Being Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
^ ^a ^b Evelyn McDonnell (17 November 1998). "Seal: Human Being : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Seal". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 723. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
^ "SEAL on Instagram: "'Human Beings' (My Favourite of My Album Covers) #jeanbaptistemondino #albumcover"". Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2019 – via Instagram.
^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 246.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Seal – Human Being" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Seal – Human Being" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Seal – Human Being" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
^ "Charts.nz – Seal – Human Being". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Seal – Human Being". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
^ "Seal Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
^ "New Zealand album certifications – Seal – Human Being". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
^ "British album certifications – Seal – Human Being". British Phonographic Industry.
^ "American album certifications – Seal – Human Being". Recording Industry Association of America.

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[AMG-1] Prato, Greg (17 November 1998). "Human Being - Seal". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2012.

[2] David Browne (16 November 1998). "Human Being Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.

[RS-3] Evelyn McDonnell (17 November 1998). "Seal: Human Being : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2012.

[Cross-4] Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Seal". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 723. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.

[5] "SEAL on Instagram: "'Human Beings' (My Favourite of My Album Covers) #jeanbaptistemondino #albumcover"". Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2019 – via Instagram.

[6] Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 246.

[ac_Austria_Seal-7] "Austriancharts.at – Seal – Human Being" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.

[ac_Netherlands_Seal-8] "Dutchcharts.nl – Seal – Human Being" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.

[ac_Germany4_Seal-9] "Offiziellecharts.de – Seal – Human Being" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 31 May 2020.

[ac_New_Zealand_Seal-10] "Charts.nz – Seal – Human Being". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.

[ac_Switzerland_Seal-11] "Swisscharts.com – Seal – Human Being". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2020.

[ac_UK2_-12] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 May 2020.

[ac_Billboard200_Seal-13] "Seal Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 May 2020.

[New_ZealandSealHuman_BeingalbumCertRef-14] "New Zealand album certifications – Seal – Human Being". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.

[United_KingdomSealHuman_BeingalbumCertRef-15] "British album certifications – Seal – Human Being". British Phonographic Industry.

[United_StatesSealHuman_BeingalbumCertRef-16] "American album certifications – Seal – Human Being". Recording Industry Association of America.

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v t e Seal
Discography
Studio albums	Seal (1991) Seal (1994) Human Being (1998) Seal IV (2003) System (2007) Soul (2008) Seal 6: Commitment (2010) Soul 2 (2011) 7 (2015) Standards (2017)
Live albums	Live in Paris (2005)
Compilations	Best 1991–2004 (2004) Hits (2009)
Unreleased albums	Togetherland (2001)
Singles	"Crazy" (1990) "Future Love Paradise" (1991) "The Beginning" (1991) "Killer" (1991) "Violet" (1992) "Prayer for the Dying" (1994) "Kiss from a Rose" (1994) "Newborn Friend" (1994) "I'm Alive" (1995) "Don't Cry" (1995) "Fly Like an Eagle" (1997) "Human Beings" (1998) "This Could Be Heaven" (2001) "Les Mots" (2001) "My Vision" (2002) "Get It Together" (2002) "Love's Divine" (2003) "Waiting for You" (2003) "Walk On By" (2004) "Killer 2005" (2005) "Amazing" (2007) "The Right Life" (2008) "A Change Is Gonna Come" (2008) "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (2008) "I Can't Stand the Rain" (2009) "If You Don't Know Me by Now" (2009) "Secret" (2010)
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