Customer Reviews

Deluxe Edition

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The self-styled "bad axe", Frank "Son" Seals, was one of the mainstays of 1970s Chicago blues, and this fine collection gathers some of the highlights from his 23-year stay with Aligator Records.

Born in 1942, Seals was supposedly raised in the back room of his guitar-playing father's juke joint in Arkansas, and he has played and toured with men like Earl Hooker an Albert King before releasing his self-titled solo debut in 1973, "The Son Seals Blues Band".
This disc is a fine place for newcomers to start, drawing from all eight of his Alligator releases. The opening track, Ray Charles' "I Believe To My Soul" reinterpreted as a raw blues grind, is one of the best songs here...Seals plays sizzling lead guitar backed by a juicy horn ensemble, and his huge, guttural roar of a voice was a tremendous asset.

There is plenty of gritty, knife-edged blues guitar here, and songs like
the mid-tempo groove "Don't Pick Me For Your Fool", the genuine slow blues "Telephone Angel", and the merciless "Your Love Is Like A Cancer" all rank among Seals' finest, as do the thumping soul-blues swagger "Before The Bullets Fly". And Seals does his best Elmore James on a searing live "I Can't Hold Out".

Several of the many terrific songs from Seals' two best studio albums, "Nothing But The Truth" and "Midnight Son", are missing, sure, but that's the way compilation albums are...and besides, you can just go get those two as well, you cheapskate! And pick up his debut album and the two live ones as well, now that you're at it.

The great Son Seals passed away in late 2004. He was one of the toughest, most sincere performances working on the Chicago scene, and this, again, is an excellent way to get acquainted with his music. It's not everything you could ever want from Son Seals, but it is a really enjoyable way to spend 65 minutes.

Son Seals is an awesome guitar player, not the pyrotechnic type, but the quintessential blues type. This is a great overview and primer for his entire career. You will be hard-pressed to buy a better blues cd. This is old school blues, but you can still learn something from listening to it. Very highly recommended.

i came across son seals off a blues comp.i forget which song it was...but i was impressed.so i went out and found 4-5 of his other disc's and whoo-hoo....this guy can write and play.stick to the remastered versions of son's music and you will be very happy.