Son SEALS Blues Band - Son Seals Blues Band 1973

Son SEALS Blues Band - Son Seals Blues Band 1973
AL 4703

Blues

Originally issued in 1973 on Bruce Iglauer's then-new Alligator label, this is the late, great Frank "Son" Seals' debut album, a supremely rough, tough affair with some stinging lead guitar playing, tougher and less polished than Stevie Ray Vaughan and at least as gritty as Johnny Winter and Buddy Guy.

Son Seals mines classic Chicago blues grooves on the swinging "Look Now, Baby" and the slow "Cotton Pickin' Blues", and other highlights include the grinding (and thoroughly unsentimental) "Your Love Is Like A Cancer", the fiery "Mother-In-Law Blues", a genuine blues in the vein of Elmore James, and the funky "How Could She Leave Me". But there are really no weak tracks here at all, just forty minutes of slashing guitar playing and raw bluesy goodness played by the stripped-down four-piece band (Seals, bassist John Riley, drummer Charles Caldwell, and organ player Johnny "Big Moose" Walker").

These compositions are less influenced by soul and rock than Seals' albums would be just a few years later, so there are more traditional A-A-B-arrangements here than on his other records, and his lead guitar playing is sharp as shards of broken glass, as gritty as anything you'll ever hear on a 70s blues record. And while "The Son Seals Blues Band" is perhaps not as instantly memorable as the best work of Muddy Waters or Howlin' Wolf, it is a very enjoyable record even without an obvious replacement for "Hoochie Coochie Man"!
By  Docendo Discimus.
**
The Chicago mainstay's debut album was a rough, gruff, no-nonsense affair typified by the decidedly unsentimental track "Your Love Is like a Cancer." Seals wasn't all that far removed from his southern roots at this point, and his slashing guitar work sports a strikingly raw feel on his originals "Look Now, Baby," "Cotton Picking Blues," and "Hot Sauce" (the latter a blistering instrumental that sounds a bit like the theme from Batman played sideways).
By Bill Dahl. AMG.
**
Son Seals- (Guitar),(Vocals),
Charles Caldwell- (Drums),
John Riley- (Bass),
Johnny Big Moose Walker- (Organ).
**
A1. Mother-in-Law Blues  3:12
A2. Sitting at My Window  4:30
A3. Look Now, Baby  3:24
A4. Your Love Is Like a Cancer  4:30
A5. All Your Love  3:34
B1. Cotton Picking Blues  4:38
B2. Hot Sauce (Inst.)   3:04
B3. How Could She Leave Me  3:39
B4. Going Home Tomorrow  3:37
B5. Now That I'm Down  5:58
**

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Son SEALS - Living in the Danger Zone 1991

Son SEALS - Living in the Danger Zone 1991
Label: Alligator

Blues

This 1991 album was Son Seals' sixth for Alligator records, and his first in seven years. And "Living in the Danger Zone" is pretty standart fare for the gruff-voiced guitarist; a solid collection of mostly mid-tempo blues grinds with plenty of Seals' characteristic staccato lead guitar.

About half the tracks are Seals' own compositions, but he also delivers strong renditions of "Tell it to Another Fool", "I Can't Lose the Blues", and Tim Matson's "Frigidaire Woman", as well as the tough, no-nonsense title track.
Some more variation in tempo and style would have been nice, though...this is a perfectly good record, but it lacks the excellence of Seals' best work ("Midnight Son", "Nothing but the Truth"). The material is good, but generally not quite great, and while fans will definitely want to pick up "Living in the Danger Zone", newcomers ought to start with one of the above-mentioned albums, or Seals' fine 1973 debut, "The Son Seals Blues Band".
3 1/2 stars. This one is good, but Son Seals has made great albums.
By Docendo Discimus.
**
I just can't lose the blues, not even to save my soul," Son Seals sings in a voice that simultaneously growls and shouts, transforming despair into a declaration of independence. Midnight Son, released in 1976 on Alligator, confirmed Seals's premier status among this era's bluesmen. Living in the Danger Zone, Seals's first studio album in six years, reunites him with Alligator and delivers a blistering set propelled by Seals's smoldering voice and distorted, stinging guitar, a gut-pounding rhythm section and clever wordplay. The hell-raising blast lets up only on the final, gospel-flavored "My Life," which Seals unfortunately sings in a silky croon.

Backed by his touring band or a combo of Chicago all-stars, Seals unites present and past by merging funk and soul rhythms with down-home grit. And Seals's menacing intensity demonstrates that he is not a man to mess with. Underneath the dance-your-blues-away beat lurks the desperation that inspires all his cutting loose, especially on the ominous "Tell It to Another Fool" and "Danger Zone."

Throughout the album, the fathomless depth of the blues masters Seals absorbed while growing up around his father's Arkansas juke joint meets the reality of black life in contemporary America. On the autobiographical "Bad Axe," Seals avows his dignity and pride: "You can't pick no more cotton/You can't shine no more shoes/You can't even work at a carwash/So you might as well play the blues." Transforming fate into triumph, Living in the Danger Zone stands as Son Seals's affirmation of himself and his art. (RS 615)
By LAURENCE BRAUER.
**
Bay Williams- Bass
Johnny B. Gayden- Bass
Kerman Frazier- Drums
Kevin Tremblay- Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar
Ray Allison- Drums
Red Groetzinge- Flute, Sax (Tenor)
Sidney James Wingfield- Organ, Piano
Son Seals- Guitar, Producer, Vocals
Sugar Blue- Harmonica
**
01. Frigidaire Woman 5:07
02. I Can't Lose The Blues 4:28
03. Woman In Black 3:10
04. Tell It To Another Fool 4:17
05. Ain't That Some Shame 3:38
06. Arkansas Woman 4:30
07. The Danger Zone 5:04
08. Last Four Nickels 4:17
09. My Time Now 6:05
10. Bad Axe 3:13
11. My Life 8:08
**
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Son SEALS - Live Spontaneous Combustion 1996

Son SEALS - Live Spontaneous Combustion 1996
Label: Alligator
Recorded live at Buddy Guy's Legends, Chicago, Illinois on June 20-22, 1996

Blues

It all started with a phone call from Wesley Race, who was at the Flamingo Club on Chicago's South Side, to Alligator Records owner Bruce Iglauer. Race was raving about a new find, a young guitarist named Son Seals. He held the phone in the direction of the bandstand, so Iglauer could get an on-site report. It didn't take long for Iglauer to scramble into action. Alligator issued Seals' eponymous debut album in 1973, which was followed by six more.

Son Seals was born Frank Seals on August 13, 1942 in Osceola, Arkansas. His dad operated a juke joint called the Dipsy Doodle Club in Osceola where Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Nighthawk, and Albert King cavorted upfront while little Frank listened intently in back. Drums were the youth's first instrument; he played them behind Nighthawk at age 13. But by the time he was 18, Son Seals turned his talents to guitar, fronting his own band in Little Rock.

While visiting his sister in Chicago, he hooked up with Earl Hooker's Roadmasters in 1963 for a few months, and there was a 1966 stint with Albert King that sent him behind the drumkit once more. But with the death of his father in 1971, Seals returned to Chicago, this time for good. When Alligator signed him up, his days fronting a band at the Flamingo Club and the Expressway Lounge were numbered.

Seals' jagged, uncompromising guitar riffs and gruff vocals were showcased very effectively on that 1973 debut set, which contained his "Your Love Is like a Cancer" and a raging instrumental called "Hot Sauce." Midnight Son, his 1976 encore, was by comparison a much slicker affair, with tight horns, funkier grooves, and a set list that included "Telephone Angel" and "On My Knees." Seals cut a live LP in 1978 at Wise Fools Pub; another studio concoction, Chicago Fire, in 1980, and a solid set in 1984, Bad Axe, before having a disagreement with Iglauer that that was patched up in 1991 with the release of his sixth Alligator set, Living in the Danger Zone. Nothing But the Truth followed in 1994, sporting some of the worst cover art in CD history, but a stinging lineup of songs inside. Another live disc, Spontaneous Combustion, was recorded at Buddy Guy's Legends club and released in June of 1996. Over the years, Seals had his share of hardship, bad deals, unemployment, and rip-offs that go on in the music business. However, his personal life took two devastating blows in the late '90s. On January 5, 1997, during a domestic dispute, Seals was shot in the jaw by his former spouse. He miraculously recovered and continued touring. Two years later he had his left leg amputated as a result of diabetes. What would have surely forced most performers into retirement only made Seals more dedicated to his music and audience. He came back in 2000, signing with Telarc Blues, and recorded Lettin' Go. Seals preferred to remain close to his Chicago home, holding his touring itinerary to an absolute minimum. Virtually every weekend he could be found somewhere on the Northside blues circuit, dishing up his raw-edged brand of bad blues axe to local followers. The blues ended for Son Seals on December 20, 2004; he passed away due to diabetes related complications.
By Bill Dahl & Al Campbell, All Music Guide.
**
Son Seals is a very powerful performer. While his vocals are full of passion, it is Seals' explosive guitar solos (egged on by a driving rhythm section along with two fine horn players who have some solo spots) that are most notable. Recorded live at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago, Seals' interpretations of these spirited blues would certainly please the club owner. This enthusiastic set serves as a perfect introduction to the accessible and memorable blues of Son Seals.
By Scott Yanow, All Music Guide.
**
Son Seals- (Guitar, Vocals);
Justin Smith- (Guitar);
Red Groetzinger- (Tenor & Alto Sax, Flute);
Dan Rabinovitz- (Trumpet);
Sidney James Wingfield- (Keyboards);
Johnny B. Gayden- (Bass);
David Russell- (Drums).
**
01. Crying For My Baby (4:41)
02. Don't Pick Me For Your Fool (5:07)
03. Mother Blues (6:23)
04. No, No Baby (4:16)
05. Your Love Is Like a Cancer (5:56)
06. I Need My Baby Back (4:17)
07. Sitting Here Thinking (6:27)
08. Every Goodbye Ain't Gone (4:16)
09. The Sun Is Shining (6:11)
10. Landlord At My Door (5:31)
11. Trouble, Trouble (7:49)
12. Don't Lie To Me (5:19)
**
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