After spending his entire recording career with Alligator, Frank "Son" Seals' debut release on the Telarc Blues label is also the Chicago bluesman's first album of new material in almost six years. Although he lost part of his leg to diabetes in 1999, as somberly evidenced on the cover photo, little else has changed. Seals' gritty, booming vocals sound as authoritative as ever, and, if anything, the half decade between studio albums has added an even tougher quality to his traditionally gutsy si   [ read more ]

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A much more polished set than its predecessor, Midnight Son is a particularly effective effort with several numbers that remained in Son Seals on-stage repertoire for quite some time -- "Telephone Angel," "On My Knees," the jumping "Four Full Seasons of Love." The addition of a brisk horn section enhanced his staccato guitar attack and uncompromising vocals, rendering this his best set to date. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

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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). ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

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Live and Burning lives up to its billing. Seals' smoking set, caught live at Chicago's long-gone (and definitely lamented) Wise Fools Pub, finds him attacking a sharp cross-section of material -- Detroit Junior's deliberate "Call My Job," Elmore James' "I Can't Hold Out," his own "Help Me, Somebody" -- with an outstanding band in tow, featuring saxophonist A.C. Reed, guitarist Lacy Gibson, pianist Alberto Gianquinto, bassist Snapper Mitchum, and drummer Tony Gooden. ~    [ read more ]

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Son Seals in an experimental mood, utilizing chord progressions that occasionally don't quite fit together seamlessly (but give him an A for trying to expand the idiom's boundaries). Less innovative but perhaps more accessible are his smoking covers of Albert King's "Nobody Wants a Loser" and Junior Parker's "Goodbye Little Girl." ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

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The guitarist keeps his string of consecutive fine releases alive with a studio-cut disc that sizzles with bandstand-level velocity (until its last cut, anyway). "Frigidaire Woman," "Woman in Black," and "Bad Axe" rate with the highlights; the self-pitying ballad closer "My Life" is the worst thing Seals has ever put on tape for Alligator. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

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One of Son Seals's finest collections, studded with vicious performances ranging from covers of Eddie Vinson's "Person to Person" and Little Sonny's "Going Home (Where Women Got Meat on Their Bones)" to his own "Can't Stand to See Her Cry" and swaggering "Cold Blood." Top-drawer Windy City studio musicians lay down skin-tight grooves throughout. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

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The grotesque cover illustration is an abomination, but the contents are right in the growling grizzly bear style that we've come to expect. Only four Seals-penned originals, but the R&B-laced "Life Is Hard" and "I'm Gonna Take It All Back" are quality efforts. So is his heartfelt tribute to Hound Dog Taylor, "Sadie." ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

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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. ~ Scott Yanow, All   [ read more ]

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Deluxe Edition collects 15 highlights from Son Seals' long association with Alligator Records that began in 1973. Seals' combination of gritty Chicago blues with horn-laden soul is well represented on classic tracks like "Your Love Is Like a Cancer," "Bad Axe," and "Landlord at My Door." While this is an excellent place for the Seals novice to begin, his live albums Live & Burning and Spontaneous Combustion are hard to beat. ~ Al Campbell, All Music Guide

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