The Son Seals Blues Band – The Son Seals Blues Band – Alligator Records AL 4701 

This is the debut release on Alligator Records of the Chicago bluesman whose tough, unrelenting, and vicious guitar sound, combined with vocals that cried out in anguish, introduced to the blues world a new artist who was heralded as one of the most important and exciting to come along in quite some time. 

Seals’ blues here is a collection that features a pared down sound, devoid of the horns found on his second Alligator Records release, Midnight Son, solidifying this outing as a highly-remarkable straight-ahead blues collection, the type which blues fans were clamoring for at the time of release.

Seals’ penetrating guitar designs spills forth with complementary stinging decorations to his tales of love lost and personal instability, and is immediately identifiable for its searing metallic explosions; it doesn’t so much rip and tear as it cores and guts in its intensity.  His guitar seemed wholly an extension of the abandonments and heartaches he expressed in his writing and vocals.

Seals’ vocal work exclaims his torment, and bleed of relationship tribulations, all conveyed with a full-throated blaze of pain. 

Big Moose Walker’s organ shaped Seals’ moods ideally, and often seems haunting in their formats.  John Riley’s low-end bass work, while economical, offers a deep resonance of structure and shadowing.  And Charles Caldwell’s percussion never intrudes, but keeps idyllic pace and construct to the proceedings, assuring that Seals’ envisaged blues accounts are distributed at the appropriate, consistent pace.

This exciting freshman outing by Seals for Alligator Records foretold of the success that was coming his way with his second label release, Midnight Son. 

Whenever I would catch Seals at B.L.U.E.S., B.L.U.E.S. etcetera, Wise Fools Pub, or any other venue in Chicago, at a blues festival, or some other event, he never disappointed.  Even in his later years when his health was in decline, that roaring cannon of a voice continued to move me, as did his mighty erupting guitar expeditions.

Seals’ consistent output of quality work made him a fan and critic favorite.  One listen to this bluesman’s recorded debut will turn you into an ardent fan, if you aren’t already.

This is a body of hard-hitting Chicago blues that belongs in any serious collection. 

Highly-recommended!