If you were to tell people just how much fun blues music could be, they'd probably give you a strange look. But, especially in the early days of Alligator Records, that was part of their whole mission - namely, to bring attention to deserving artists while showcasing how lively the music could be.
Live And Burning, Son Seals's third disc for the then-fledgling blues label, is ample proof of this. You can literally hear him smiling through these nine tracks, his laughter in between lyrics becoming infectious. There is a reason that, later in his life, he became a beloved icon to artists like Phish - and this disc is more than ample proof.
Recorded at Wise Fools Pub in Chicago - which is terribly missed to this day - Seals and crew (including future label-mate A.C Reed on saxophone) tear through nine tracks. By the end of the disc, you are wishing this had been a double (or even triple) album, Seals's performances are so damned good.
Up until his final album Lettin' Go (which was recorded on a different label), this was the only place you could hear Seals perform his trademark song "Funky Bitch" - and, honestly, that's a damned shame. Not because this is a bad rendition, but because I'd have loved to have heard a studio version in his younger, hungrier days.
But Seals completely tears through these tracks, leaving himself, the band and the listener precious time to rest and catch their breath. Songs like "The Woman I Love," "Blue Shadows Falling" and "Call My Job" are snapshots of a master blues musician at the peak of his craft. The fluidity of his vocals and guitar playing were rarely finer in his career - and Lord knows Seals had some amazing work during his life.
This, therefore, is the only complaint I have with Live And Burning... it's too damn short. Perhaps one day, assuming the entire run of shows was recorded, Alligator will release a deluxe edition of this one and showcase several days of Seals and his band tearing up the small stage at Wise Fools Pub. Even that, I fear, might not be enough to satiate the hunger for Seals's music that this album alone generates.
It's difficult to say there is one album someone must own from any musician's discography (though I know I've done so many times over the years). If Live And Burning were your choice from all of Seals's offerings, no one could fault that selection.