Live And Burning

Son Seals is a bluesman who virtually lives on the road. He's on tour almost constantly. And whether he's on a festival stage in Paris, in a college auditorium in Green Bay or on the bandstand of a bar in Boston, Son delivers. It's all there -- the powerhouse band, the gruff vocals, the screaming guitar.

But something very special happens when Son comes home to play in Chicago. Maybe it's the burst of energy that comes from taking a few days off the road. Maybe it's the edge that comes from having great bluesmen (like A.C. Reed) drop by to jam. Maybe it's the challenge that comes from having an audience full of old friends, friends who really know what Son can deliver, and expect nothing but his best.

These days, when Son is in Chicago, he plays one of two clubs -- either his old South Side haunt, Queen Bee's Lounge, or the best established North Side blues club, the Wise Fools Pub on Lincoln Avenue.

The Wise Fools isn't very big; jam packed it holds about two hundred people. The bandstand is cramped, and when Son plays there he doesn't even stand on the stage. He moves down to floor level, and plays just inches away from the front tables, where he can see and hear and feel the crowd, where the waves of energy flowing between musician and audience are almost visible. As the night goes on, Son begins to stretch out and experiment. The music gets rawer, the beat harder.

This recording is a slice of that spontaneous raw energy, from a great bluesman and a great blues band, playing in their home town, at their home club, to their home crowd.