Deluxe Edition
After delivering an electrifying jolt to "I Believe to My Soul," theRay Charlesclassic that opens this best-of collection, Son Seals's guitar proceeds to sting, soar, and swagger through the rest of this 15-cut, career-spanning anthology. Though his vocals are gruffly serviceable, lacking range and nuance, and much of his material is derivatively generic, Seals pulverizes like a force of nature whenever his guitar surges to the fore. In the studio, the Arkansas-raised, Chicago-based bluesman echoesOtis Rushon "Your Love Is Like a Cancer,"Albert Kingon "Buzzard Love,"  andB.B. Kingon "Telephone Angel." The bandstand is where Seals truly comes into his own, with the live recordings of "Don't Pick Me for Your Fool" and "Hot Sauce" giving him the chance to stretch and sizzle. In addition to a judicious selection of highlights from his catalogue, the anthology includes the previously unreleased "Life All By Myself," an outtake from his 1973 debut.--Don McLeese