PopSyndicate.com

I have an extremely weird sense when it comes to music. When I’m listening to the radio, or mp3s or whatever, I prefer hard rock. Metal, punk, alternative, 80s-style hair, whatever. Yet, I dread ever having to hear a band perform live. Just can’t stand rock concerts. On the other hand, I’ve never cared to listen to blues or jazz on CD, but I love to hear it played live. Just one of those things, I suppose. I couldn’t name a single blues guitarist probably, or an album or song, but I love the sound of it when I’m in a club or the like. The feel of it. The atmosphere it creates.

I say all of this because I don’t normally review music-related DVDs. Be they live show recordings or documentaries, I tend to stay away because my knowledge of these things is admittedly limited. When the chance to review A Journey Through the Blues: The Son Seals Story occurred, I didn’t jump on it at first. Had no idea who Seals even was. Something about that title picked at me though, and I ended up asking a friend of mine who is very much into the blues about it. “Ever hear of a guy named Son Seals?” was my question. His e-mail response: “Oh yeah. He’s the real deal.”

So I hunker down and decide to watch the documentary. If anything, it might help me learn a little bit about this stuff I occasionally listen to. And what I found was both magnificently wonderful and terribly frustrating.

Frank “Son” Seals was the youngest of 13 children (according to the doc; Wikipedia says 14). He gained an interest in music from the days when his father turned their front room into an ad-hoc weekend “juke joint.” By the time he was in his teens, he was touring with Albert King. With his amazing guitar-playing, he gained a following of his own and for decades toured. An honest-to-God been-there, done-that blues musician, Son found trouble along the way. While sleeping, he was shot in the face by a scorned wife. A leg was amputated later due to diabetes complications (which would eventually take his life). And...well, I’m sure there’s more.

See, this is where The Son Seals Story becomes a bit frustrating. Running at only 30 minutes, the documentary (which features quite a number of discussions with Seals before his death) never manages to flesh his story out the way it should. Spread out among the testimonials of family, friends and business partners, there are plenty of clips of Son performing live, but there just isn’t as much meat here as there should be. The very main events in his life are touched on before moving to the next, but the film never gives itself time to truly follow Seals and show why he was so damned good. There’s only one road story included. Really, you can’t have a blues musician without a million road stories, and this one’s fairly lacking.

On the other hand, what is presented is really good. The music is fantastic (his song “Hot Sauce” instantly became a favorite of mine), and it works as a bare essentials primer on what Son was about. Pieces from three shows he performed are included as special features, and they just whet my appetite more and make me realize I’ll never get to see him perform in person.

A Journey Through the Blues: The Son Seals Story, released on DVD by Sagebrush, isn’t the most comprehensive music documentary ever to focus on one subject. It’s short and to the point. But it’s just enough to get one’s attention, and if this converts even one more person to becoming a Son Seals fan, then it’s done its job.

3