I just can't lose the blues, not even to save my soul," Son Seals sings in a voice that simultaneously growls and shouts, transforming despair into a declaration of independence. Midnight Son, released in 1976 on Alligator, confirmed Seals's premier status among this era's bluesmen. Living in the Danger Zone, Seals's first studio album in six years, reunites him with Alligator and delivers a blistering set propelled by Seals's smoldering voice and distorted, stinging guitar, a gut-pounding rhythm section and clever wordplay. The hell-raising blast lets up only on the final, gospel-flavored "My Life," which Seals unfortunately sings in a silky croon.

Backed by his touring band or a combo of Chicago all-stars, Seals unites present and past by merging funk and soul rhythms with down-home grit. And Seals's menacing intensity demonstrates that he is not a man to mess with. Underneath the dance-your-blues-away beat lurks the desperation that inspires all his cutting loose, especially on the ominous "Tell It to Another Fool" and "Danger Zone."

Throughout the album, the fathomless depth of the blues masters Seals absorbed while growing up around his father's Arkansas juke joint meets the reality of black life in contemporary America. On the autobiographical "Bad Axe," Seals avows his dignity and pride: "You can't pick no more cotton/You can't shine no more shoes/You can't even work at a carwash/So you might as well play the blues." Transforming fate into triumph, Living in the Danger Zone stands as Son Seals's affirmation of himself and his art. (RS 615)

LAURENCE BRAUER