Lettin' Go (album)

Lettin' Go is the final studio album by Son Seals, released in 2000.^[5][6] It was his only album for Telarc.^[7]

Lettin' Go
Studio album by Son Seals
Released	2000
Label	Telarc
Producer	Son Seals, Jimmy Vivino
Son Seals chronology
Nothing but the Truth (1994) Lettin' Go (2000)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Boston Herald	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings	[4]

In 2001, at the 22nd W.C. Handy Blues Awards (since 2006 the Blues Music Awards), Lettin' Go was nominated for Blues Album of the Year and Traditional Blues Album of the Year. It won the award in the latter category.^[8]

Production

The album was produced by Seals and Jimmy Vivino.^[9] Al Kooper contributed Hammond B-3 organ.^[2] The album's final track, a remake of Seal's "Funky Bitch", features Phish's Trey Anastasio.^[10] Two of the album's songs were cowritten with novelist Andrew Vachss.^[11]

Critical reception

AllMusic called the album "a sturdy, hard-hitting, and above all welcome comeback album from one of the acknowledged greats of Chicago blues guitar."^[1] The Washington Post wrote that "guitar fans will appreciate the many opportunities that Seals gets to show off his six-string skills, which produce a flurry of stinging high notes and guttural slurs."^[10] The Chicago Tribune wrote: "Lettin' Go is most refreshing when the band jumps away from the confining electric-blues formula; 'Osceola Rock' rewrites Elvis Presley's 'Jailhouse Rock' as a rollicking tribute to Seals' Arkansas hometown."^[12]

Track listing

1. "Bad Blood" – 4:46
2. "Let It Go" – 4:21
3. "Give the Devil His Due" – 5:24
4. "Doc's Blues" – 3:35
5. "Hair On A Frog" – 4:03
6. "Jelly, Jelly" – 7:07
7. "Osceola Rock" - 4:21
8. "Dear Son" - 6:57
9. "I Got Some Of My Money" - 4:32
10. "Rockin' and Rollin' Tonight" - 3:02
11. "Bad Luck Child" - 5:06
12. "Blues Holy Ghost" - 5:52
13. "Love Had A Breakdown" - 5:22
14. "Funky Bitch" - 5:58

References

1. "Lettin' Go - Son Seals | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
2. Convey, Kevin (June 30, 2000). "Discs - Seals lets go of a classic". Boston Herald: S25.
3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 323.
4. Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. p. 569. ISBN 978-0-140-51384-4.
5. "Son Seals | Biography & History". AllMusic.
6. Pareles, Jon (December 22, 2004). "Son Seals, 62, Chicago Bluesman, Dies" – via NYTimes.com.
7. "Son Seals". chicagotribune.com.
8. "The Blues Foundation". www.blues.org/about. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2014-08-17.
9. Wallace, Bob (5 Aug 2000). "SON SEALS". The Morning Call: A54.
10. "SON SEALS "Lettin' Go" Telarc". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
11. "Reviews". CMJ New Music Report. CMJ Network, Inc. May 15, 2000 – via Google Books.
12. Knopper, Steve (14 May 2000). "Recordings". Chicago Tribune: 3.