THE HOLLYWOOD BLUE FLAMES "DEEP IN AMERICA" Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Date: 01/2010 Writer: Jim White

Blues from the West Coast, often loose and swinging, like the West Coast itself (thus, West Coast blues),  have been around since at least the 1940s, after T-Bone Walker carried his guitar from Texas to Los Angeles and in 1947 recorded his classic, "Call It Stormy Monday."

Fast forward through many a fine West Coast blues artist to the early '70s, when a young blues guitarist, about 20, named Michael Mann, was a player in LA-area clubs, soaking up the blues. Soon, he became Hollywood Fats, reportedly named by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, and became one of the Coast's top blues guitarists, who could swing or sting as the occasion or the mood demanded.

He formed the Hollywood Fats Band and played in other groups, including the James Harmon band. They recorded one album in 1979, and Fats recorded with other groups. Sadly, he died in 1986, by most accounts a major talent gone to waste with heroin.

Somewhere around 2005, the surviving members of the Hollywood Fats Band regrouped as Hollywood Blue Flames, again featuring the kind of West Coast blues that was their mother tongue.

Which brings me to the band's latest CD release, "Deep in America" (Delta Groove), a twofer that reaches back in the past for some Hollywood Fats material, and on the other disc, a retrospective of the Blue Flames, featuring Junior Watson and Kirk Fletcher on guitar, with the harp and vocal work still primarily handled by Al Blake, one of the band's original members.

Watson and Fletcher are fine axmen for the band, but when you listen to the old side, you'll hear Fats sting a little more often than the current officeholders. Check out his take on the Freddie King chestnut, "Hide Away."

But that's okay, since they've evolved into a little more of a jump-blues band, but still with lots of traditional sensibilities. On the Blue Flames disc, for example, they move easily from the swinging and piano-heavy "Crescent City Rock" to "Leavin California," "Hip-Hoppin' Toad" and "Music Man," all examples of nicely done country-flavored acoustic material featuring Blake on guitar. Then they jump into a swinging rendition of "Jalopy to Drive," by John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson (the real Sonny Boy). Listen to an audio clip of "Jalopy":

I should note that Blake, who handles most of the vocals on both discs, is a fine and versatile singer, able to lean into hard, tight blues and then relax and swing. In fact, the whole band shows fine blues sensibilities across a range of styles without losing their very authentic touch. Much of the material is original, and most of it is written by Blake. But the entire group crackles, and it's hard not to notice the piano work of Fred Kaplan.

These guys have become an excellent West Coast band. We may never get a chance to see them around the Burgh, but we could do a lot worse than enjoy these sounds. They play great blues.

Here's a video of Fats, playing with James Harmon and Kid Ramos in roughly the mid-'80s. (There's no embedded video, so you have to click right here, now.)

Here's a more recent video of the Blue Flames, featuring Blake on harp and vocals, with Junior Watson on guitar.