THE HOLLYWOOD BLUE FLAMES "DEEP IN AMERICA" Source: Sonicboomers Date: 01/2010 Writer: Bentley’s Bandstand

White blues bands were once as scarce as crawfish in college, but after groups in the mid-'60s led by Paul Butterfield, John Mayall and a few select others gained steam, bluesers began sprouting up like mushrooms following the rain. Even better, some were possessed by the big spirit and knew how to shake it on down with the best of them. Michael "Hollywood Fats" Mann dropped into the blues scene back then, and soon was playing guitar like a soul afire. The Hollywood Fats Blues Band became a legendary outfit on the club circuit, with Mann gaining knighthood on guitar before his unfortunate death in 1986. One of the discs in this set is a 1980 live show and shows exactly what this crew was capable of. A mix of originals and classy covers, the guitar work alone here will French your fries. Hollywood Fats is on a tear, mangling his big Gibson like someone possessed, which wasn't far from the truth. He was someone who didn't know how to hold anything back, and there are leads on some of these songs that belong in the history book. What a burning discovery. The other disc is what  became of the band sans Hollywood Fats, and it is good news indeed. Guitarists Junior Watson and Kirk Fletcher both possess a bluesability of the first order and fill the cupboard with ease. And though there is an air of danger missing from the more recent musical edition, Deep In America still shows why the blues will never die. As August Wilson once wrote: it be an empty world without it.