hollywood fats

Hollywood Fats & The Paladins: Live 1985

Top Cat Records TCT-6082
Hideaway – She’s Fine – I Tried – Lawdy Lawdy Miss Mary – Whole Lotta Shakin’ – The Groove – Rooster Blues – Tear It Up – That Will Never Do – Let’s Have A Party – Mystery Train – Sidetracked – Goin’ To Get My Baby

On the paper, this cd promised to be a killer. Just imagine, Hollywood Fats, one of the best West-Coast guitar player teaming with The Paladins, one of the best rockabilly/blues combo, captured live on stage in 1985, just before Hollywood Fats joined the Blasters. The setlist was exciting too. Rockabilly meets jump blues with tunes by Freddie King, Amos Milburn, Junior Parker, and a couple of Michael Mann (Hollywood Fats) own songs. Sadly, once you put the cd in the player, it’s a huge disappointment. The sound has the quality of a poor bootleg. Worst of all, the tape doesn’t always seem to play at the right speed. With this acceleration, some solos sound goofy. That’s too bad, cause the performance is excellent, and you can hear that Fats and the Paladins are on the same wavelength.
There’s enough good music in that platter to recommend it despite the sound quality.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis