Hollywood Blue Flames: Gone Away - feat. Kim Wilson
Hollywood Blue Flames: 3rd Degree Burn
Hollywood Blue Flames: Let's Rock Awhile
Hollywood Blue Flames: Dr. Blake's Boogie
Hollywood Blue Flames: Black Chili Pepper
Hollywood Blue Flames: Sharpest Man In Town
Hollywood Blue Flames: Jr.'s Boogie Rocket - feat. Jr. Watson (bonus track)
Hollywood Blue Flames: Let Me Love You - feat. Jr. Watson (bonus track)
Hollywood Blue Flames: Honeydripper - feat. Jr. Watson (bonus track)
Track Listings (12) - Disc #2
Hollywood Fats Band: Fats Fries One
Hollywood Fats Band: Nasty Boogie Woogie
Hollywood Fats Band: Baby Let's Play House
Hollywood Fats Band: Side Tracked
Hollywood Fats Band: Kidney Stew feat. Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Hollywood Fats Band: Cleanhead Blues feat. Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Hollywood Fats Band: Shake Rattle'n Roll
Hollywood Fats Band: Rockinitis
Hollywood Fats Band: This Little Voice
Hollywood Fats Band: Love For Sale feat. Roy Brown
Hollywood Fats Band: Boogie Woogie Blues - feat. Roy Brown
Hollywood Fats Band: Motel Time
On their previous release "Soul Sanctuary", the Hollywood Blue Flames - with acclaimed young blues guitarist Kirk Fletcher ably filling the shoes of the late Hollywood Fats - earned universal rave reviews including a Blues... more » Music Award nomination for 2006 Comeback Album of the Year. "Road To Rio" picks up without skipping a beat, and includes several very welcome extras: two previously un-recorded songs co-written by Hollywood Fats and Al Blake that exhibit the roots-rock direction the band was just beginning to explore before Fats' untimely passing; collaborations with Fabulous Thunderbirds frontman Kim Wilson, as well as fellow West Coast blues guitar pioneer Junior Watson on 3 bonus tracks; and an entire cd of previously un-released vintage live performances by the original Hollywood Fats Band, including guest appearances by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson and legendary blues shouter Roy Brown! Also on board is a rare vocal performance by the one and only Michael "Hollywood Fats" Mann. The music contained on "Road To Rio" stands on its own as some of the most enjoyable blues and roots music to be released in recent memory. Additionally, the previously unheard live recordings on the second disc "Larger Than Life" by the Hollywood Fats Band, make this album an important and historic document of musical genius whose likes we will not see again.« less
On their previous release "Soul Sanctuary", the Hollywood Blue Flames - with acclaimed young blues guitarist Kirk Fletcher ably filling the shoes of the late Hollywood Fats - earned universal rave reviews including a Blues Music Award nomination for 2006 Comeback Album of the Year. "Road To Rio" picks up without skipping a beat, and includes several very welcome extras: two previously un-recorded songs co-written by Hollywood Fats and Al Blake that exhibit the roots-rock direction the band was just beginning to explore before Fats' untimely passing; collaborations with Fabulous Thunderbirds frontman Kim Wilson, as well as fellow West Coast blues guitar pioneer Junior Watson on 3 bonus tracks; and an entire cd of previously un-released vintage live performances by the original Hollywood Fats Band, including guest appearances by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson and legendary blues shouter Roy Brown! Also on board is a rare vocal performance by the one and only Michael "Hollywood Fats" Mann. The music contained on "Road To Rio" stands on its own as some of the most enjoyable blues and roots music to be released in recent memory. Additionally, the previously unheard live recordings on the second disc "Larger Than Life" by the Hollywood Fats Band, make this album an important and historic document of musical genius whose likes we will not see again.
"Some folks may not see the value in this kind of smokey blues music but I just love it. The guitar work, the keyboards, vocals, rhythm section -everything about it - just wonderful. If you have any interest in the blues and in a modern interpretation of old blues, you should try this CD. It may not be for everyone but I really think you will enjoy it if you give it try."
West coast blues goes to another level
O'MAN | POIPU,KAUAI | 06/24/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"road to rio is the best album of 2006.not just blues album,but,
of any genre this 2 cd is a milestone in the evolution of blues
as the bedrock for all other american styles of music.the blue
flames cd ads an edge to there music not yet tread upon.the live
fats cd defies description.having known fats during the wonderbread years in the 1970's on and having been close friends
with Al blake for 40 years this cd makes the hair stand up on
my whole body.don't miss this blockbuster 2cd set."
Infectious music with no cure
James | Chico, US, Canada | 09/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I want to play cuts from these 2 discs and their other CD, SOUL SANCTUARY on a daily basis. I guess I'll be over it in another 2 weeks, once it runs its course.
Tastes are different. My favorites, if you want to sample from these 2 discs, but remember the samples don't necessarily give the tune a chance to show how it will really get into you, are:
Disc1: Road to Rio
Everybody's Blues
Sharpest Man in Town
Let Me Love You
Disc2: Kidney Stew (exhilarating saxophone)
Cleanhead Blues ( Sexy, slinky saxophone)
The only player I had heard before was Kirk "Eli" Fletcher with Kim Wilson in person and recorded. I like his guitar playing and Kim Wilson's voice(and harp). I think this would be a welcome addition to your collection."
It would have been better .....
Luca Lupoli | Switzerland | 03/11/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"....an AC Cobra than a Ferrari! Alternatively, a Ford Mustang. Anyway, if you liked the Hollywood Fats Band, in "Larger than life" you will find some jawdropping guitar-playing from the late Hollywood Fats. Don't miss this unreleased live recordings. "Road to Rio" is less impressive, yet the more you will listen to it, the more you will enjoy it. Indeed, not the usual "jump blues" stuff from top Blues musicians in their own right. Five stars widely deserved."