The Hollywood Stars are back with their next album following on from 2024’s comeback, ‘Starstruck’. The line-up is the same as on that album, namely vocalist Scott Phares and drummer Terry Rae (founding members in 1973), bassist Michael Rummans (joined in 1976) plus guitarists Jeff Jourard and George Keller who were both recruited in 2023. Jourard was an early member of The Motels and co-wrote that band’s second single, “Total Control” (covered on ‘Starstruck’), and also played on the debut album by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.
One can definitely hear what Kim Fowley attempted to create with this band as they have the energy and passion of The Ramones and The New York Dolls, but designed for the West Coast, and while they may be somewhat older than they were when they started out (Terry was the oldest at the time at 25), they seem to shrug away the years to create passionate rock which is loose yet somehow hangs together, sleazy but never dark, fun but somehow serious at the same time. It is strange how sometimes bands can be remembered for things they did as opposed to the music they produced, and having both John Lennon and Mickey Dolenz at a press party is certainly a coup, while after they broke up, they had a song recorded by both Alice Cooper and Kiss.
The latter is of course “King of the Night Time World” which was such a standout on ‘Destroyer’, and here the guys have revisited it and brought it back into the fold and if you know the Kiss version then please attempt to imagine it if it were played by The Faces, but with a “cleaner” singer than Rod. It is nice that they have placed it at the end of the album as opposed to the opening track, as they lead up to it nicely, so after a complete album of party singalong groovealong dancealong music it is the perfect ending. I enjoyed ‘Starstruck’, and this is yet another goody. More than 50 years from when they first began, possibly The Hollywood Stars will finally get the kudos they deserve.
Rating: 8/10
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Track list:
1. Hey! LA!
2. So Long And So Far Away
3. I’m Not Broken
4. The Bottom
5. This Moment
6. Will The Lights Go On Again?
7. I Survived 27
8. Birth Lights
9. When I Find You
10. King Of The Night Time World
Links:
https://www.hollywoodstarsband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RumBarRecords