Formed in the early 1970s by rock impresario Kim Fowley in a manner similar to his more famous aggregation The Runaways, The Hollywood Stars existed in the space betwixt three big rocks, specifically glam, hard, and punk. Although positioned for success, the band’s existence was rocky, and they released a sole album in 1977 before breaking up and becoming the stuff of legend. Archival albums and a reformation followed, with Hey! L.A! emerging as the band’s second LP of new material. It’s a solid effort out now on vinyl, compact disc, and digital through Rum Bar Records.
The short description of The Hollywood Stars is that Kim Fowley assembled them as a West Coast answer to the New York Dolls. Some might be turned off by the blatant attempt to manufacture a group, but Fowley was an old-school figure who unabashedly functioned as part of the music business. That he was seeking to create a version of a band that was struggling on the fringes of glam and proto-punk reflects Fowley’s habit of chalking up his successes from the often disreputable margins.
The Hollywood Stars are also associated with two Fowley songs, “Escape” and “King of the Night Time World,” that are better known through contemporaneous recordings by Alice Cooper and Kiss, respectively. Neither song is part of the self-titled 1977 album by the Hollywood Stars, a set cut for Arista after a failed dalliance with Columbia Records and a prior breakup.
Shine Like a Radio: The Great Lost Album of 1974, released in 2013 by the Last Summer label, resurrects sessions for Columbia that included versions of “Escape” and “King of the Night Time World.” Although far from a brain-melter stylistically, the record is a fine listening experience, as it provides a glimpse into an upstart new thing transpiring on the California rock landscape of the era.
In 2019, Burger Records issued Sound City, a set of songs cut in 1976 by the reformed Stars prior to the Arista deal. A bunch of what’s heard on Sound City was rerecorded for The Hollywood Stars, but there’s another version of “Escape” and enough exclusive material to warrant purchase for folks who get all goo-gah for glammy-punky mid-’70s hard rock.
Having reformed at the time of Sound City’s release with four members from the old days, namely lead singer Scott Phares, lead guitarist Ruben De Fuentes, bassist Michael Rummans, and drummer Terry Rae, they issued Live on the Sunset Strip: July 18, 2019, from a set at the Whisky a Go Go on Golden Robot Records. Perhaps inessential, as is the norm with live records, Sunset Strip still set the table very nicely for the release of the studio album Starstruck in 2024.
Before Starstruck was recorded, De Fuentes and rhythm guitarist Chezz Monroe departed the Stars, replaced by George Keller and Jeff Jourard. This is the lineup that cut Hey! L.A! as Loren Molinare and Paul Roessler return in a production capacity. It’s a proudly no-frills album that thrives on energy right out of the gate but holds it together through quality songs, dynamic non-flash musicianship, and a clear understanding of what makes this strain of rock music work.
Hey! L.A! sounds like it could’ve been cut in the late ’70s without coming off like a premeditated throwback. The band’s just functioning naturally and delivering a sequence that connects like an actual album. It’s a varied affair, but they wrap it up from their comfort zone with a fresh version of “King of the Night Time World.”
The exact number of Hollywood Stars albums a person needs will come down to the individual listener, but those looking to pick up their first will do just fine with Hey! L.A!
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
