Alexis Korner - Blues

Size: 289 MB
Time: 56:24
File: Flac
Released: 1999
Styles: Blues
Art: Front

1. I Got My Mojo Working (4:16)
2. One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer (2:56)
3. Hi Heel Sneakers (4:19)
4. Sweet Home Chicago (4:00)
5. Hit The Road Jack - Working In A Coalmine (5:00)
6. Geneva (4:22)
7. Key To The Highway (4:47)
8. 32-20 Blues (5:00)
9. Flock'in With You (3:51)
10. Stump Blues (4:54)
11. Cherry Red (3:04)
12. Blue Monday (2:21)
13. Honour The Young Man (2:48)
14. The Gambler (4:38)

Alexis Korner was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster. He had travelled with his parents through Switzerland and North Africa before settling in London as a 12 year-old. He grew up listening to the early blues pioneers and his music career as a guitarist and singer really began with engagements in Ken Colyer and Chris Barber bands. In 1956, Korner met Cyril Davies with whom he founded the famed blues club in Ealing and the band Blues Incorporated. Their aim was to play 'real' and uncompromising blues (probably the first 'electric British blues' bands) becoming a platform for the careers of Mick Jagger, Brian Jones (5), Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts, and many others. Davis left in 1963 and Blues Incorporated disbanded in 1967. The following years saw Korner in many bands, most of them short-lived: Free At Last (2), New Church and Snape. From the late 1960s Korner toured, often as Duo (6) - for instance with Peter Thorup, but mostly with bassist Colin Hodgkinson. By the late 1970s, Korner gained recognition as a radio DJ and broadcaster, continuing to record sporadically with bands such as CCS and Snape. His 50th birthday all-star concert was released as The Party Album. In 1981, he joined the "supergroup" Rocket 88, led by Ian Stewart and based on boogie-woogie keyboard players, which featured a rhythm section comprising Jack Bruce and Charlie Watts, among others, as well as a horn section. Korner died from lung cancer in 1984.

Alexis Korner Blues FLAC

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Alexis Korner's Breakdown Group - Blues From The Roundhouse (Special Expanded Edition)

Album: Blues From The Roundhouse
Size: 187,2 MB
Time: 80:42
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1957/2009
Styles: Blues/Roots/Skiffle
Art: Full

1. Leaving Blues (3:11)
2. Rotten Break (3:46)
3. Alberta (2:43)
4. Roundhouse Stomp (2:51)
5. Skip To My Lou (1:56)
6. Good Morning (2:36)
7. Boll Weevil (3:29)
8. Ella Speed (2:55)
9. Streamline Train (3:03)
10. Ain't Gonna Worry No More (2:37)
11. County Jail (2:50)
12. Kid Man (2:18)
13. Easy Rider (2:27)
14. Sail On (2:53)
15. National Defence Blues (2:13)
16. Go Down Sunshine (3:03)
17. Death Letter (2:38)
18. KC Moan (Bonus Track) (2:53)
19. Casey Jones (Bonus Track) (2:31)
20. Midnight Special (Bonus Track) (2:48)
21. KC Moan (Bonus Track) (2:24)
22. Take This Hammer (Bonus Track) (3:22)
23. Down By The Riverside (Bonus Track) (2:30)
24. Go Down Old Hannah (Bonus Track) (2:39)
25. Streamline Train (Bonus Track) (2:38)
26. Kansas City Blues (Bonus Track) (2:53)
27. Casey Jones (Bonus Track) (3:07)
28. This Train (Bonus Track) (2:24)
29. Rock Me (Bonus Track) (2:50)

Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies - aka "The Godfather" and "The Architect" of British Blues respectively - had each played in various jazz and skiffle combos before linking up in late 1956 to present live music at The Roundhouse pub in London's Soho. A few months later, in February 1957, they recorded the unfeasibly-rare Blues From The Roundhouse album, credited to Alexis Korner's Breakdown Group featuring Cyril Davis.

This 10" LP is the Holy Grail among collectors, as only 99 copies were ever pressed. It was swiftly followed by two equally-rare EPs, each also confusingly titled Blues From The Roundhouse, credited to The Alexis Korner Skiffle Group and Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated featuring Cyril Davis respectively. These three pivotal releases, plus an LP outtake, make up the backbone of this compilation. The bonus tracks were all recorded between 1954-56 and feature Alexis and/or Cyril as sidemen.

Tracks 1-9 credited to Alexis Korner's Breakdown Group Feat. Cyril Davies
Tracks 10-13 credited to Alexis Korner Skiffle Group
Tracks 14-17 credited to Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated Feat. Cyril Davies
Tracks 18-20 credited to Ken Colyer's Skiffle Group
Track 21 credited to Cyril Davies
Tracks 22-25 credited to Ken Colyer's Skiffle Group
Tracks 26-29 credited to Beryl Bryden's Backroom Skiffle

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Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated - R&B From The Marquee

Album: R&B From The Marquee
Size: 81,7 MB
Time: 35:13
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1962/2004
Styles: Blues, harmonica blues
Art: Full

1. Gotta Move (2:32)
2. Rain Is Such A Lonesome Sound (2:53)
3. I Got My Brand On You (3:49)
4. Spooky But Nice (3:00)
5. Keep Your Hands Off (2:32)
6. I Wanna Put A Tiger In Your Tank (2:55)
7. I Got My Mojo Working (3:12)
8. Finkle's Cafe (2:47)
9. (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man (3:05)
10. Downtown (3:01)
11. How Long Blues (3:02)
12. I Thought I Heard That Train Whistle Blow (2:20)

Its title notwithstanding, R&B from the Marquee was not a live album, nor was it cut at the Marquee: it was actually done at Decca Records' London studio, albeit in one long day's work and effectively live-in-the-studio. It was also the place where British blues began, at least as a recording proposition. Blues played by Britons had been part of the underground music scene since the mid-'50s, and Blues Incorporated had been a going concern in one form or another, initially guitarist Alexis Korner and harpist/singer Cyril Davies (actually, maybe the first two Britons to play blues); but by this time, the group also included Dick Heckstall-Smith (tenor sax, backing vocals), Keith Scott (piano), Spike Heatley (upright bass), and Graham Burbridge (drums), with Long John Baldry handling some lead vocals.

For this record, Big Jim Sullivan also sang backup, and Teddy Wadmore provides a key cameo appearance for the electric bass guitar (then a new and alien instrument in this music). The sound here is mostly out of late-'40s and early-'50s Chicago blues; in later years Blues Incorporated would embrace more diverse branches of the music in their performances and the outfit swings with a surprising degree of authenticity; they're somewhat stiffer than any actual Chicago outfit would be, but in England in 1962, this was as down-and-dirty as any homegrown outfit ever sounded.

Korner's guitar leads things off with his own "Gotta Move," an instrumental that showcases the whole outfit, including a bracing duet between Davies' harmonica and Heckstall-Smith's sax: they give each give plenty of space to work around the other, here and also on Davies' own "Spooky But Nice," and it's easy to see why the two got along so well despite Davies' well-known antipathy to reed instruments and horns. Blues Incorporated was at its peak during the time this album was done, with its best and most powerful lineup, and never stronger in the vocal department - Baldry has more flexibility, and is more a potential star (which he became) for his singing, while Davies is a pure, raw bluesman, with no concessions to pop music, and he sounds uncannily like Muddy Waters on "I Got My Brand on You."

And this band swings, but it also rocks. "I Wanna Put a Tiger in Your Tank" is a forceful blues workout for its time, and when Wadmore's electric bass shows up on "Got My Mojo Working," you can hear the first recorded manifestation of what would become blues-rock in the hands of Blues Incorporated member/acolytes the Rolling Stones and the Pretty Things. Spike Heatley gets the spotlight briefly on the instrumental "Down Town," and lest anyone think that Alexis Korner is only a supporting player in his own band, nothing could be farther from the truth: his guitar, acoustic and mostly unamplified, helps drive everything here, and "Finkle's Café" and "Hoochie Coochie Man," among other tracks, give him the spotlight. /Bruce Eder, AllMusic

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Alexis Korner - Got My Mojo Working

Album: Got My Mojo Working
Size: 86,1 MB
Time: 37:18
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1994
Styles: Blues
Art: Full

1. Robert Johnson (4:12)
2. Honky Tonk Woman (2:57)
3. I Got My Mojo Working (Live) (4:15)
4. King BB (3:41)
5. I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man (3:28)
6. I Got A Woman (3:37)
7. Operator (4:39)
8. Louisiana Blues (4:59)
9. She Fooled Me (2:21)
10. Corina, Corina (3:06)

Alexis Korner was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster. He had travelled with his parents through Switzerland and North Africa before settling in London as a 12 year-old. He grew up listening to the early blues pioneers and his music career as a guitarist and singer really began with engagements in Ken Colyer and Chris Barber bands. In 1956, Korner met Cyril Davies with whom he founded the famed blues club in Ealing and the band Blues Incorporated. Their aim was to play 'real' and uncompromising blues (probably the first 'electric British blues' bands) becoming a platform for the careers of Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts, and many others.

Davis left in 1963 and Blues Incorporated disbanded in 1967. The following years saw Korner in many bands, most of them short-lived: Free At Last, New Church and Snape. From the late 1960s Korner toured, often as duo - for instance with Peter Thorup, but mostly with bassist Colin Hodgkinson. By the late 1970s, Korner gained recognition as a radio DJ and broadcaster, continuing to record sporadically with bands such as CCS and Snape. His 50th birthday all-star concert was released as The Party Album. In 1981, he joined the "supergroup" Rocket 88, led by Ian Stewart and based on boogie-woogie keyboard players, which featured a rhythm section comprising Jack Bruce and Charlie Watts, among others, as well as a horn section. Korner died from lung cancer in 1984.

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Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated - Sky High

Year: 1966/2006
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:22
Size: 175,4 MB
Styles: Blues, jazzy blues, jazz
Scans: Full

1. Long Black Train (2:59)
2. Rock Me (3:45)
3. I'm So Glad (You're Mine) (2:46)
4. Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting (3:48)
5. Honesty (4:57)
6. Yellow Dog Blues (3:34)
7. Let The Good Times Roll (2:11)
8. Oo-wee Baby (2:15)
9. River's Invitation (3:04)
10. Money Honey (2:51)
11. Big Road Blues (2:34)
12. Louise (4:45)
13. Floating (2:56)
14. Anchor Five Miles (1:27)
15. Daph's Dance (1:21)
16. I Got A Woman (BBC Session) (Bonus) (3:34)
17. Oh Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me (BBC Session) (Bonus) (3:21)
18. Blues A La King (BBC Session) (Bonus) (2:55)
19. The Organiser (BBC Session) (Bonus) (2:20)
20. Watermelon Man (BBC Session) (Bonus) (3:22)
21. Back At The Chicken Shack (BBC Session) (Bonus) (3:53)
22. Trouble In Mind (BBC Session) (Bonus) (3:43)
23. The Jailbird (BBC Session) (Bonus) (2:17)
24. Going Down Slow (BBC Session) (Bonus) (1:38)
25. Ramblin' (BBC Session) (Bonus) (2:55)

Sky High was a typically uneven Alexis Korner album on several accounts. First, the sky-high level of talent among the backup musicians - including future Pentangle rhythm section Danny Thompson (bass) and Terry Cox (drums), as well as Duffy Power on harmonica - was not matched to universally high-caliber material. Too, while admirably eclectic, the array of styles on display - from down-n-dirty R&B to acoustic blues, out-there jazz, and almost traditional jazz blues - seemed to indicate as much directionless as adventurousness.

There was, too, no getting around Korner's severe limitations as a lead vocalist, a chore he undertook for five of the album's fifteen tracks. Fortunately, first-class blues-rock vocalist Duffy Power took lead vocals on four of the other tracks, and for that reason alone, Sky High is a worthwhile release. "Long Black Train" (which Power and Korner co-wrote) is a genuine lost British R&B gem, and the very best track Korner cut in that style, with its ominously echoing guitar, pummeling rhythm, and Power-ful vocals and harmonica.

Sadly, nothing else on the record comes close to matching it, though the album's not without its merits. There are, to start with, those four other tracks with Power on lead vocal, which are respectable R&B, though none of them are nearly as good as "Long Black Train" (and one of them, "I'm So Glad (You're Mine)," would be recorded by Power in a better version under his own name). There's also a raucous cover of Charles Mingus' "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting," though this and other jazz instrumentals on the record (including a horn section) are so different from the Power-led cuts that they could easily be mistaken for the work of a different band.

The numbers on which Korner takes lead vocals, however, make one wish he'd had the humility and wisdom to let Power be the lead singer for most of the LP, though Korner does okay with the nicely swinging jazz blues tune "River's Invitation." Too, the three Korner solo guitar instrumentals that end the album seem like slight afterthoughts. /Richie Unterberger, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

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Alexis Korner - R&B From The Marquee + Blues From The RoundHouse: The Remastered Edition

Size: 184,5 MB
Time: 76:59
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues, Soul, R&B
Art: Full

01. Gotta Move (2:33)
02. Rain Is Such A Lonesome Sound (2:53)
03. I Got My Brand On You (3:50)
04. Spooky But Nice (3:01)
05. Keep Your Hands Off (2:32)
06. (I Wanna Put) A Tiger In Your Tank (2:56)
07. I Got My Mojo Working (3:12)
08. Finkles Cafe (2:49)
09. Hoochie Coochie (3:06)
10. Down Town (3:02)
11. How Long, How Long, Blues (3:03)
12. I Thought I Heard That Whistle Blow (2:22)
13. Leaving Blues (3:11)
14. Rotten Break (3:48)
15. Alberta (2:44)
16. Roundhouse Stomp (2:52)
17. Skip To My Lou (1:57)
18. Good Morning (2:37)
19. Boll Weevil (3:31)
20. Ella Speed (2:56)
21. 3:4 A.D. (4:40)
22. Im Built For Comfort (2:22)
23. Sail On (2:55)
24. National Defence Blues (2:14)
25. Go Down Sunshine (3:04)
26. Death Letter (2:37)

Personnel:
ALEXIS KORNER: vocals, guitar, and mandolin
Cyril Davies: (vocals, 12-string guitar, and harmonica)
John Baldry: (vocals), Spike Heatley (upright bass)
Keith Scott: (piano), Graham Burbidge (drums)
Dick Heckstall-Smith: (tenor saxophone)

This essential CD includes two of Alexis Korner’s seminal albums, made when he labored (teamed with his longtime music collaborator Cyril Davies) in near complete obscurity: the iconic 1962 LP R&B from the Marquee (which despite its title was actually taped at Decca Records’ London studio), plus the underrated and long unavailable, Blues from The Roundhouse (originally issued as a 10” in 1957).

In addition to the two legendary LPs from Korner’s legacy, this remastered collector’s CD also contains 6 bonus tracks, which consist of hard-to-find sides from the same period, including “3/4 A.D.” – a collaborative recording with the celebrated British folk guitarist Davy Graham.

Recorded in London, between 1957 and 1962.

R&B From The Marquee + Blues From The RoundHouse

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Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated - Red Hot From Alex

Year: 1964/1997
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:59
Size: 71,6 MB
Styles: Electric blues, jazzy blues
Scans: Front, sleeve, inlay, tray, cd

1. Woke Up This Morning (2:42)
2. Skippin' (2:17)
3. Herbie's Tune (4:08)
4. Stormy Monday (4:46)
5. It's Happening (2:09)
6. Roberta (2:33)
7. Jones (3:57)
8. Cabbage Creek (2:15)
9. Chicken Shack (2:29)
10. Haitian Fight Song (3:37)

One of Alexis Korner's better and more obscure albums, Red Hot From Alex, features the 1964 version of Blues Incorporated, supported by alumnus Dick Heckstall-Smith on tenor sax on a handful of tracks, recreating their live sound in the studio. The results are reasonably successful, the group at times achieving a fairly intense, swinging ensemble sound that, at its best, carries an infectious level of excitement. This band's sound is a lot slicker throughout than that of the version of Blues Incorporated that played the Marquee Club in 1962 and 1963 and left behind the album R&B From The Marquee. The opener, "Woke Up This Morning," has a convincingly funky sound, driven by Herbie Goins' vocals, and a fairly together rhythm section, though Dave Castle's alto sax seems a little too lightweight to pull off the authenticity. The group leaps back to somewhat purer blues on "Skippin'," featuring Heckstall-Smith's tenor, Korner playing some suitably animated rhythm guitar, and Ron Edgeworth aggressively attacking his organ. The first minute of "Herbie's Tune" offers a great showcase for Korner's guitar, soon joined by Heckstall-Smith's sax, and Edgeworth's organ, while "Stormy Monday" throws a flute into an otherwise similar mix - one can easily imagine Brian Jones dueting with Korner on those cuts.

The only real flaw in the album, apart from an over-reliance on jazz at the expense of blues, is the lack of any real charismatic presence within the band, vocally or instrumentally - "Stormy Monday" shows off the group to best advantage, with Korner in the spotlight playing some of the flashiest and most compelling blues licks of his career, and if the album could have had a few more tracks like that, it just might have found an audience not far from the listenership that John Mayall and Graham Bond were cultivating; a little too much of what surrounds the blues here, however, is significantly less exciting jazz, played well enough, but otherwise not really terribly diverting - "Roberta," "It's Happening," and "Jones" probably went over big at the group's club dates, but just don't make for great moments on record, and Korner's own "Cabbage Greens," showcasing his low-wattage guitar pyrotechnics (which just might prove refreshing to those weary of, or only versed in, the Jimi Hendrix/Jimmy Page school of blues guitar) and Edgeworth's organ playing, isn't much more interesting. "Chicken Shack" is the track that best captures the group's sound at its most engaging, and the album is a welcome document of their work, but it's more of a historic curio than an essential acquisition, on a musical par with, say, John Mayall Plays John Mayall. /Bruce Eder, AllMusic

Personnel: Alexis Korner (vocals, guitar); David Castle (flute, alto saxophone); Dick Heckstall-Smith (tenor saxophone); Ron Edgeworth (piano, organ); Danny Thompson (bass); Barry Howten (drums).

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Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated - Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated (Expanded Edition)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:43
Size: 118.4 MB
Styles: Blues
Year: 1965/2006
Art: Front

[3:24] 1. Blue Mink
[4:18] 2. Rainy Tuesday
[2:44] 3. Yogi
[3:02] 4. Sappho
[2:44] 5. Navy Blue
[3:09] 6. Royal Dooji
[2:17] 7. Reachin' The Blues
[2:23] 8. The Captain's Tiger N
[2:47] 9. A Little Bit Groovy
[2:42] 10. Anything For Now
[2:30] 11. Chris Trundle's Habit
[2:13] 12. Trundlin'
[2:23] 13. Taboo Man
[4:17] 14. Night Time Is The Right Time
[2:55] 15. Early In The Morning
[2:43] 16. Rockin'
[2:15] 17. See See Rider
[2:48] 18. Blues A La King

Without Alexis Korner, there still might have been a British blues scene in the early 1960s, but chances are that it would have been very different from the one that spawned the Rolling Stones, nurtured the early talents of Eric Clapton, and made it possible for figures such as John Mayall to reach an audience. Born of mixed Turkish/Greek/Austrian descent, Korner spent the first decade of his life in France, Switzerland, and North Africa, and arrived in London in May of 1940, just in time for the German blitz, during which Korner discovered American blues. One of the most vivid memories of his teen years was listening to a record of bluesman Jimmy Yancey during a German air raid. "From then on," he recalled in an interview, "all I wanted to do was play the blues."

After the war, Korner started playing piano and then guitar, and in 1947 he tried playing electric blues, but didn't like the sound of the pick-ups that were then in use, and returned to acoustic playing. In 1949, he joined Chris Barber's Jazz Band and in 1952 he became part of the much larger Ken Colyer Jazz Group, which had merged with Barber's band. Among those whom Korner crossed paths with during this era was Cyril Davies, a guitarist and harmonica player. The two found their interests in American blues completely complementary, and in 1954 they began making the rounds of the jazz clubs as an electric blues duo. They started the London Blues and Barrelhouse Club, where, in addition to their own performances, Korner and Davies brought visiting American bluesmen to listen and play. Very soon they were attracting blues enthusiasts from all over England.

Korner and Davies made their first record in 1957, and in early 1962, they formed Blues Incorporated, a "supergroup" (for its time) consisting of the best players on the early-'60s British blues scene. Korner (guitar, vocals), Davies (harmonica, vocals), Ken Scott (piano), and Dick Heckstall-Smith (saxophone) formed the core, with a revolving membership featuring Charlie Watts or Graham Burbridge on drums, Spike Heatley or Jack Bruce on bass, and a rotating coterie of guest vocalists including Long John Baldry, Ronnie Jones, and Art Wood (older brother of Ron Wood). Most London jazz clubs were closed to them, so in March of 1962 they opened their own club, which quickly began attracting large crowds of young enthusiasts, among them Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Brian Jones, all of whom participated at some point with the group's performances; others included Ian Stewart, Steve Marriott, Paul Jones, and Manfred Mann. In May of 1962, Blues Incorporated was invited to a regular residency at London's Marquee Club, where the crowds grew even bigger and more enthusiastic. John Mayall later credited Blues Incorporated with giving him the inspiration to form his own Bluesbreakers group. ~Partial bio by Bruce Eder

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Alexis Korner - Easy Rider (2 CD)

From a comparatively new label dealing with re-issues we have “Easy Rider” – an excellent double CD set of re-mastered Alexis Korner. The first CD is a selection of his early recordings with Cyril Davis and others featured include Ken Colyer, Beryl Bryden, Mike Collins, Chris Capon (where are these guys now?). There is even a track of Alexis accompanying Alan Lomax on the 1958 recorded song Frankie.

The first CD has twenty assorted tracks while the second is the complete R&B at the Marquee album of twelve songs. The sleeve notes by Michael Heatley are a good but an all too brief reminder of a small part of history and more notes would have been welcome particularly to someone who may be discovering Alexis via this CD. The music though speaks for itself.

Album: Easy Rider - CD 1
Year: 2014
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:01
Size: 144,7 MB
Styles: Blues, R&B
Scans: Full

1. Easy Rider (2:28)
2. Good Morning Blues (2:36)
3. Midnight Special (2:48)
4. Rotten Break (3:46)
5. Alberta (2:43)
6. Boll Weevil (3:30)
7. Ain't Gonna Worry No More (2:37)
8. County Jail (2:50)
9. Kid Man (2:18)
10. Sail On (2:54)
11. National Defence Blues (2:13)
12. Go Down Sunshine (3:04)
13. Death Letter Blues (2:38)
14. Kansas City Blues (2:54)
15. Rock Me (2:50)
16. K C Moan (2:53)
17. Streamline Train (2:38)
18. Frankie (6:23)
19. 3/4 A.D. (4:40)
20. Leaving Blues (3:10)

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Album: Easy Rider - CD 2: R&B From The Marquee
Year: 2014
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:03
Size: 81,9 MB
Styles: Blues, R&B
Scans: Full

1. Gotta Move (2:29)
2. Rain Is Such A Lonesome Sound (2:51)
3. I Got My Brand On You (3:47)
4. Spooky But Nice (2:58)
5. Keep Your Hands Off (2:30)
6. I Wanna Put A Tiger In Your Tank (2:53)
7. I Got My Mojo Working (3:11)
8. Finkle's Cafe (2:46)
9. Hoochie Coochie Man (3:04)
10. Down Town (3:00)
11. How Long How Long Blues (3:02)
12. I Thought I Heard That Train Whistle Blow (2:27)

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Alexis Korner - The Lost Album

Released: 1995
Size: 83.3 MB
Time: 36:10
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Full

1. Lend Me Some Time [3:48]
2. Daytime Song [4:47]
3. New Orleans [2:52]
4. Medley [5:04]
5. Honour The Young Man [2:51]
6. The Road Is The Road [4:08]
7. Sweet Sympathy [4:27]
8. The Gambler [4:40]
9. To Whom It May Concern [3:30]

Gilt by association ... that's the story of Alexis Korner, the acknowledged founding father of British rhythm and blues. From his emergence as one of the country's biggest musical catalysts in the mid to late Fifties until his untimely death in 1984 at the age of 55, he recorded and performed with scores of musicians who went on to make names for themselves, profiting from their time spent with the great man and very often exceeding him in fame and fortune. The roll call is immense, from Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Brian Jones through Manfred Mann's Paul Jones and Cream's Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker to lesser known but still influential musicians like Dick Heckstall-Smith and Duffy Power. All had gravitated towards Blues Incorporated, acclaimed as one of the first white electric blues bands in the world. The Paris-born son of Austrian-Greek Turkish parentage proved not only a serviceable guitarist (in which role he'd started in the Fifties with Chris Barber's band) and distinctive, gravel-voiced vocalist but more importantly a bandleader of some renown. In short, a musician's musician. Though many of his most famous associations happened in the Sixties, Alexis found his greatest commercial success in the Seventies with CCS. A brass-laden ensemble in which he shared the spotlight yet again, this time with Peter Thorup, their hits included "Tap Turn On The Water" and an instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" that was for many years the theme tune for TV's Top Of The Pops. The album we are considering here takes up the story later in the decade and documents a period in early 1977 when Alexis recorded at Foel Studios in Wales with a quartet known as Bandit: unearthed in January 1990, the master tape had been lying on a shelf gathering dust for years. Much had happened during this time: Alexis had passed away, while Bandit's lead singer Jim Diamond had carved himself an international solo career, most notably via the Number 1 single "I Should Have Known Better". Back at Foel Studios, there were a number of old hands on hand – besides Alexis, of course. Bassist Cliff Williams had experience as a member of Home, with Wishbone Ash's Laurie Wisefield (and was later to join Australian megastars AC/DC) while guitarist Jimmy Litherland could already point to a lengthy stint with Colosseum (alongside Dick Heckstall-Smith) as evidence of his experience. Drummer Graham Broad and another guitarist, Danny McIntosh, were the other band members. For vocalist Jim Diamond, still in his early twenties, in particular it was a learning experience – and one the stocky Glaswegian will clearly never forget.

"It was a great privilege to work and sing with Alexis," he recalls. "He was a hard man to please, he knew his stuff, and when you pleased him it was a buzz for him. Alexis was the boss: he told you what to do". "There was a lot of laughing, a lot of serious – very serious – musical discussion about why we were doing it and what we were trying to do. It was a very friendly situation ... not like bands."

The material here is varied in source and sound, but always shot through with Alexis's characteristic warmth and feeling. And even though some of the titles included in this recording would later appear in other versions, most notably tracks "Lend Me Some Time", "Day Time Song" and "The Gambler" on the album "Just Easy" (Intercord Records, 1978), this still remains an interesting example of work in progress. At the time of recording, Alexis had been playing mainly with his daughter Sappho, his son-in-law and Zoot Money. Jim Diamond had gone to LA when Bandit split ("We were trying to be a serious band," he lamented, "but everybody wanted to hear the Sex Pistols") to sing with an abortive supergroup featuring Carmine Appice and Earl Slick, but returned to produce an album for Money, who became a firm friend: the spirit of co-operation and fellowship Alexis fostered that's so apparent on this recording was clearly contagious.

The Lost Album

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