Alexis Korner did as much to popularize the blues in his adopted home of England as
Alan Lomax did in the States. True, his approach was different, and he didn't roam town to town capturing authentic blues singers on tape, but
Korner brought the sound to British audiences nonetheless. Through his music, through the clubs he founded (and booked American artists in), and through his tireless championing of the genre,
Korner shaped the nascent late-'50s U.K. blues scene and ignited a passion that would create a generation of British bluesmen.
Musically Rich...and Famous roughly covers the second half of
Korner's glorious career, starting in 1967 and running through to the artist's death. The two-CD compilation features 32 songs and a surprising number of "guest" stars, and reflects in large measure the entire gamut of
Korner's musical interests, from raw country blues to red-hot R&B, from smoky jazz to British skiffle. By the time of the November 1967 sessions that kick off the set, the British blues scene had undergone a radical change, blues-rock bands like
the Yardbirds and
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers making stars out of
Eric Clapton,
Jimmy Page, and
Peter Green. For
Korner, however, it was business as usual, as he formed one group after another during the latter part of the decade. Among the highlights of the various late-'60s bands and collaborations to be found here are a pre-
Led Zeppelin Robert Plant howling his way through a pair of
Korner originals, "Operator" and "Steal Away."
Paul Rodgers and
Andy Fraser of
Free back up their mentor
Korner on the gospel standard "I See It" and a soulful cover of an obscure
Curtis Mayfield gem, "Mighty Mighty (Spade and Whitey)." An inspired rendering of
William Bell's Stax hit "You Don't Miss Your Water" illustrates
Korner's raw charm as a vocalist and skills as a bandleader.
Disc two of
Musically Rich...and Famous begins with what was possibly
Korner's biggest U.K. hit during his lengthy career, a unique, gospel-tinged spoken word reading of
the Rolling Stones' "Get Off of My Cloud," recorded with assistance from
Stones guitarist
Keith Richards and
Humble Pie's
Steve Marriott and
Peter Frampton. Another song from those sessions, the
Korner original "Strange 'n' Deranged," features
Korner's infectious vocals and
Marriott's rare turn on guitar. Another
Stones cover, an acoustic, country blues-styled version of "Honky Tonk Women," has
Korner once again paying tribute to his former students. "A Mess of Blues" and "Hey Pretty Mama," recorded at
Korner's 50th birthday party in 1978, offer an all-star lineup that includes
Eric Clapton and British blues legends
Zoot Money and
Chris Farlowe paying homage to the godfather of U.K. blues.
Musically Rich...and Famous closes with two stellar live tracks from 1982,
Korner and longtime partner
Colin Hodgkinson mixing up a little electric R&B and boogie-woogie on the classics "Big Boss Man" and "Hi-Heel Sneakers." As shown by
Musically Rich...and Famous,
Alexis Korner preferred old-school blues, eschewing the musical experimentation of the late '60s and early '70s in favor of a more traditional approach.
Korner's music was the deep blues of the Delta, the jazz-inflected sound of New Orleans, and the brassy electric blues of Chicago's Maxwell Street as filtered through London, England. Any music lovers with more than a passing interest in the blues owe it to themselves to discover the work of
Alexis Korner. ~ Rev. Keith A. Gordon