1 	Woke Up This Morning
2 	Skippin'
3 	Herbie's Tune
4 	Stormy Monday
5 	It's Happening
6 	Roberta
7 	Jones
8 	Cabbage Greens
9 	Chicken Shack
10 	Haitian Fight Song

Alto Saxophone – Dave Castle
Bass [String Bass] – Danny Thompson
Drums – Barry Howton
Flute – Dave Castle (tracks: 4)
Organ – Ron Edgeworth
Piano – Ron Edgeworth (tracks: 1, 4 to 7, 10)
Tenor Saxophone – Art Themen, Dick Heckstall-Smith (tracks: 2, 3, 9)
Vocals, Electric Guitar – Alexis Korner
Vocals, Instruments [Tumbas] – Herbie Goins (tracks: 4, 6, 10)

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.com

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1. Blue Mink (Korner) 3:26
2. Rainy Tuesday (Korner) 4:19
3. Yogi (Korner) 2:43
4. Sappho (Korner) 2:55
5. Navy Blue (Korner) 2:45
6. Royal Dooji (Korner) 3:09
7. Preachin' The Blues (Trad.Arr.Korner) 2:17
8. The Captain's Tiger (Korner) 2:15
9. A Little Bit Groovy (Parker) 2:46
10. Anything For Now (Heckstall-Smith) 2:42
11. Chris Trundle's Habit (Parker) 2:30
12. Trundlin' (Korner) 2:14

Musicians:
Alexis Korner: electric guitar (except for 7,9,11), bouzouki (7), vocal
Dick Heckstall-Smith: tenor saxophone (except for 9)
Art Themen: tenor saxophone (except for 2,9,10), alto saxophone (2)
Johnny Parker: piano (except for 7)
Mike Scott: string bass (except for 7)
Phil Seamen: drums

Since the beginning of Blues Incorporated, Alexis Korner had planned not to limit his vision of R&B to strict Chicago blues - he was always keen to mix in jazz elements, and often played with talented jazz musicians. Fellow founding member Cyril Davies was not so enthused with this idea, and had left in late 1962 to form his own R&B All-Stars group. This actually cleared the way for Korner to explore jazz territory, and in the summer of 1963 he recorded a series of jazz-styled instrumentals which were not released at the time (they were actually originally planned to be licensed to an American jukebox company, but this never happened). These recordings featured the lineup of Korner himelf (guitar), Dick Heckstall-Smith (sax), Art Themen (sax), Johnny Parker (piano), Mike Scott (bass) and Phil Seamen (drums).

They finally saw release in 1965 as the unimaginatively titled LP Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, so it actually became the band's fourth album release. By this time there had been two more Blues Incorporated albums, and a number of personnel changes. The album remains a bit of an oddity in their discography, but is the best evidence of the group's jazz talents. --- stuckinthepast08.blogspot.com

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01. Kid Man (2:24)
02. County Jail (2:50)		play
03. Round House Stomp (2:55)
04. Sail On (2:56)
05. National Defence Blues (2:11)
06. Skip To My Lou (1:49)
07. Down By The Riverside (2:37)
08. Streamline Train (2:45)
09. I Ain't Gonna Worry No More (2:43)
10. Easy Rider (2:29)		play
11. Boll Weevil (3:17)
12. This Train (2:27)
13. Midnight Special (2:48)
14. Death Letter (2:38)
15. KC Moon (2:58)
16. He Knows How To Reach Me (2:50)

Often referred to as the father of British blues, Alexis Korner helped bring together many English blues musicians. He was a pioneer and major influence in the sound of the 1960's British pop groups.

Born in Paris 1928, Alexis emigrated to England with his family at the start of WWII where he discovered American blues music. He learnt to play the piano and guitar, and aged twenty, joined Chris Barber's band, becoming part of the popular London skiffle scene in the early 1950's. Moving towards blues music, in 1954 he jointly opened a blues club in London's Soho, where he and harmonica player Cyril Davies played, later forming Blues Incorporated. The club embraced aspiring young musicians including Charlie Watts, Long John Baldry, Jack Bruce and Graham Bond. These sessions initiated the R&B revival movement, eventually leading to the formation of among others the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.

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A1. Honkey Tonk Woman   4:56 
A2. Louise   4:05 		play
A3. Hammer and Nails   3:41 
A4. Santa Fé Blues   2:49 
A5. Hong Long Blues   3:42 

B1. Roberta   4:35 		play
B2. Precious Lord   4:23 
B3. Honour the Young Men   3:28 
B4. And Again   0:50 
B5. East St. Louis   3:01

Alexis Korner – gitar, vocals

After a well-received appearance at the Cambridge Folk Festival in the early 1980s, there were rumors afterward that he intended to become more active musically, but his health was in decline by this time. A chain smoker all of his life, Korner died of lung cancer at the beginning of 1984. ---Bruce Eder. AMG

Known as the "Father of British Blues," musician and bandleader Alexis Korner was an integral part of England's early-1960s blues scene. Korner's Blues, Incorporated band helped popularize blues music, and during the early part of the decade, Korner performed with a long list of British music royalty. Korner never experienced the overwhelming commercial success enjoyed by some of his peers and younger acolytes, but his influence on the development of blues-rock is undeniable. Alexis Korner plays all tracks solo Recorded at Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg, West Germany, July 1st and 2nd 1979

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01. Gotta Move (Korner) - 2:27
02. Rain Is Such A Lonesome Sound (J.& R.Witherspoon) - 2:48
03. I Got My Brand On You (Muddy Waters) - 3:46
04. Spooky But Nice (Davies) - 2:56
05. Keep Your Hands Off (Davies) - 2:28
06. I Wanna Put A Tiger In Your Tank (Muddy Waters) - 2:51
07. I Got My Mojo Working (Foster) - 3:09
08. Finkle's Cafe (Korner) - 2:44
09. Hoochie Coochie (Muddy Waters) - 3:02
10. Down Town (Korner) - 2:58
11. How Long, How Long, Blues (Carr) - 3:00
12. I Thought I Heard That Train Whistle Blow (Baldry) - 2:18
Bonus:
13. I'm Built For Comfort (Dixon) - 2:19

Personnel:
- Alexis Korner - acoustic guitar
- Cyril Davies - vocal (3,5,6,7,9), harmonica (except for 6)
- Long John Baldry - vocal (2,11,12,13)
- Dick Heckstall-Smith - tenor saxophone
- Keith Scott - piano
- Spike Heatley - string bass (except for 7)
- Graham Burbridge - drums
+
- Teddy Wadmore - bass guitar (7)
- Big Jim Sullivan - vocal chorus (7)

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, All Music Guide

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1. Overdrive (A.Korner)
2. Whoa Babe (A.Korner)
3. Everyday I Have The Blues (P.Chatman)
4. Hoochie Coochie Man (W.Dixon)
5. Herbie's Tune (a.k.a. Dooji Wooji) (A.Korner)
6. Little Bitty Gal Blues (J.Turner)
7. Well All Right, OK, You Win (Wyche)
8. Kansas City (Leiber/Stoller)
9. announcement 0:17
10. Overdrive (Korner) 2:20
11. brief interview 1:15
12. I Need Your Lovin' (Gardner/Lewis/Levy/McDougal) 2:12
13. Turn On Your Lovelight (Malone/Scott) 2:25
14. brief interview 1:08
15. Please, Please, Please (Brown/Terry) 2:49
16. announcement 0:09
17. Roberta (trad.arr:Korner) 2:19
18. Every Day I Have The Blues (Chatman) 1:59
19. I Need Your Lovin' (Gardner/Lewis/Levy/McDougal) 2:17
	7 inch single, Parlophone R5206, released in 1964 (rec: September, 1964)
20. Please, Please, Please (Brown/Terry) 2:35

Personnel:
- Alexis Korner - vocal (1,2,4,6), electric guitar, backing vocals (8)
- Dave Castle - alto saxophone
- Malcolm Saul - organ
- Vernon Bown - string bass
- Mike Scott - drums
- Herbie Goins - vocals (3,7,8)

For those of us who lived too long on the original Oriole vinyl, seeing this repackage was a no-brainer. This is one of AK's best live sets from an era that he outgrew quickly. The whole feel of the early days of Blues Incorporated. If you're looking for AK up front with his gravelly vocals and rauchy guitar work, you have to go elsewhere. This is classic, early blues and rhythm and blues material with a frantic swing backbone. Plus if you waited 45 years to hear this recording, you reap the benefit of some bonus tracks that you can only (right now) get here.

Alexis was the Godfather of the British Blues, and this is one great place to start to discover why. --- Marcus Aurelius, amazon.com

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