Bootleg Him!
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Album Summary
Bootleg Him! came rolling out in 1972 on RAK Records, and honey, it was long overdue — a retrospective compilation drawing from Alexis Korner's earlier recordings and live performances, assembled to bottle that raw, uncut blues energy the man had been pouring out for over a decade. Korner, the undisputed godfather of British blues, had been quietly laying the foundation for everything the British rock world would become, and RAK saw the moment to bring those roots to a wider audience. The timing was shrewd — Korner was riding a wave of visibility through his work with CCS, giving the label the commercial footing to repackage his deeper blues catalog and let the people hear where it all began. No polish, no pretense — just the real thing, the way the blues was always meant to be heard.
Reception
- The album was received warmly by blues aficionados and critics who recognized it as a vital preservation of Korner's foundational performances, though it did not make a significant dent in the mainstream charts.
- Reviewers consistently praised the authenticity of Korner's guitar work and vocal delivery throughout the record, noting his deep and genuine channeling of American blues traditions.
- The compilation format was embraced as an accessible gateway into Korner's legacy, offering new listeners a sweeping introduction while rewarding longtime devotees with performances that had previously circulated only informally.
Significance
- Bootleg Him! stands as one of the most important historical documents of the British blues movement, reflecting the pivotal role Alexis Korner played in shaping a generation of musicians — among them future members of the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin — who went on to electrify the world.
- The album's title was a knowing, soulful wink at the underground tape-trading culture that had grown up around Korner's performances, transforming bootleg devotion into a badge of honor and bringing those beloved recordings into the light of an official release.
- By drawing together the threads of American Delta blues tradition and the British rock revolution, Bootleg Him! cemented Korner's enduring legacy as the living bridge between two worlds — the man who carried the torch across the Atlantic and handed it to a generation that set the whole stage on fire.
Tracklist
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A1 She Fooled Me —
2:17
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A2 I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man —
3:25
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A3 Yellow Dog Blues —
4:07
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A4 I Wonder Who 191
6:20
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A5 Dee —
3:44
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B1 Oh Lord Don't Let Them Drop That Atom Bomb On Me —
3:20
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B2 Rockin' —
2:44
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B3 Honesty —
9:00
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B4 I Got A Woman —
3:26
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B5 Mighty-Mighty Spade And Whitey —
4:06
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C1 Corina - Corina —
3:02
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C2 Operator —
4:36
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C3 The Love You Save —
5:38
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C4 Jesus Is Just Alright —
3:00
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C5 That's All 127
3:18
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D1 Evil Hearted Woman 116
3:58
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D2 Clay House Inn 134
2:48
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D3 Love Is Gonna Go 134
3:49
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D4 Sunrise —
5:02
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D5 Hellhound On My Trail —
3:12
Artist Details
Alexis Korner was a trailblazing British musician who, along with Cyril Davies, founded Blues Incorporated in London back in 1962, creating a raw, electric blues sound that was something truly special and unlike anything England had heard before. That group became a revolving door of talent, with young cats like Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker all passing through, making Korner essentially the godfather who sparked the entire British blues and rock explosion of the 1960s. His influence on the music world runs so deep that without Alexis Korner doing his thing in those smoky London clubs, the Rolling Stones, Cream, and so many others might never have found their footing.
