Genre: blues-rock
Rating:  3 stars ***
Title:  Accidentally Borne In New Orleans
Company: Warner Brothers
Catalog: BS 2647
Year: 1972
Country/State: Paris, France
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: white label promo copy
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 6233
Price: $15.00

As you can tell from the earlier reviews, I'm not a head-over-heels Alexis Korner fan. Korner was clearly a talented guy, but his hardcore English blues stylings just never did all that much for my ears. If I was going to listen to the blues, why not go to the source. That said, I thought that teaming Korner with an all-star cast of rock players might make a difference ... Hence my decision to buy 1972's self-produced "Accidentally Borne In New Orleans". So before describing the album, here's a brief history of the band itself (courtesy of the LP liner notes:

"Steve Marriott invited Alexis Korner the British blues master and Peter Thorup, Denmark's top blues singer to make their American debut on Humbler Pie's nationwide our in the spring of 1972. Frequently the duo found themselves together on the stage with King Crimson. In Roanoke, Virginia a nice surprise happened when Ian Wallace from King Crimson slipped behind the drum kit and sat in on Korner and Thorup's set of the Humble Pit concert. When King Crimson's own tour came to an end in Birmingham, Alabama Ian declared his independence and flew of to St. Petersburg, Florida to catch up with Korner and Thorup. Later when the Humble Pie show hit Louisiana, Boz (bass) and Mel Collins (saxophone), from King Crimson were waiting for Korner, Thorup, and Wallace in New Orleans. Backstage in the dressing room at the Warehouse it was inevitable that all five would now continue to tour. The road team and musicians of Humble Pie (Stevie, Clem, Greg, and Jerry) united in helping the new band to play on by seeing that Humble Pie's equipment was shared, and the next night in St, Louis, Missouri, the band was an overwhelming success. Before long the unofficial fivesome found themselves in studios in San Francisco and London making an album and Snape was born."

In spite of the title, with the possible exception of the Korner original 'Country Shoes' there was precious little New Orleans flavor on this album. Instead what you got was a mixture of conventional blues-rock ('Rock Me') and slightly more conventional rock-oriented material (particularly on side two). Korner's voice remained an interesting instrument (I'd rather hear him any day over a competitor like the late Long John Barclay), though he frequently wasted his talents on blasé cover choices ('One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer'). While he didn't get much time in the spotlight, Danish singer Thorup was also worth checking out. Think Korner had a rugged voice? Check out Thorup on songs like 'One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Bee' and Lo and Behold''.

- Has it been on any other album I probably wouldn't have thought all that much of the up-tempo blues-rock 'Gospel Ship'. The performance was certain professional, though hardly the most original effort you've ever heard. The fact it was up-beat and more rock oriented than much of Korner's catalog was certainly a good thing, but other than that the track didn't have a lot going for it. Still, on this album it stood out as one of the better performances. rating: *** stars
- Wow, if you though Korner had a growling voice, be sure to check out Thorup's vocal on 'One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer'. Talk about sandpaper. Anyhow, here's another blues chestnut you've heard dozens of times, most of them without an irritating Mel Collins sax solo. This one might be better than the George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers version, but not by much. rating: ** stars
- One of two Korner-penned tracks, 'Sweet Sympathy' provided the album with it's closest brush with a commercial track. Good time bar-band boogie that served as a nice showcase for the Korner-Thorup shared lead vocal. rating: *** stars
- The traditional blues rocker 'Rock Me' was more along the lines of what I expected to hear from Korner. Long, plodding, and quite forgettable ... if I had to pick something to praise on this one it would be tasty Thorup's slide guitar. Shame it was showcased on the song. rating: ** stars
- Giving credit where due, Korner's cover of 'Don't Change On Me' was actually quite good. The song started out as one of the most pop-sounding songs he'd ever recorded before morphing into a more of a patented blues-rocker. It was still a nice effort with some first rate guitar. rating: *** stars
- Ever heard any of the late-1960s Eric Burden albums where he was still singing psych tinged material, but the mastering sounded like it had been done in an oversized shower? Well, Korner's cover of 'You Got the Power (To Turn Me On)' had the same vibe. That wasn't meant as a criticism since this was easily the album's best performance. Nice, vocal and a performance that somehow managed to simultaneously be funky and icy. rating: **** stars
- Essentially a duet between Korner and Thorup, the Gospel-flavored 'Lo and Behold' was another major surprise. Never in a million years would I have expected the pair to generate the amount of energy they did on this one - hearing the pair literally try to out-Staples-Singer each other was a major listening experience. Who ever would have though an English and Danish guy could Pops Staples and company a run for their money ... rating: **** stars
- Opening with kind of a nice jazz-rock groove. the second Korner original, 'Country Blues' opened up to show a mild New Orleans funk flavor including some fantastic acoustic guitar, but just as the song started to build some real momentum it faded out. rating: *** stars

Warner Brothers didn't bother with a single in the States but in Germany the album was tapped for a single in the form of:



- 1972's 'Sweet Sympathy' b/w 'Gospel Ship' (Brain catalog number 505)

Far from a perfect album, but far more enjoyable than I every would have expected (especially side two) and you can still find cheap copies.

"Accidentally Borne In New Orleans" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Gospel Ship (traditional arranged by Alexis Korner and Peter Thorup) - 3:33
2.) One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer (Rudolph Toombs) - 3:00
3.) Sweet Sympathy (Alexis Korner) - 3:49
4.) Rock Me (traditional arranged by Alexis Korner) - 6:27

(side 2)
1.) Don't Change On Me (Jimmy Holiday - Eddie Reeves) - 3:46
2.) You Got the Power (To Turn Me On) (Willie M. Chambers) - 4:41
3.) Lo and Behold (James Taylor) - 6:53
4.) Country Blues (Alexis Korner) - 4:07


For hardcore fans, the album was released in Germany with an alternative cover and a slightly modified title "Accidentally Born In New Orleans" (note the US spelling of Born):