Time & Perspective Quote by Alexis Korner

Korner is puncturing the rock-era myth that authenticity equals spontaneous genius. He’s talking like a working musician who’s watched audiences swear they can smell “real” in the air, even as they fall hardest for what’s been carefully repeated into inevitability. The line reads like a confession, but it’s really a craft manifesto: if a phrase lands, it’s not a crime to keep landing it. Improvisation isn’t the moral high ground; it’s just one tool among others.

The intent is almost stubbornly practical. Korner came up in British blues when the scene was built on borrowing, refining, and delivering: American records filtered through UK clubs, then packaged into performances that had to convert a room night after night. In that world, reliability is not selling out; it’s respect for the gig. The “right effect” is the north star, not the romance of being “in the moment.”

Subtext: repetition is how you build a language. Blues itself runs on recurring licks, call-and-response patterns, and shared phrases that gain power through familiarity. Korner’s not denying creativity; he’s relocating it. The artistry lives in choosing the phrase, placing it, timing it, and committing to it until it becomes a signature rather than a crutch.

There’s also a quiet rebuke to ego. Worrying about improvising can be a way of performing your own authenticity. Korner refuses that anxiety. He’s saying the audience doesn’t pay for your internal struggle; they pay for the feeling you reliably deliver.