Koerner, Ray & Glover - Blues, Rags & Hollers

The colourful life and of times of three folkblues mavericks

Newly expanded and updated with full-length performances and nine bonus performances from 1991-99 by Tony Glover, Blues, Rags & Hollers charts the circuitous history of acoustic folkblues trio John Koerner, Dave Ray, and Tony Glover who played a pivotal role in the formative years of the early 60s US folk revival.

It covers their early days at the University Of Minnesota, where they cut their teeth on the same coffee house circuit which gave the world Bob Dylan; recording their debut, Blues, Rags & Hollers, in the space of one afternoon in March 1963; signing to Elektra and the subsequent releases of Lots More Rags & Hollers (1964) and The Return Of Koerner, Ray & Glover (1965). The film continues the story by chronicling the solo careers (among other things, Koerner moonlighted as a sometime filmmaker and astronomer; Dave Ray engineered Bonnie Raitt’s debut; Tony Glover wrote for Rolling Stone and authored best-selling tutor Blues Harp) and their on-off relationship over the decades, which culminated in their 1996 reunion album One Foot In The Groove. A slackly-paced delight, this is highfibre pure backwoods Americana and an endearing tribute to these unassuming, yet highly influential, stalwarts.

MVD Visual | DM 0509 D

Reviewed by Grahame Bent
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