Search - Kris Kristofferson :: Kristofferson (Exp)

A legendary album

Damon Navas-Howard | Santa Rosa, CA USA | 02/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kris Kristofferson's "Kristofferson" is one of the most original and underrated albums of his generation. While his contemporaries were rehashing the same material and ides over and over, Kristofferson offered something new to Nashville. What makes this album so great is how Kristofferson tells the bitter truth. His songs are about drunks and despair and straying away from one's path. Instead of being depressing however, it is uplifting and can be cathartic to people who have been through similar experiences as Kristofferson did. The music is top notch and a great mixture of different genres. The highlights on the album are: "To Beat The Devil," "Me And Bobby McGee," "Help Me Make It Through The Night," "Just The Other Side Of Nowhere," and of course "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down." A must have for anyone who likes good and sincere music. I can't even begin to explain how much this album means to me."

A legend...the best singer/songwriter of all time!

DanD | 12/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"And I'll defend that statement to the death!Kris Kristofferson is a recent influence on me; considering I'm only seventeen, I wasn't around when he had his heyday. I can tell you, though, that I have spent all my life listening to country music; and no one has affected me so much, in such a short amount of time, as Kris Kristofferson.This album, remastered, is incredible. If you are a Kristofferson fan, you know this--you don't even need to read a review. This is for the person who hasn't heard a Kristofferson album yet, and wishes to know more.What else is there to know, other than it's great?Kristofferson's writing is unparalleled. A Rhodes Scholar, an Army Captain, a janitor, almost an English teacher at West Point...dear God, how can this man not be talented? He's the best, and that's that, ladies and gents. 'Nuff said.Except you need to know more, if you haven't listened to Kristofferson yet. So I continue:I can't go song-for-song. I can't even pick out the highlights, 'cause it's hard to say which is better than what. How about "Darby's Castle," which is a classic tragic tale? Or the outrageous "The Junkie and the Juicehead, Minus Me?" Or my personal favorite, the lonesome and longing "Help Me Make it Through the Night?" Or the redemption-filled "Sunday Morning Comin' Down?"You've heard some of these, maybe by different artists. "Me and Bobby McGee" is indeed a classic (no matter who recorded it), but it isn't the only good song on here. You wanna know how many good songs are on this CD? 16. You wannna know how many GREAT songs? 16.Kris Kristofferson is a legend. He's the best. He's the guy that inspires every country music songwriter today (and I say that as an aspiring writer myself). He's the guy you can always turn to for a good song, if you're feeling down and out about the pop-leaning country music world of post-nineties. Kris Kristofferson is the singer/songwriter above all other singer/songwriters--the position that few will ever achieve."Kristofferson" is a masterpiece. Plain and simple."

Songwriting legend debuts as a solo performer

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 02/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kristofferson's debut LP is particular interesting among those in his catalog - not just for being first, but for the circumstances surrounding its release. Not only is the album filled with gem perfect songs, but many of them were already on the charts or on their way (as hits for others) before the album was even released in 1970. Perhaps even more unusually, with Janis Joplin's version of "Me and Bobby McGee" heading up the chart the following year, this LP was retitled with the hit and reissued concurrently with his second LP, "The Silver Tongued Devil & I."From day one, Kristofferson's impressive is idiosyncratic and personal, while at the same time, universal and convincingly voiced by others. A song like "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" lends itself equally to Kristofferson's interpretation and the hit single by Johnny Cash. Same for Sammi Smith's rendition of "Help Me Make it Through the Night" (not to mention the dozens of covers that followed), and Ray Price's career-defining interpretation of "For the Good Times." Kristofferson often sounds more weighed down and wearied by the songs - like a country version of folk poet Leonard Cohen. Many of these early songs are mood siblings to Cohen's work in the film "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," for example.Few debut albums show off such masterful, fully-fashioned songwriting. Except for two co-writes ("Me and Bobby McGee" and "The Lady's Not For Sale") all sixteen tracks are solo works. The four previously unreleased bonus tracks sound to be from the same early era (the session info isn't given). "Come Sundown" was released later by Kristofferson on 1979's "Shake Hands with the Devil" (and eventually covered by the George Jones and Sammy Davis, Jr.). "The Lady's Not For Sale" was the title track of Rita Coolidge's 1972 LP, and "Shadows of Her Mind" was recorded by Ed Bruce in the early 80s. Kristofferson's original versions are all worth hearing, and make this debut just a notch sweeter.Notes include the original liners from Johnny Cash and producer Fred Foster, and newly penned words from Foster, Billy Swan and Al Bianculli. The original and reissue cover art are both included."