Search - Kris Kristofferson :: Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends: The Publishing Demos1968-72

Interesting Slice of Songwriting History

Old T.B. | Cheyenne, Wy USA | 05/03/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends collects demos cut by Kris Kristofferson between 1968 and 1972. Of the sixteen tracks on here, fourteen were released on Kristofferson albums from 1970 -- 1979. As for the other two, "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" became a country standard long before Kristofferson finally put it on one of his own albums, 1999s The Austin Sessions. "Slow Down" has never appeared on a solo Kristofferson album until now. It is a slice of social commentary along the lines of other Kristofferson tunes such as "Blame It on the Stones" and "The Law is for Protection of the People;" it extols the virtues of avoiding a frantic pace and enjoying life. "The soul that you save may be your own," sings Kristofferson. It is a song waiting to be recorded by Todd Snider.



This is mainly a collection for fans, with false starts and conversations. The most fascinating aspect of this collection may be comparing them to the released versions. "Me and Bobby McGee" has background singers; personally, I'm glad that idea was scrapped. "If You Don't Like Hank Williams," released by Kris in 1976, names several different performers in its lyrics than the official version. And, "When I Loved Her" has a commercial folk arrangement that wouldn't sound out of place on a Kingston Trio recording. Kristofferson's vocal limitations have been noted (and sometimes derided) throughout the years, but there is no question that he infuses these songs with feeling. Kristofferson is his own best interpreter.



Fans of Kristofferson will certainly enjoy this disc. So will initiates, but I would recommend they begin with the original albums, all of which are in print once again. Familiarity with this man's work makes Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends a more interesting listen.



5/9/2010: A reader let me know that "Slow Down" did appear on a Kris Kristofferson/Rita Coolidge album in the Seventies. I am much appreciative of the information."

Sketches on the Road to the Masterpiece

state | 05/11/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is an excellent booklet that comes with the digipack which reveals a number of unknown facts about the making of these songs. Most intriguing of all is the story behind the credit Fred Foster shares with Kristofferson on "Me and Bobby McGee" that highlights the warmth and honesty of the man. Basically Fred Foster telephoned Kris up and told him he should write a song with the title "Me and Bobby McKee", the hook being that the subject was a woman instead of a man (there apparently was a Bobby McKee that worked with the songwriting team of Boudeleaux and Felice Bryant). After he wrote the song Kristofferson he was told he was crazy to split the royalty on what was clearly going to be a hit song -- and this was before he had any money to speak of -- Kristofferson responded by saying "man, I wouldn'ta written it if he hadn'ta told me to!" Fortunately, as another reviewer has pointed out, Kristofferson ditched the backing vocals found on the demo included in the collection here.



Great applause goes to the ones responsible for selecting a wide range of Kristofferson's early work, with all but "The Lady's Not For Sale" making it onto a Kristofferson release ("Me and Bobby McGee", "Just the Other Side of Nowhere" and "Duvalier's Dream" from KRISTOFFERSON (1970); "When I Loved Her", "Billy Dee" and "Epitaph (Black and Blue)" from SILVER TONGUED DEVIL (1971); "Enough for You" from JESUS WAS A CAPRICORN (1972); "Border Lord", "Little Girl Lost" and "Getting By, High & Strange" from BORDER LORD (1972); "Smile at me Again" from SPOOKYLADY'S SIDESHOW (1974); "Slow Down" from BREAKAWAY (1974); "If You Don't Like Hank Williams" from SURREAL THING (1976); "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Goes" from NATURAL ACT (1978) and "Come Sundown" from SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL (1979)). There are enough greatest hits CDs for Kristofferson out there for the uninitiated; though, honestly, the raw yet artful demos produced here all come together to make a satisfying whole, particularly the lesser known cuts, and could quite easily make a nice introduction to Kristofferson all on its own.



Several of the demos have interruptions and commentary from producers and Kristofferson. There are cuss words and more than a few missteps but these are all part of the warmth and charm: listen to the backing vocalists and Kristofferson breaking up on "Getting By, High & Strange" for example. On the whole the demos are good quality, stripped down to bare essentials, but warmly and earnestly delivered in every case. Perhaps the reason for the wide range of selections collected here are to acquaint the older fan with some of the lesser known material given that all of the obscurer titles listed above have been recently reissued. Most fans know the first three releases (KRISTOFFERSON (later re-released as ME AND BOBBY MCGEE), SILVER TONGUED DEVIL and JESUS WAS A CAPRICORN) but have missed out on BORDER LORD, SPOOKYLADY'S SIDESHOW, BREAKAWAY, SURREAL THING, NATURAL ACT and SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL: some of these releases serve to underscore the mistakes we make in love, and Rita Coolidge unfortunately was never good for Kristofferson artistically, but there are some fine songs that lay buried in the vault, waiting your discovery. So go on, pilgrim, explore. You won't be disappointed.



**** stars"

"Was that just perfect?"

DanD | 05/04/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To call Kris Kristofferson one of music's greatest songwriters is a bit redundant--listen to any of the songs here, and you'll know immediately you're dealing with a legendary talent, one who belongs in the same cannon as Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Robert Johnson, and every other songwriter who knew how to lay the soul bare.



These demos stem from the late sixties and early seventies. And they ARE demos: some of them stop suddenly (he has a hard time getting through "Getting By, High, and Strange," to hilarious effect); some are just vocals and guitar; some don't contain full lyrics, or contain songwriter/producer interjections; and few of them are as good as the final versions (though a couple actually surpass their future selves). As such, PLEASE DON'T TELL ME HOW THE STORY ENDS is for die-hard fans, or those looking to study the craft of songwriting. Any casual Kristofferson fans (does he have any?) should probably stick to the finished albums. Yet, for those of us who are genuinely interested in hearing early versions of these songs, we get quite a slice of history: from whimsical numbers such as "If You Don't Like Hank Williams" (very interesting to hear stripped down, by the way), to his more serious compositions like "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Billy Dee," we get to see the full range of his songwriting spectrum. In fact, it's such a broad range that we don't really miss certain numbers we expect ("Help Me Make It Through the Night" and "Sunday Morning Coming Down" are both missing; but then, we have so many versions of those, perhaps it's for the best).



Any way you look at it, this is an important collection. Not necessarily essential, but definitely more important than a mere curiosity. PLEASE DON'T TELL ME HOW THE STORY ENDS is far from the ending; if anything, it's a glimpse at the beginning, and a sign of where the story has yet to go. Kristofferson is, thank God, still going strong, writing and recording songs that touch our lives. Here's to the hope that the story will never end."