Customer Reviews

Kristofferson

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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.

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.

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.

Kris benefits more than anyone I know with the remastering of some of his recordings. The origional hits on this album sounded flat but now sound fresh and clean. This is not a greatest hits package of course, yet some of his early hits are included, eg, 'Help Me Make It Through The Night', 'Me and Bobby Mcgee' among others. There are also 4 songs never released before this album all well worth a listen. If you're a Kris fan and have his origional albums, you might want to go for the remastered versions , they're certainly worth it.

If there's a better singer/songwriter CD than this one I don't know what it is. Dating from 1970, Kristofferson's maiden recording effort has been cleaned-up with modern technology and four unreleased songs have been added to the original twelve. The four new ones are all damned good. So are almost all the old ones, including much-heard and oft-recorded classics like "Me and Bobby McGee, Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," and "For the Good Times." There's a timeless quality to the best of Kristofferson. These songs will be around a hundred years from now.

One warning: The CD starts with "Blame it on the Stones." You might like the song or you might hate it, but it's atypical of Kristofferson in either case. If you don't like it go on quickly to the next tune "To Beat the Devil" which is one of my favorites.

Kris is a poet, a prophet, and a guitar picker who never seems -- on this CD -- to write a false note or an unlikely rhyme. He's an interesting character: a Rhodes Scholar who worked as a janitor in Nashville while trying to make his way in the music business. "Kristofferson" is a folk/country classic that belongs on the list of all-time greatest recordings.

Smallchief

Kris Kristofferson's younger years gave him the worst times of his life, yet gleaned for us his best music. The remastered "Kristofferson" offers the hauntingly familiar "Casey's Last Ride" and still true today "Darby's Castle" while making us tenderly homesick with "Just the Other Side of Nowhere." For the hippies in us are "The Law is For Protection of the People" and "Blame it on the Stones" so that we can remember protesting everything that didn't agree with our philosophies, including each other. "Kristofferson" is a must-have cd that lets you save your vinyls for memories and spend the music for today.

This is a unique, one-of-a-kind album, a landmark recording by a tremendous artist at the peak of his creative genius.

You better have some affinity for the down and out, however, as this record is populated with drunks, junkies, bums, losers, hippies, the loved and the loveless. Kris' narrative focus is on the underdog, the marginal, the other left out or kicked out by society. His characters are on the road, bumming drinks and cigarettes, singing songs and landing in jail.

The recording is spare, emphasizing Kris' lyrics, guitar, and voice. That voice. His off-key tone, over time, is mesmerizing, perfect for the characters he is singing about -- I wouldn't change a thing.

If I had to compile a list of the top 100 songs ever written, 9 songs from this album would appear on that list. To beat the Devil, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Casey's Last Ride, and Just the Other Side of Nowhere, would likely make the top 20. The 4 bonus tracks on this album are all great. Junkie and the Juicehead is a the highlight. (...)Albums worth having are: Kristofferson (AKA Me and Bobby McGee), Silver Tongued Devil, Jesus was a Capricorn, and Borderlord. The remaining albums stink, and he knows it.

His debut album (which he released when he was in his mid-30's!) shows his songwriting talent. With huge hits for others like Me And Bobby McGee, Help Me Make It Through The Night, For The Good Times and Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down this could be a greatest hits for some people. It also contains two great song titles, Blame It On The Stones and The Junkie And The Juicehead,Minus Me. Plus four bonus tracks that were previously unreleased

Perhaps not a "Great" album but there is greatness on it. There's no question this debut is a unique classic and a landmark/milestone in country music. If this album were released today they might categorize it as "Alternative Country". Not every song's a winner: If I could scratch off the opening track ("Blame it on the Stones") on my CD I would. But after that initial mis-step things get a whole lot better. Personally, I bought this album for "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down". If there's a better song to listen to while nursing a hangover with a Bloody Mary after an all night bender I have yet to hear it. Pure poetry. I like the bonus tracks better than a few of the originally released tunes. Decent liner notes (new and old) cool vintage sleeve photographs, an overall well produced package.