Kris Kristofferson - Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson didn't need to land a helicopter on Johnny Cash's lawn to get his attention. The genius of his early songs would have won out. In 1970 no one in Nashville, or anywhere else for that matter, was writing with such effortless, imaginative wisdom. It wasn't enough that he had penned "Me and Bobbie McGee," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," and "For the Good Times"; Kristofferson had to put them all on his debut, and toss in even more provocative story songs like the mythic "To Beat the Devil" and the scabrous "The Law Is for Protection of the People." Ranging from the absurd "The Junkie and the Juicehead, Minus Me"--which Cash later recorded--to the sublime "Shadows of Her Mind," the four new bonus tracks don't enhance or detract from the original album's legacy. Song for song, the record bristles with a kind of lyrical innovation and urgent quest for meaning that country music had never known, and likely won't again. --Roy Kasten Amazon.com essential recording

Let Kris Help You Make It Through The Night

Kris Kristofferson didn't blame it on the Stones. He built a castle of poetry in song. A gentleman and an outlaw, he had a touch Schmielson, a belly full of Waylon, and a head full of Cash (the Johnny kind). He saw his friends wasted on the sidewalk, and his girls catchin a diesel out of N'awlins singing up every song that driver knew. I knew Kris and he wrote songs that endure. Listen to this whole album and you'll find out why Billboard's entire music review team had to have 35 albums flown in overnight because the rock music director made them all sit down and listen to the words of every song. You try it, and maybe you'll have one flown in overnight too. Bobby Magee and me both like him, and she was as proud of her young body as a body could be. Listen to these songs when you're "Sunday Morning Comin Down."

Gypsy Nick Shrode

June 7, 2008

I love it

My father has had a cassette tape of "Me and Bobby McGee" since it was originally released. I was glad to find the CD just last Friday. My favorites are "Blame It on the Stones", "Best of All Possible Worlds", "The Law is for Protection of the People". I hadn't remebered "Duvalier's Dream", though I can now identify with Duvalier. February 18, 2008

The Good Old Days

I am an aging "hippie", baby boomer class 2, who has been struggling to remember some of the events of my younger days. This CD brought a lot back. It made me feel human again. February 17, 2008

An American Milestone

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. March 22, 2007

great cd

this is a great cd , all the songs are fantastic and well worth the money ........ May 22, 2006

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