RSSKris Kristofferson [extended]
- Kristofferson [Monument, 1970] C
- The Silver Tongued Devil and I [Monument, 1971] C-
- Breakaway [Monument, 1974] B-
- Songs of Kristofferson [Columbia, 1977] C
- A Star Is Born [Columbia, 1977] D+
- Natural Act [A&M, 1979] B
- The Winning Hand [Monument, 1982] B-
- This Old Road [New West, 2006]
- Closer to the Bone [New West, 2009]
See Also:
- Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge
- Kris & Rita
- Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Brenda Lee
- Streisand/Kristofferson
Consumer Guide Reviews:
Kristofferson [Monument, 1970]
"Me and Bobby McGee" is only the beginning--this former Rhodes scholar is as deft and common as any songwriter in Nashville, though he's better off keeping it personal with a heartbreak song like "For the Good Times" than justifying his scruffy appearance with penny-ante satire like "Blame It on the Stones." But he's the worst singer I've ever heard. It's not that he's off key--he has no relation to key. He also has no phrasing, no dynamics, no energy, no authority, no dramatic ability, and no control of the top two-thirds of his six-note range. Recommended to demo collectors. C
The Silver Tongued Devil and I [Monument, 1971]
People say Kris is ruined by producer Fred Foster. Note, however, that the ruin isn't commercial but artistic--the man sells a lot better than Randy Newman. That's because Kris's pet paradox--hobo intellectual as Music Row hit man--almost demands extraneous strings. Ungainly, not to say dishonest. C-
Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge: Breakaway [Monument, 1974]
The least embarrassing LP either had made in years is a testament of what just might be a fairly interesting marriage. The way you can tell is that the love songs about separation and temptation and compulsion and good-timing work out, while the ode to romantic serenity (could it be by the same Sherman brothers who occasionally soundtrack a Disney movie?) sound like it was recorded at gunpoint. B-
Songs of Kristofferson [Columbia, 1977]
Over the years, Kristofferson has learned enough about acting to challenge George Burns as a crooner, although the veteran is stronger in the rebop department. It's conceivable he might even do somewhat better now on some of his great early songs. But not on this glorified repackage. C
Streisand/Kristofferson: A Star Is Born [Columbia, 1977]
Due largely to Kristofferson, whose recording career will soon be as vestigial as George Segal's, the movie isn't quite the ripoff you'd figure, but the album, which lists as a pricey $8.98, most certainly is. As with all soundtracks, you get the stars' voices but not their chests, and Rupert Holmes and Paul Williams have ended up with the kind of rock and roll cliches that real rockers assume. What else could I expect? Neither Barbra nor Kris has made a listenable album, much less a stellar one, in the history of Consumer Guide. D+
Kris & Rita: Natural Act [A&M, 1979]
Before the days of Oscar nominations and Jackie Wilson atrocities, when these married hippies were striving to gain acceptance as a mainstream country duo, they actually went out of their way to be boring--the material on Full Moon was so damn acceptable you almost didn't notice it was there. So I guess Breakaway was "transitional," because this time the outlaw superstar duo work with much sharper songs, including three from T-Bone Burnett and two (good ones) from Billy Swan. Unfortunately, K&R don't go out of their way to be interesting, and when you're as somnambulant as this pair, sharp songs aren't enough. B
Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Brenda Lee: The Winning Hand [Monument, 1982]
This twenty-song mix-and-match isn't even monumental in theory, because two of these "kings and queens of country music" haven't earned their crowns--BL is a rock and roll princess who never really graduated, KK a frog ditto. But BL is also a pleasing bedroom-voiced journeywoman who turns in half of a surprisingly definitive "You're Gonna Love Yourself in the Morning." The other half comes from WN, who's on nine cuts and sounds like he's thinking even when he also sounds like he's asleep. DP teams with WN on a surprisingly definitive "Everything's Beautiful in Its Own Way," but sounds more at home on the album's two utter unlistenables--"Ping Pong," in which DP at her cutesiest is outdone by KK at his klutziest, and "Put It Off Until Tomorrow," in which DP kisses KK's warty little head and he croaks back. B-
This Old Road [New West, 2006]
Closer to the Bone [New West, 2009]
"When You Set Me Free"