Categories : Folk + Roots, Music Reviews.
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Rating: 3 / 5 Reviewer: David Coats |
Closer to the Bone, the follow-up to Kris Kristofferson’s 2007 comeback This Old Road, is a sentimental album that sees Kristofferson more about reflective contentment than larger-than-life storytelling. Relying on simple, predictable arrangements, and melodies so classic as to be hymnal, Kristofferson sings not gritty first-person narratives, but songs to express his love for his kids, a song dedicated to Eddie Rabbit’s lost child, a song to say a final goodbye to his mentor Johnny Cash, and of the need to “help your brother in need.” Kristofferson only revisits his sense of activism on the somewhat confusing ‘Sister Sinead,’ written in solidarity for Sinead O’Connor, after her legendary SNL controversy.
The highlight of the record is actually the hidden track, which he introduces as the first song he ever wrote, at age eleven. Rebelling against sappy country love songs, and charting a hilariously definitive course, Kristofferson wrote, “I want you to hear / that I’m not crying in my beer / that’s just the way it is with me / the happiest day of my unhappy life / was the day that you set me free.” Though genuine and classy, the fact remains these songs simply aren’t as memorable as fans have come to expect, with the exception of closer ‘The Wonder,’ a deeply spiritual song that could perfectly finish Kristofferson’s story. It doesn’t sound like Kristofferson has anything to prove anymore, and the fact is, he probably doesn’t.
Also included is a live bonus disc. If you’ve seen Kristofferson in recent years, this will be extremely familiar to you – him, a guitar, rudimentary musicianship, workmanlike vocals, and an audience hanging on his every word. Kristofferson’s songs have such gravity, and his persona and integrity give him a presence few artists could match. Kristofferson is the rare artist who gives the impression that every song is a story he’s earned the right to tell, whether it’s the political moralizing of ‘Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down,’ the incomparable ‘The Final Attraction,’ or even interrupting himself to tell a self-deprecating anecdote about ‘The Silver Tongued Devil And I.’ Aside from his annoying habit of denying every song a proper ending, this performance is simple, compelling and informative.
