CD Review: This Old Road - Kris Kristofferson

It seems most people I talk to nowadays know Kris Kristofferson as an actor. These days more as a character actor than the leading man/matinee idol from such films as Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and A Star is Born. But I have always thought of him as a songwriter. A songwriter who sang. Actually, if truth be known, more even as a poet than a songwriter as his words always have packed such a powerful punch. Since I first heard him (and I am really dating myself here) in the very early 1970s, then started attending his concerts c. 1972 his music has been an integral part of my life. I used to reward myself every year on my birthday by either attending a concert or, as the years went by and he would appear more and more often on the silver screen, going to see a movie he was starring in. Yet all these years I have been a fan, never a fanatic, respecting the man and his music – but rather personally and silently except even my husband and children know that Kris holds a special place in my heart. And the respecting, is for the most part. There was that one concert at The Universal Amphitheater where he was only able to perform a few songs before cutting the performance short. I am sure it is an evening he’d rather forget – if he even remembers it. He was as happens many times with those so gifted, living hard. So it was with great pleasure to find that on one particular song of this CD, “Thank You For A Life” the penultimate cut, he admits to being so happy.

It’s been said that this CD is his most personal ever. I really don’t know about that. I do know that it is extremely moving. One cut in particular has brought tears to my eyes each time I have heard it. The chorus of that song, “In the News” goes like this:

"Not in my name, not on my ground
I want nothing but the ending of the war
No more killing, or it's over
And the mystery won't matter anymore"

I was lucky enough to see a recent concert in Seattle where he sang this song and the crowd went wild. It was obvious that they shared the same sentiments.
Over the years I have seen a growth in his music that is hard to describe because he writes lyrics that have always held a rare kind of power. But for some reason this CD is a cut above. Different in a way. And perhaps it is because it is more personal as it has been said. All I can say is that it is absolutely wonderful and powerful. And I thank the master of them all for making such a touching CD.