New in the iPod – Kris Kristofferson: Closer to the Bone
Nov 9, 2009 Alt. Country/Country discussion
I really wanted to not like this disc. Movie star, Rhodes scholar, singer songwriter…enough already…I tried really hard…. but Kris Kristofferson’s simple elegant sound rang through and won me over. “Closer to the Bone” follows the disastrous 2006 release “This Old Road” which left the listener cold from overproduction. From the first track the listener knows that this is a different release. Sparse production and clear throaty vocals jump from the disc on the title track. Throughout the disc Kristofferson bares his soul and treats the listener to an intimate collection of tunes about life lessons learned and stories accumulated. Family is a theme throughout – with songs dedicated to his children to a tune about “Sister Sinead”. There’s nothing here that will ever see top 40 radio, but that’s the beauty and the attraction. “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” is a lament of a lost relationship that hits the listener squarely between the eyes with the emotional wreckage leftover after a relationship gone wrong. It is honest and forthright – not in the least polished. In fact – it’s almost matter of fact in the face of tragedy. The album ends with “I Hate Your Ugly Face” – which he introduces as the first song he ever wrote at age 11. If you’re looking for a slick country album this probably isn’t the choice for you. But if you’re looking for an honest treatment of the stuff that life hands out this may just be the ticket. In “Let the Walls Come Down” he sings “I can still hear every word of a song nobody heard, ‘cuz he sang right out of his soul into the sky”. Given the power of this disc these won’t be songs nobody heard, but they certainly come straight from the soul.
The players on this disc are Kris Kristofferson – Guitar, Harmonica and Vocals; Jim Keltner – Drums; Stephen Bruton – Guitar, Mandolin, and Background Vocals; Rami Jaffee – Keyboards; Don Was – Bass