A sweet and mellow homage that brings back memories for me as well of dogfight and civil war drawings and the Peace at Appomattox.
But don’t feel badly about the eponymous/posthumous gaff. The trick is to pair the former with restaurant, and avoid going to the latter. Easy-peasy. 🤷🏽
Terrific piece! “Tired and cranky,” definitely. A Southern Leonard Cohen! I too love your friend’s assessment of vulnerability mixed with grit. He was a military man, after all. But so in touch with humanity.
Your time in Ann Arbor as a tot coincides with some amazing trips there for me, highlighted by the Ann Arbor blues and jazz Festival. Nothing short of astounding.
One of his best songs was "If You Don't Like Hank Williams", where he reeled off a list of pop, rock and country acts he dug (and said that, in response to the title phrase, "you can kiss my ass"). He is now in the company of many of them...
Thanks for this! I too wonder whether Christgau ever reconsidered his assessment. It occurred to me this morning that I had never heard the original version of “Sunday Morning Coming Down”, only the Cash version. So I pulled it up and was blown away - where Johnny’s version is almost upbeat at times, you get a much different emotional approach from Kris, and a much more real one to my ears.
Fascinating piece, Dan, and took me back to playing and drawing on my own living room carpet while various records spun. Happy days. Love Kris’s candid interview after the Isle of Wight footage.
I love this! How lucky to grow up with Kris in the house! My mom only got interested in Kris after “Star is Born” and she got a couple Kris & Rita Coolidge albums is all. What a force and what an example of a man and an artist he was, perhaps best to say a better human than most in my eyes.
I got to ‘work with’ him once, I was standing in for a full-timer in the props department for the Larry Sanders Show - Kristofferson was a guest along with Clint Black on that episode. If you didn’t know who he was, you’d have thought he was a regular working actor, just hung out and did his job. Of course I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, he alternated from amused to bemused expressions on his face with all the carrying ons on the set of regulars - one of my favorite all-time shows. Meeting Rip Torn was the biggest thrill, he did not disappoint, he was clearly suspicious of me and had no problem letting me know his annoyance to another stranger on the set - I couldn’t tell if he was in character or not!
I only followed Kris’ music up through the 70’s so I have a lot of catching up to do with his 80’s & 90’s output, there’s gotta be some gems in there, a lot of protest stuff I see, he was so great at choosing righteous causes. Similar to Johnny Cash with his stripped-down Rick Rubin albums, as well as Merle Haggard who followed suit, beginning in 2008, Kris released a trio of simply produced albums where to me his singing, voice, songs & production all synched up better than they ever had - I recommend them - (This Old Road ’08, Closer to the Bone ’09, Feeling Mortal, ’13).
I was living in Prescott, AZ in the middle of that run and he came to play solo at the theater at the local community college (Yavapai, College). It was a great show, so good to see him solo - his daughter (a young woman, not a kid) came out to play cello or viola - (I forget) and I cringed when this was happening -stars interrupting a perfectly good concert to show off their kid’s fair-to-middlin’ musical skills has been a pet-peeve of mine for years! However, in this case it worked, she did nothing but add to, and enhanced the songs she accompanied expertly, she did her dad, and the show, proud.
I worked at that theater often as a sound engineer so I knew the management and staff - I was hanging out backstage after the show when the theater manager came up to me bewildered (an old theater veteran) explaining that Kris & his wife had given the whole backstage crew several hundreds of dollars of tips for all, he said he’d never seen that kind of class in all his years.
Kris wrote a song, “Ramblin’ Jack” that was on his “Feeling Mortal” album - an old song he finally finished - Jack was elated - It blows my mind that Jack continues to survive so many, it might just be he & Keef in the end!
Here’s a quartet of songs from “This Old Road” that I love:
A sweet and mellow homage that brings back memories for me as well of dogfight and civil war drawings and the Peace at Appomattox.
But don’t feel badly about the eponymous/posthumous gaff. The trick is to pair the former with restaurant, and avoid going to the latter. Easy-peasy. 🤷🏽
That Isle of Wight footage is priceless!
Terrific piece! “Tired and cranky,” definitely. A Southern Leonard Cohen! I too love your friend’s assessment of vulnerability mixed with grit. He was a military man, after all. But so in touch with humanity.
Thank you - and yes, a Southern Leonard Cohen indeed!
Your time in Ann Arbor as a tot coincides with some amazing trips there for me, highlighted by the Ann Arbor blues and jazz Festival. Nothing short of astounding.
I was definitely too young to make (or appreciate) that scene, but I vaguely recall the buzz about it.
Wow! Nice piece…again.
Do you know if Christgau ever came around and/or eased off a bit on the critique of his singing ability?
Good question! Subject for further research…
Excellent piece, Dan! Thank you!
One of his best songs was "If You Don't Like Hank Williams", where he reeled off a list of pop, rock and country acts he dug (and said that, in response to the title phrase, "you can kiss my ass"). He is now in the company of many of them...
He was never shy about expressing a deeply-held opinion, on record or in person, and I loved that about him.
Thanks for this! I too wonder whether Christgau ever reconsidered his assessment. It occurred to me this morning that I had never heard the original version of “Sunday Morning Coming Down”, only the Cash version. So I pulled it up and was blown away - where Johnny’s version is almost upbeat at times, you get a much different emotional approach from Kris, and a much more real one to my ears.
Absolutely agree - no disrespect to Mr. Cash, but I FAR prefer Kristofferson’s version.
Fascinating piece, Dan, and took me back to playing and drawing on my own living room carpet while various records spun. Happy days. Love Kris’s candid interview after the Isle of Wight footage.
Beautiful piece. I've read so many on Kristofferson this week, and this ranks right up there.
Awww - thank you Glenn!
I love this! How lucky to grow up with Kris in the house! My mom only got interested in Kris after “Star is Born” and she got a couple Kris & Rita Coolidge albums is all. What a force and what an example of a man and an artist he was, perhaps best to say a better human than most in my eyes.
I got to ‘work with’ him once, I was standing in for a full-timer in the props department for the Larry Sanders Show - Kristofferson was a guest along with Clint Black on that episode. If you didn’t know who he was, you’d have thought he was a regular working actor, just hung out and did his job. Of course I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, he alternated from amused to bemused expressions on his face with all the carrying ons on the set of regulars - one of my favorite all-time shows. Meeting Rip Torn was the biggest thrill, he did not disappoint, he was clearly suspicious of me and had no problem letting me know his annoyance to another stranger on the set - I couldn’t tell if he was in character or not!
I only followed Kris’ music up through the 70’s so I have a lot of catching up to do with his 80’s & 90’s output, there’s gotta be some gems in there, a lot of protest stuff I see, he was so great at choosing righteous causes. Similar to Johnny Cash with his stripped-down Rick Rubin albums, as well as Merle Haggard who followed suit, beginning in 2008, Kris released a trio of simply produced albums where to me his singing, voice, songs & production all synched up better than they ever had - I recommend them - (This Old Road ’08, Closer to the Bone ’09, Feeling Mortal, ’13).
I was living in Prescott, AZ in the middle of that run and he came to play solo at the theater at the local community college (Yavapai, College). It was a great show, so good to see him solo - his daughter (a young woman, not a kid) came out to play cello or viola - (I forget) and I cringed when this was happening -stars interrupting a perfectly good concert to show off their kid’s fair-to-middlin’ musical skills has been a pet-peeve of mine for years! However, in this case it worked, she did nothing but add to, and enhanced the songs she accompanied expertly, she did her dad, and the show, proud.
I worked at that theater often as a sound engineer so I knew the management and staff - I was hanging out backstage after the show when the theater manager came up to me bewildered (an old theater veteran) explaining that Kris & his wife had given the whole backstage crew several hundreds of dollars of tips for all, he said he’d never seen that kind of class in all his years.
Kris wrote a song, “Ramblin’ Jack” that was on his “Feeling Mortal” album - an old song he finally finished - Jack was elated - It blows my mind that Jack continues to survive so many, it might just be he & Keef in the end!
Here’s a quartet of songs from “This Old Road” that I love:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYEK-keQ_kk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZi0v9GeMB0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWw_ruaLfHc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zSjU_9twoU&list=PLOt-jX3fqV_NLFzm5g4tSvFQ1pXZONFyF&index=12
Wow - how cool to work with Kristofferson AND Rip Torn, even for a day! You've seen Payday, right?
To my shame, I have yet to see Payday!