Review Of Kris Kristofferson's "This Old Road"
This is scheduled to run in the Redding Record Searchlight in April 2006Kris Kristofferson – “This Old Road” New West Records
5 Stars
Kris Kristofferson’s latest album, This Old Road, is so deeply imbued with truth, humanity, gratefulness, and righteous indignation, that it seems to have come from the core of the earth. Like a lavaflow, or a five-mile high plume of ash, it is an awesome elemental force, featuring Kristofferson, his ageless voice, his guitar, his harmonica, and the sparse accompaniment of his able sidemen. This musical simplicity focuses the listener on Kristofferson’s lyrics, which are profound, powerful, and otherworldly.
It was about 4:30 in the afternoon when my best man turned me on to This Old Road. I had been at his cabin in rural Old Shasta, Ca. for three days writing incessantly, scrambling toward what appeared to be an impossible deadline when I stated, “Now I know why Hemmingway flossed with a shotgun.”
“Whoa, Bub,” Scott, my best man, intoned. “Maybe you should take a break.”
“I’ve got too much work to do,” I said dejectedly. I was still in my pajamas and I had been trying to tie up an emotionally wrenching chapter for the past four hours. “I am like a bundle of raw nerves right now.”
It was a ridiculous schedule; a sort of emotional crucible. I had a head of steam going but I was beginning to lose focus and I was beginning to lose heart in the shadow of the enormous mountain of emotional complications and personal history that I had endeavored to write my way through.
“If you have to keep writing,” Scott said approaching the stereo, “I am going to put some music on to help you. Is that okay?”
I nodded yes, “I can hang with that.”
“Good,” he said turning the volume knob to the right, “because this stuff is going to heal you.”
In my time of weakness and exhaustion This Old Road saved me, renewing my faith in the power of the human spirit and healing power of the truth. Each of the eleven tracks on the album is easily worthy of their own review: the album is that deep. In fact, This Old Road is more of an oracle than an album in the traditional sense of the word.
I listened to it ten times that night, frequently weeping uncontrollably. Each song touched the core of my soul in a different place. There are many artists who try to do this but most fail, coming across as preachy, contrived, or obvious. Kristofferson’s worldview is unique. The seventy year old Rhodes Scholar, songwriter, army veteran, musician, husband, and father has seen plenty and he uses plain language to convey what the world looks like from his perspective.
The world according to Kristofferson is a stark and beautiful one and is well illustrated by the song Pilgrim’s Progress, a benediction of sorts.
Pilgrim’s Progress
Am I young enough to believe in revolution
Am I strong enough to get down on my knees and pray
Am I high enough on the chain of evolution
To respect myself, and my brother and my sister
And perfect myself in my own peculiar way
I get lazy and forget my obligations
I’d go crazy, if I paid attention all the time
And I want justice, but I’ll settle for some mercy
On this holy road through the Universal Mind
I got lucky, I got everything I wanted
I got happy, there was nothing else to do
And I’d be crazy not to wonder if I’m worthy
Of the part I play in this dream that’s coming true
Am I young enough to believe in revolution
Am I strong enough to get down on my knees and pray
Am I high enough on the chain of evolution
To respect myself, and my brother and my sister
And perfect myself in my own peculiar way
These are the words of a wise man communicating the essential truths of humanity. This song made me get down on my knees and pray for the first time in many years. I have so much for which to be thankful as we all do. The world may be in a sorry state right now, but it always has been. Writers have been lamenting the decline of civilization since the invention of words. However, with This Old Road Kris Kristofferson couples timeless, eloquent lamentations of a world gone wrong with heartfelt expressions of gratitude and hope for a world gone right.
The result is a complex, nuanced, and balanced, emotional journey: the essence of great art.
April 11, 2006
[+/-] read/hide this post
posted by Brian J. Kenny @ 4:16 AM
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home