Kris Kristofferson - Closer To The BoneKris Kristofferson returns to the essentials of his finely honed
craft on his New West album Closer to the Bone. Like the master
singer-songwriter’s 2006 New West bow This Old Road, the new album is
produced by Grammy Award winner Don Was. The previous collection –
Kristofferson’s first recording in almost a dozen years – was hailed by
critics as “one of the finest albums of his storied career” (Rolling
Stone), “a stripped-down stunner” (Esquire), and “a return to his best
work” (Q).
Kristofferson says, “I like the intimacy of the new album. It has a
general mood of reflecting on where we all are at this end of life.”
Much like its predecessor, Closer to the Bone is a deftly observed,
honestly executed work about love, separation, loss, and mortality. The
subject matter ranges from the musician’s family (“From Here to
Forever,” “The Wonder”) to Kristofferson’s late friend Johnny Cash
(“Good Morning John”). Was views the new album as a sort of sequel to
its much-acclaimed predecessor: “The recording conditions were a little
more controlled, but it’s based around Kris singing and playing guitar,
and nothing was to get in the way of that. If anything got in the way
of it, we pulled it out. I think the two albums are completely of a
piece. I love This Old Road. There’s something really immediate about
it, and really profound. I personally think this is a better record,
overall. It’s the songs.”
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