Kristofferson demos
 

http://spectrumculture.com/2010/05/k...1968-1972.html
Kris Kristofferson:
Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends: The Publishing Demos 1968-1972
May 16, 2010 7:43 AM
Kris Kristofferson

Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends: The Publishing Demos 1968-1972

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Label: Light in the Attic

During time spent working oil platforms, Kris Kristofferson kept himself sane with just an acoustic guitar and his voice, writing songs that would soon outstretch their humble beginnings. The man who would later become an American songwriting icon had nothing to do but think- about his future, about what freedom really was and the shifting nature of the American dream. When he gained a position working for Columbia Records as a janitor, he saw it not as a crap job with little prospects but an opportunity to get his voice noticed. This background isn't necessary to enjoy Light in the Attic's stellar collection, Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends, but it does make the stakes clear, allowing the demos presented here to become all the more noteworthy since they very well could have been the glorious failed demos of an unfortunately unknown talent instead of a latter day testament to how fully formed Kris Kristofferson's writing was from the beginning.

Please Don't Tell Me is an almost perversely intimate look at the writing process of one of this preeminent songwriter, collecting embryonic versions of the likes of "Me and Bobby McGee" and "If You Don't Like Hank Williams." The recordings are takes that were never meant to be commercially released, that are minimally fussed over and often reveal mistakes or are interrupted by engineer talkback or Kristofferson laughing at himself and are all the better for it.

Yet despite the sometimes lo-fi quality of the recordings, it's clear that it was always a matter of when Kristofferson would become an icon, not if, as the version of "Me and Bobby McGee" that opens this release so clearly indicates. Accompanied only by his simple acoustic guitar strums and later an organ line, Kristofferson's aching voice and lyrics are left to carry the weight almost entirely on their own. For those familiar mostly with the bombast of Janis Joplin's version, this minimalist presentation grants the song even more heft, sounding instead like the forgotten document of a dying old man looking back on his glory days.

"Smile at Me Again" is given a more fleshed-out production, Kristofferson backed here by a full band. Even with the addition of extra instrumentation, though, the performance feels loose and playful, Kristofferson sounding as though he's taking pride in how he's "still a stranger/ In this god forsaken land." Throughout Please Don't Tell Me, there's an overwhelming feeling of acceptance of the role of outsider, whether it's in Kristofferson's characters or his performances themselves. Kristofferson's career itself has always found the consummate outsider somehow succeeding in spite of himself, but on these recordings, the production and instrumentation somehow also exemplify this characteristic, as though these songs were recorded after-hours and secretly, the engineer keeping one eye on the board and one eye on the door for fear of the brass getting wise to what was going on.

"Border Lord" in particular sounds like a band of outsiders finding their voices together, led by Kristofferson's world-weary croon. The track has a swagger to it that would be at home in a Southern boogie bar, the bassline more like a jug than an electric instrument, the piano endearingly lazy, the drums charmingly sloppy. That the backing vocals sound like The Band on a bender isn't so much surprising as simply suitably strange. The rollicking "Slow Down" uses its backing vocals to similarly great effect, the folky call and response extending the image of these sessions as playing for playing's sake, Kristofferson and crew emboldened by the joy of trying out songs that have some magic to them, the chemistry apparent in every note. Kristofferson would later have the finances to let these songs match his ambition but here the lack of studio trickery or finesse brings out that indescribable quality performance often has, the notion that musicians are channeling something rather than controlling it.

It's near the end of the collection when even Kristofferson himself seems to acknowledge this magic himself. At the conclusion of the absolutely heartbreaking "Enough for You," Kristofferson is heard talking back to the engineer, proclaiming "was I just perfect?" That statement isn't a cocky declaration but a moment of the artist himself being awed by what has just been captured. The skeletal grace of the production, the delicate, flawed vocal performance that adds more depth to each line, it all comes together in a way that's almost terrifying in how eerily perfect it is. Kristofferson's question is shock at the beauty of a singular moment, captured like lightning in a bottle and in it lies both the justification for and value of Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends.

by Morgan Davis

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

Never been a fan of his voice but he has written a pretty good bunch of songs.

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

Thanks for the heads-up. Sounds like it will be a treat.

Reading the reviews at Amazon, part of one has this tidbit :

"There is an excellent booklet that comes with the digipack which reveals a number of unknown facts about the making of these songs. Most intriguing of all is the story behind the credit Fred Foster shares with Kristofferson on "Me and Bobby McGee" that highlights the warmth and honesty of the man. Basically Fred Foster telephoned Kris up and told him he should write a song with the title "Me and Bobby McKee", the hook being that the subject was a woman instead of a man (there apparently was a Bobby McKee that worked with the songwriting team of Boudeleaux and Felice Bryant). After he wrote the song Kristofferson he was told he was crazy to split the royalty on what was clearly going to be a hit song -- and this was before he had any money to speak of -- Kristofferson responded by saying "man, I wouldn'ta written it if he hadn'ta told me to!" "

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

LOL!
I had plans and tix to see kris tomorrow night in Orillia but bus transportation up there and back has fallen thru because not enough people booked bus seats to the casino..and i have no other way to get there.
so..no Kris!
:(
:mad:

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

yeah, that is pretty honest

wish i could help chaffeur you guys but am heading another direction Sat morn, char...how about train top Union then to Barrie then perhaps a bus from there...but for after show, i doubt you would find a cheap (even an hourly rate motel dive) place to stay at this time of year...idea, get the son to drive and kill time at the slots while you salivate for a few hours at the concert:)

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

Char you should get your Driver Licence a young woman like you. Until then contact Gord H (taxi driver) lol

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

the world is a safer place with me not driving..lol
hotels are sold out in orillia (kris is there tonite and tomorrow) i'd have to get into toronto and then head to orillia, stay over nite (1 room available earlier this aft was 170.00) then head back to toronto and then back to whitby on sunday...a lot more travel and $$..than a 7 dollar bus ride i had planned..

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

That's too bad because I know how much you seemed to love Kristofferson. :(

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

I'm quite disappointed...

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

well the winds of change have happened..and I will be seeing Kris after all.. YAY!

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

Congrats.....and please post a review. And send those winds of positive change my way......I can use 'em.

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

Great news Char & in Orillia @ Casino Rama... your lucky,,,~gl~ country ! Darn life can be good & fair sometimes. lol ! Bet you he mentions Gord in his show ? :redface:

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

terrific news:)

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

omigawd it was awesome...If he is anywhere near you go see him. I mean it.. Really.
He can't carry a tune in a bucket but he sure can sing! That's what Merle Haggard says about Kris.
But that lived in voice takes his poetry and with those melodies plunked out on the guitar and plaintive harmonica, it is to weep.
And he still, at 74 looks DAMN fine. oh yeah. He still has 'it'..yep he does.
;)
more later..one quick video to upload and some not so great pics.
I was mesmerized the whole time...but nary a mention of being in Lightfoot territory..

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

video- pics - great to have the large screens on either side..it's a huge stage at Rama and he seemed so small..pics make him look further away..
SetList
Shipwrecked in the 80's-dedicated to the veterans of Iraq who oppose the war.
Darby's Castle
Bobby Magee
Here Comes That Rainbow Again
Best of All Possible World
Help Me Make It Through The Night
Casey's Last Ride
Nobody Wins-at the end he said he imagined George Bush and Dick Cheney singing it together in the shower..
Broken Freedom Song- a song about a soldier
From Here to Forever- a song for his children
Johnny Lobo-true story of John Trudelle
Jody and The Kid
Billy D
Lovin Her Was Easier
You're Times Comin'-very funny song written by Faron Young
Daddy's Song-for his daughter
he Heart Is All That Matters-for his dad.
Just The Other Side of Nowhere
The Pilgrim
To Beat The Devil - sort of about Johnny Cash
The Promise-for his kids and their mammas
Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down
Silver Tongued Devil - his 5 year old son (at the time) said it wasn't a good song because his dad was blaming someone else for all his trouble.
For The Good Times
ENCORE SONGS
A Moment of Forever
Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends
Why Me Lord - audience sing along..
9:05 - 10:45. no intermission.
Awesome evening.

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

It's a good thing I didn't bet on it ! :biggrin:

Must have mention Johnny Cash tho... " Anyone who doesn't know who Johnny Cash is... is either dead or should be dead" ~KK~

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

How funny.

Thanks for the review and set list.....brings back a lot of memories.

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

Johnny was mentioned a few times..Kris loved Johnny and vice versa..

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

Great 2010 interviews, in this first one he talks about Johnny Cash @ 6:40 to 9:02 !

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

he has a song about Sinead that is quite powerful.. Kris is not afraid to speak what he feels.

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

great stuff!:)

and he doesn't have to pay any roadies

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

nope-no roadies, truck driver, band members...

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

Kris - Ontario Place Forum,Toronto-July 1982

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

Kris & Rita - Massey Hall -May 1973

Re: Kristofferson demos
 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-e...sEnabled=false

When Kris Kristofferson turned Nashville on its head
Graeme Thomson

Share 0 comments 2 Aug 2010

A collection of demos takes the country legend back to his early days.

He may have the scrubby white beard and the gnarled iconic visage, but Kris Kristofferson has always been an unlikely candidate for country music sainthood. When he finally pitched up at Nashville’s Music Row in the mid-1960s he was nearly 30 years old and lacked the easily romanticised down-home biography of a Willie Nelson or a Johnny Cash. The son of a major-general, Kristofferson was born into a military family in Texas and spent a year as a Rhodes scholar at Merton College, Oxford, earning a BPhil in English Literature before becoming a captain in the US Army in 1960. Hank Williams he was not.

In 1965, Kristofferson faced a pronounced fork in the road. Offered the post of Professor of English at West Point, America’s foremost military academy, instead he opted for an honourable discharge and moved to Nashville with his wife and young son to pursue his dream of becoming a songwriter.

“I always felt that I was going to be some kind of writer,” says Kristofferson, whose speech echoes the low, cool, unhurried rumble of his singing voice. “I started writing a bunch of songs when I was at Oxford.” Here he allows himself a brief comic pause. “I didn’t know they were bad at the time.”

The switch from soldier to songwriter required significant sacrifices. His parents disowned him for what they regarded as his fecklessness, while he admits “it cost me my first marriage, but I’m just grateful that I had the nerve to get out of the military. It looked like a very audacious thing to do at the time, but I’m glad I did it, because everything seemed to fall into place after a while”.

It took time. In Nashville, Kristofferson combined songwriting with a variety of odd jobs, including working as a janitor at Columbia recording studios. From that unobtrusive vantage point he met Johnny Cash and watched some legendary records being made, including Bob Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde.

“I can still see him sitting at the piano in that big studio, all by himself,” says Kristofferson. “He’d come up with something at five in the morning and the band would quit playing ping-pong or cards and go and cut some masterpiece. Pretty heady ... It was so un-Nashville, and I was the only songwriter in town who could be there. I think all that feeds into your creative pool. If that’s your personality and your talent then you go around soaking up life, and everything lends itself to it, whether it’s digging ditches or being a janitor. It all adds to the dimensions of what you’re able to create with.”

Eavesdropping on Dylan, pitching songs to Cash and hanging out with Nashville royalty like Mickey Newbury and Roger Miller, Kristofferson undertook what he calls his “graduate work”. He steadily grew as a songwriter, raising his game to write songs like Help Me Make It Through The Night and Sunday Morning Coming Down.

“It was a great ride, starting in about ’68,” he says. “It was a wonderful time to be in Nashville, such a nice, creative atmosphere. The great thing was the way we liked each other’s writing so much. I remember singing Me And Bobbie McGee to Joni Mitchell and people coming in to do The Johnny Cash Show, and they were all so enthusiastic about it. Everybody was pulling for everybody else. Usually there’s a superficial politeness, but this was really sincere. I don’t know if it’s like that any more.”

It’s astonishing to recall the furore Kristofferson’s hip new take on country music caused at the time. His songs were peppered with references to drugs, Dylan and getting his lady friend to help him make it through the night, and when he was given a gong at the 1970 Country Music Association awards he loped on stage with his hair covering his shoulders and his trousers hanging from his hips. The audience, comprised mainly of pillars of the Nashville establishment, gasped at this upstart hippie freak.

“It caused a lot of angry reaction,” he laughs. “A couple of editorials in the papers said I should never be allowed on camera again, but I think I was aware then that the soulful part of songwriting that I identified with would eventually prevail. I wasn’t conscious of working at being controversial, I was just expressing myself as best I could every time.”

Earlier this year Kristofferson released Please Don’t Tell Me How The Story Ends, an album of gnarled, knotty publishing demos recorded between 1968 and 1972 with little musical accompaniment, mostly in the offices of his publishing company Combine. For Kristofferson, hearing the demos “takes me back to when I wrote them, and that’s very rejuvenating at my age, when there’s definitely more behind you than ahead of you. I’m still connected to those songs, I still sing ’em a lot, too. There’s some good memories, like when we were hanging out, staying up all night and writing”.

The first ever version of Me And Bobbie McGee arrived at one such session, beginning at dusk and lasting through until dawn. The song was written in the Gulf of Mexico, where Kristofferson was working flying helicopters back and forth to oil platforms, and recorded when he returned to Nashville at the weekend. “It was a good one,” he says. “Sometimes they’re keepers, sometimes not. I remember saying, ‘Boy, this feels real spiritual, like Hey Jude.’”

Epitaph was another impromptu affair, written as a moving tribute to Janis Joplin, Kristofferson’s on-off girlfriend, who had scored a posthumous hit in 1971 with her definitive version of Me And Bobby McGee. “I hadn’t been able to listen to Bobby McGee since they played it to me right when Janis died,” he recalls. “I was listening to it again for the first time in the publishing house office because there was nobody else there. I was pretty choked up, and I wrote and recorded Epitaph that night.”

Please Don’t Tell Me How The Story Ends spans an auspicious period, tracking Kristofferson’s development from obscure songwriter to superstar. It covers the release of his eponymous first album in 1970, his appearances at the Isle of Wight festival and Carnegie Hall, and his first acting roles, in Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie and Cisco Pike. Indeed, for much of the 1970s and early 1980s Kristofferson was best known as the brooding, laconic leading man in films such as Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia, Convoy and A Star Is Born. At the same time he was married to singer Rita Coolidge and still making records, but movies seemed to take precedence.

“I was very lucky to be doing movies and music – each one would pick up the slack for the other,” he laughs. “I’m just amazed that I wasn’t more amazed by it at the time, because it was such a long way from where I’d recently been. The downside is that when you’re famous you have a lot less alone time, which is good writing time. I think you get more withdrawn and reflective.”

He and Coolidge divorced in 1980, and today Kristofferson lives on the Hawaiian island of Maui with his third wife Lisa, whom he married in 1983. Despite his God-given aptitude in the distant past for hell-raising and womanising, family is clearly hugely important. “I feel so grateful,” he says. “I’ve got eight kids who love each other, and a whole bunch of grandkids, and it’s all turned out well from day one.”

At 74, he doesn’t dwell on the past. He still makes movies but could no longer be called a film star. He tours regularly and his last two albums, This Old Road and Closer To The Bone, have been well received. He’s currently working on new songs with producer Don Was. “I’m writing songs all the time, and it will be interesting to see where they go,” he says. “I’m sure Don Was will keep me going. I feel like I’ve got plenty of respect for my work and I still fill houses when we go out and play. I’ve been lucky all down the line.”


Kris Kristofferson plays Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on August 2 and Usher Hall, Edinburgh, on August 3. Please Don’t Tell Me How The Story Ends is out now on Light In The Attic.