Time Adds Depth to Kristofferson’s Work, but Takes Nothing Away

By Preston J0nes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

May 16–FORT WORTH — The toll of years lines Kris Kristofferson’s face and creases his distinctive baritone, giving it character and color.

It only burnishes his well-deserved reputation as one of country music’s elder statesmen, a musical magician capable of spinning tales that will just as soon rip your heart out as raise you up.

During his two-hour set Thursday night at Bass Hall, the 71-year-old native Texan doled out a staggering 30-plus songs covering the full range of his career, from the timeless adventure of Me and Bobby McGee through the title track from his 2006 record, This Old Road.

Aided by Fort Worth’s own Stephen Bruton on acoustic guitar, mandolin and vocal harmony, Kristofferson wowed a rapt, occasionally rowdy audience with one jewel after another. If the evening were about nothing but his prodigious number of hits, it would’ve been impressive. But Kristofferson, plenty loose and plenty amused by his occasional miscues, plumbed his considerable catalog to display his talents fully.

His work is sketched with an economy of language that can leave you slack of jaw and short of breath; whole worlds bloom and fade in his lyrics, each tune tinged with a weary romanticism.

Yet Kristofferson can leaven the pain with his sharp wit and wry observations, giving the feel of real life to his art.

The highlights were plentiful — his stark reading of They Killed Him; a stirring take on his signature, The Pilgrim; an absolutely brilliant rendition of Sunday Morning Coming Down — and his interplay with Bruton was never less than astonishing. The lyrical sentiments may have been simple and raw, but the musical execution was polished.

Kristofferson himself summed it up best in Final Attraction, a track he wrote upon watching Willie Nelson connect with an audience: “Your finest performance/Approaching perfection/I know what you’re making/Is some kind of love.”

—–

To see more of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dfw.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.