Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
 Classic Kristofferson November 2, 2009
Oscar (Dublin, Ireland)
Classic Kristofferson sound.Very relaxing and easy to listen to. Recommended if you are feeling the need to relax and to recharge yourself. I'm not big into over analysing or critiquing music. I just like the sound and the atmosphere of this CD.
 Kris on his own and with Rita, Dolly & Joan July 3, 2009
Pieter (Johannesburg)
All 23 of these tracks were written or co-written by Kristofferson with the exception of Hello In There, Help Me, Put It Off Until Tomorrow and We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds. The numerous cover versions of this formidable artist's songs are more familiar than his own. Classics like Sunday Morning Coming Down, For The Good Times and Help Me Make It Through The Night demonstrate his unique compositional talent and ability to capture universal feelings and moods. This compilation is rather unusual as it omits well-known numbers like The Best Of All Possible Worlds, Casey's Last Ride & Darby's Castle in favor of earlier compositions and duets with Dolly Parton & Joan Baez.
Cover versions of Jody and the Kid hit the charts 1968 and From the Bottle to the Bottom in 1969. That same year Roger Miller took Me and Bobby McGee into the country charts whilst Ray Stevens scored both a pop & country hit with Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down. In 1970 Ray Price achieved the same with For The Good Times. The following year Janis Joplin's powerful rendition of Me & Bobby McGee reached number one whilst Gordon Lightfoot's flowing folk version also made the charts. Help Me Make It Through the Night remains one of the most covered songs of all time; this includes an atmospheric interpretation by Gladys Knight & The Pips.
The gospel song Why Me was probably Kristofferson's greatest hit as it stayed on the Billboard Hot Hundred for months round about 1973/1974. His collaborations with Rita Coolidge contribute Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends, I'd Rather Be Sorry and We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds, the last two from Breakaway. The duet with Dolly Parton comes from the album The Winning Hand by Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson & Brenda Lee, plus there's a moving live duet with Joan Baez, a John Prine song titled Hello In There that reminds me of Leonard Cohen's Please Don't Pass Me By.
The Essential is a more conventional compilation of the work of this great composer who's considered a country singer but sounds more like a singer-songwriter in the Bob Dylan and James Taylor mould. Whatever his personal style, his timeless songs transcend all musical boundaries as they appear in a plethora of pop, rock, soul, gospel, classical, jazz, blues, latin, R&B, electronic & other interpretations. This collection deserves five stars for offering some obscure gems and on account of the duets with the aforementioned female vocalists.
 Kris Kristofferson March 9, 2009
Peewee (uk)
Not bad but not fantastic, great for hangovers and feelings of guilt, Kristofferson has written good songs, my preference though is seeing him with The Highwaymen.
Excellent February 21, 2009
G. Patterson (Dumbarton, Scotland)
This is Kris at his melancholy best. Songs are brilliant and though not
the best of singers there is something in his voice that is so appealing and sincere when he sings.
Magnificent songwriter but poor singer January 30, 2007
Ronald Van Scherpenzeel (Madrid, Spain)
4 out of 12 found this review helpful
Kris has written many beautiful songs and can be considered as one of
the top writers in popular music especiallly in Country. However when
he interpretes his own songs I feel there's something lacking which
prevents him from being a "tophit scorer". His voice is sad and can't
reach the depth needed. Just listen to the same songs sung by others
who made it # 1 hits. Their interpretations are so different from his
and still so much better. Here are some examples:
Help Me Make It Through The Night: #1 by Sammi Smith
For The Good Times: #1 by Ray Price
Me and Bobby Mc Gee: # 12 by Roger Miller
Nobody Wins: # 4 by Brenda Lee
Sunday Morning Coming Down: #1 by Johnny Cash
Stranger: #1 by Johnny Duncan
etc. etc. etc.
His own versions of these songs did not even chart
His songs deserve 5 stars, no doubt, but as an overall
qualification I cannot give more than 3
Showing reviews 1-5 of 10
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