There's something that happens to songwriters once their legacy is established, their catalog deep and their reputation intact; they return to what it was that drew them to music in the first place. Bruce went folk, Dolly went bluegrass and Johnny reminded us that a good song can be found in the unlikeliest of places.
On Kris Kristofferson's 20th studio album, he has stripped away all of the non-essentials and laid down a personal album that focuses more on sharing his stories and ideas than it does on flashy production and spit-polished lyrics, with the strength of the album lying in his weathered old delivery and the spirit behind the tunes. While Closer to the Bone (New West Records) gets a bit loose lyrically ("the aura of an angel come to show me how to fly/ where the mess don't matter anymore") and his tip of the hat to Sinead O'Connor's activism in “Sister Sinead" is entertaining in an “I can't believe I'm hearing this" kind of way, he has taken the time to write songs with meaning and value to him and the people he cares about.
I imagine that having 19 albums, a collection of awards, appearances in nearly 100 films and induction into two different halls of fame allows you a certain freedom to relax and craft songs from the heart, without chasing the fame train. After all, who's going to question one of the great songwriters of our time? We're happy to sit back and have a deeper listen to the person behind the persona.
Closer to the Bone is a warmly recorded, intimate album that feels as though Kristofferson is sitting on a barstool playing a handful of personal songs to a few close friends.
