Poet, Pilgrim, Preacher and Prophet

"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose"

Many may be familiar with this line, without potentially knowing where it comes from. Other may know it from Janis Joplin and her hit 'Me & Bobby McGee'. But only few may know, that the song was written by Kris Kristofferson.

Born and raised in Texas, Rhodes scholarship in Oxford (England), Helicopter pilot in the US Army eventually brought Kris Kristofferson to Nashville in 1965 to try his luck at music. Being very shy on stage, he was more interested in combining his love of Hank Williams and his interest in literature as a songwriter than being a singer on stage.

Soon he got a reputation in Nashville for writing songs in a new poetic style that talked about sexuality very open and yet spoke directly to people in the stories he told. While he was trying to meet ends in Nashville, he managed to meet Johnny Cash. The way he made him listen to one of his songs by landing with a helicopter in Johnny Cash's yard, has become legend.

But when Cash recorded the sad song about a lonely sunday morning after a night of too much drinking ('Sunday Morning Coming Down') and took it to Number 1, many doors opened for Kristofferson, eventually leading to a recording contract with Fred Foster and Monument Records.

And even though the charismatic Kris Kristofferson never was that successful as a recording artist, he became one of the most respected songwriters in American music history. Some reputed 450 artists covered his songs, among them such stars as Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Al Green, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gladys Knight, Joan Baez, Peggy Lee, Roger Miller, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Dylan, Andy Williams, Bryan Ferry, Mariah Carey, John Holt, or Bryan Adams (on his 2014 album).


Besides that he can also show off a quite remarkable resume as an actor on the big screen, although again, he never quite made it to the top. After big successes, for roles in 'Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid', 'A Star Is Born' and 'Convoy' the film project of 'Heaven's Gate' should have been the breakthrough for Kris Kristofferson into the big league. However the movie became one of the biggest fiascos in movie history and thus abruptly ended his career more or less. As a side comment, years later, in particular in Europe, the movie gained recognition as a "master piece produced at the wrong time in the wrong place", as it was not patriotic enough for American audiences at that time.

In September of 2013, Kris Kristofferson, at the age of 77, performed his best songs in a London church, named Union Chapel, which has made a name itself as a location for live music. Well known production company 'Abbey Road Live Here Now' recorded and produced the event in high quality and since October 2014, the result is officially available as a double live album, as well as digitally.

"An Evening With Kris Kristofferson The Pilgrim" offers 34 of the the best Kris Kristofferson songs presented by the man himself. Kristofferson fascinates in many ways, but in particular with his voice. However musically it never really was a singing voice and in many ways hindered his career as an artist. But when listening to him talking, the deep, crackling and resonating sound puts one under his spell.

And that's what the album offers: simplistic accoustic music (an accoustic guitar and some harmonica), lots of atmosphere (a faint echo in the sound transports the church space, as well as the audience that enthusiastically joins in between songs) and most of all, lots of the human Kris Kristofferson, who is more telling stories than actually singing.

But that's exactly what makes this project so special. For most of the songs, we know the melody and it is running in the back of our minds anyways, so we can fully focus on the voice and emotions, that the poet Kris Kristofferson is trying to convey.

And there are many wise words in the lyrics about goodbye, mortality, fate and fortune, and even some political issues, however always focusing on the human aspect. There may never be an official autobiography of the the life of Kris Kristofferson, considering that his last album was titled "Feeling Mortal".

Even if this is the case, his songs will always remain his most outspoken legacy and will keep giving us insights into our own lives - and teach us also something about the life of Kris Kristofferson.