Record Label: Oh Boy  Released:2003 All songs by Kris Kristofferson, except where noted

Shipwrecked in the Eighties Darby's Castle Broken Freedom Song Shandy What About Me Here Comes That Rainbow Again Nobody Wins The Race The Captive The Circle Sky King Sandinista Moment of Forever Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down Road Warrior's Lament

Personnel includes: Kris Kristofferson (vocals, guitar); Stephen Bruton (guitar); Keith Carper (bass). Recorded live at The Gershwin Theater, San Francisco, California on July 19, 2002. Press Reno Gazette Journal "4 stars (out of 4) Kris Kristofferson is one of those music legends that’s easy to overlook. Yeah, he was one of the Highwaymen with Waylon, Willie and Johnny. And, yeah, he’s written some great songs: “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “For the Good Times” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” Maybe he flies under the radar because his movie career is even more prominent. Or maybe it’s that he can’t sing worth a damn. His new live album — “Broken Freedom Song: Live From San Francisco” — is a superb reminder of what makes him great. It contains four new songs and 11 lesser-known titles. He’s playful, with “Sky King” (about his days as a helicopter pilot for the Army) and “The Race” (an answer song to “Wind Beneath My Wings” that ends “you are the s--- beneath my shoes”). And he’s incisive, with “The Circle” (about a U.S. bombing of Baghdad by Bill Clinton that killed one of Iraq’s most beloved artists, Layla al-Attar). The between-song stories are priceless, and don’t miss the heartbreakingly optimistic “Here Comes That Rainbow Again” as well as the devastating “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down,” which brings to mind current events: “Righteous killing in the name of freedom/ We’ve been down that sorry road before/ … It’s getting harder to listen to their lies.” — Mark Robison, Calendar editor"   Rolling Stone "3 Stars Country's most infamous songwriting Rhodes Scholar has never been celebrated for his voice -- which is pretty much the definition of "unvarnished." This sparse live set of old and newer works won't change any of that, but his hoarse growl is perfect for these plan, sad songs of love and protest. In "Moment of Forever," when Kristofferson sings, "I'm so glad I got to dance with you," the sense of loss is louder than a bomb." -Pat Blashill   Chicago Sun Times "3 stars There is no magical Songwriting 101 textbook for amateur tunesmiths, but there are numerous instructive and inspiring Kris Kristofferson albums. His latest collection is a stripped-down live disc, recorded a year ago with bassist Keith Carper and longtime guitarist Stephen Bruton, Kristofferson eschews his big hits here, offering four previously unreleased songs along with 11 gems from the past three decades. It's fitting that this album was released by John Prine's Oh Boy label because the emphasis is on folky, exceptionally well-crafted compositions. Like Prine (whom Kristofferson helped discover), the songwriter is not blessed with much of a vocal range, but he compensates with clever lyrics and dignified emotion. Kristofferson served in the Army, and his military experiences have influenced his songwriting, which tends to have a political streak. "What About Me" and "Sandinista" comment on combatants in Central America, and "The Circle" is about Layla al-Attar, an Iraqi artist who was killed by a U.S. missile strike. "Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down" is delivered as an anti-war screed. Levity comes in the form of "Sky King" (a parody of Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John") and "The Race" (a scatological response to "The Wind Beneath My Wings"). Kristofferson's penchant for literary details is evident in the musical short story "Shandy" and the perfect little fable "Darby's Castle." All the songs have a remarkably intimate vibe, invoking images of a campfire hootenanny with a world-class composer. -Bobby Reed Shark Bitten.com "Kris Kristofferson is perhaps better known in popular circles as an actor. However, anyone with any kind of musical acumen recognizes Kristofferson as one of America's songwriting treasures. Through the decades of his quite productive career the Texan songwriter has helped shape the musical tastes of the world. Credited with crowd favorites such as "Sunday Morning Coming Down", "Help Me Make It Through The Night", and "Me and Bobby McGee" among throngs of other hits, Kristofferson has been one of the first songwriters that other musicians cite as their hero. He's run with the Highwaymen, discovered John Prine and Steve Goodman, and scored hits on the big screen with "Payback", "Planet of the Apes", the Blade films, and my personal favorite, "Convoy". Of course we could list his movies, albums, and successes until my pen was out of ink, but his latest effort makes me nearly forget all of that. The newly released Broken Freedom Song on OhBoy is classic Kristofferson live mixed with a few new tunes. The song selection is moody and haunting; the stripped-down arrangements and recording are a perfect match for these songs and in some ways steals the show. There's not a bad song on this album--in fact most songwriters would kill to have written any of them. Yet as with all of his work, there are profound observations and meaning behind each. When speaking of the songs, Kristofferson said, "I like that some of the old songs that are meaningful with current events. ‘Darby’s Castle’ makes me think of post-9/11 America. All the materialism, we're losing the eye on the real prize." That's a theme that is certainly the current beneath this album's surging river: America today seen by those living in the thick of everyday life. This is one of the finest albums of the year in Americana, and for that matter, any genre. It is rare for me to pick up an album and not skip around seeking the tracks I like best, but this album should be listened to from end-to-end as it tells a story. While the songs don't all tell the story from the same vantage, they paint Kristofferson's picture of America in it's gritty glory with all it's flaws before the listener yet heralded for it's realness. I can't recommend this album enough nor find the words to explain how good this man really is."