Metro has an interesting interview with Kris posted, asking him everything from why he takes so much time between record releases to what his favorite film experiences were. Here's his response to the former, which suggests 'This Old Road' was recorded rather quickly: "I was involved with different things and there was no great demand for records. The last record was very encouraging. I hadn’t had that great of a response in 30 years. And I thought it was just a demo act; I cut it in an hour and a half, and they left it pretty bare."
Kris and Mickey Rourke star in the music video for the new single by John Rich, "Shuttin' Detroit Down." It's the first solo effort by Rich, who is also half of the successful country duo Big & Rich. According to a news release, Rich personally asked Kris to participate and Rourke to participate. “I cannot think of two guys who have pulled themselves up by the boot straps time and time again, blue collar level superstars than Mickey Rourke and Kris Kristofferson,” Rich said in the release. “Two of the all time great American artists in what they do, and the faces that these guys have, they have faces that tell a story. It is a humbling experience working with these guys. I am way out of my league.”
Here's a great performance from Kris' appearance on Elvis Costello's show "Spectacle" earlier this year. I can't remember where I read about it, but I believe this was a song Costello and Roseanne Cash had written part of when Kris was asked to contribute. Here, all three of them perform it.
Its track listing looks suspiciously similar/identical to numerous other previously-released Kris compilations, but Amazon is showing a new Kris greatest hits CD coming out Tuesday. The cover may be the only thing new about it - I've never seen the photo used in it published before. The CD goes for $10.49 on Amazon.
Here's a strange one: The New York Times reports today that a selection of Kris' greatest hits was among the music played for detainees at Guantánamo. The story is actually sourcing a 2006 book by Jon Ronson called "The Men Who Stare at Goats." Former detainee Jamal al-Harith tells Ronson he was subject to recordings of "loud screeches and bags, 'jumbled noises,'" and, at least once, Kris music. "According to Mr. Harith, an interrogator baffled him by playing CDs including one by a Fleetwood Mac cover band, another with a selection of Kris Kristofferson’s greatest hits, and an album by Matchbox Twenty," Robert Mackey writes for the Times. Here's the relevant excerpt from the book, which is apparently slated to be a feature film late this year:
"When the CD was finished, (the interrogator) came back into the room and said, 'You might like this.' And he put on Kris Kristofferson's greatest hits. Normal volume. And he left the room again. And then, when that was finished, he came back and said, 'Here's a Matchbox 20 CD.'" "Was he doing it for entertainment purposes?" I asked. "It's interrogation," said Jamal. "I don't think they were trying to entertain me."
* The Times of Trenton, N.J. recently ran a great interview with Kris that, among other topics, touched on his forthcoming new studio album. Kris says its theme mirrors that of the 2006 predecessor "This Old Road": "It's not far different from the last one," Kris says. "I think every album that I've done since I started was. The songs were kind of my own record of what's gone down in that time period. And I think at this end of the road, most of the stuff is pretty reflective. I noticed that Dylan's is. You tend to look back over the big picture." * In a story from late last month on myCentralJersey.com, Kris talks about insecurities while performing, telling staff writer Mary Ann Bourbeau he's "not a great singer or a great musician" and that he's "always nervous, at least into the first song." Kris also talks about his upcoming shows with country music legend Merle Haggard. "I'm opening up for him," Kris says in the story. "I told him, 'Let's settle this right now. I'm never going on stage after you.'" * And, in a Times of London profile of Tom Jones, Jones reveals that Elvis Presley was particularly impressed with Kris' "Why Me Lord." “... (Elvis) would sing it continuously. Once he got hold of one that he liked he would never stop. I would try and get out of the suite, because sometimes he would stay on in Vegas, and I was having to do two shows a night, and I'd be singing with him and I'd say, ‘I've got to go. The sun's coming up and I've got to rest my voice because I've been singing all night with you.' He'd say OK, and I'd go, and just when I got to the door he'd start again. 'Uh-why me Lord, uh - what have I uh-ever done ...' We'd already done it 30 or 40 times.”
Seeing Kris perform at the Historic Sixth & I Synagogue was well worth a flight in from Indiana and hours of waiting in chilly weather for good seats.
With portable chairs, a battery-powered boombox and a full collection of Kris CDs in hand, we arrived a little after 10 a.m. That was about nine hours before doors would open for the general admission show and well before we needed to be there. But, despite a wind chill that hovered around freezing, we had a good time seeing other Kris fans, chatting with a police officer assigned to the event and even meeting Kris when he came out to shake hands and sign autographs.
And after such a long wait, the show didn't disappoint. I tried to keep track of the setlist, and even took note of some of Kris' comments, though there's probably a few songs I missed. But here it is, mostly correct:
- Shipwrecked in the '80s [Kris, to loud applause, said 'this goes out to the veterans of Vietnam and Iraq opposing the war in Iraq.' He also flashed a smile when an audience member yelled out 'so long Tonto' like he does on the version on Repossessed.] - Darby's Castle - Me and Bobby McGee - Best of All Possible Worlds ['I wrote this a long time ago,' Kris joked after singing the 'there's still a lot of wine and lonely girls' line. He started to do the harmonica solo at the end, realized he had the wrong one on and then said 'If I was Roger Miller, I'd think of a great scat to go out on. But I'm not, so I'll just quit,' finishing the song right then.] - In the News [Kris, apparently with a cold, joked after this one about how everyone had paid to see a concert and ended up seeing 'an old fart blow his nose.'] - Here Comes That Rainbow Again [Kris dedicated this one to Johnny Cash, telling how Cash' autobiography reveals it was his favorite Kris song.] - Johnny Lobo - Help Me Make It Through The Night - Casey's Last Ride [Kris dedicated this one to Edward Wisemiller, his creative writing professor at Pomona College. Wisemiller, 93, is apparently sick. 'I want to send out good prayers for him if you all are into that,' Kris said. 'He got me a Rhodes Scholarship and a lot of things I didn't deserve.'] - Nobody Wins [Kris joked about George Bush and Dick Cheney singing this to each other in the shower.] - The Heart - From Here to Forever - They Killed Him - Loving Her Was Easier
INTERMISSION
- Jesus Was A Capricorn ['It ain't Dylan, but it's all we got.'] - Sister Sinead [This was the only unrecorded song played all night. After it was finished, Kris mentioned how it was written about Sinead O'Connor at the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary concert in 1992, during which she tore up a photo of the pope and caused a huge uproar. He then said 'I mention Dylan so many times because he's my hero.' As an aside, the Washington Post apparently does not approve of Kris performing this song and seems to have decided that there were 'befuddled' audience members who didn't appreciate Kris straying even the slightest from his classics. I didn't see these people.] - Duvalier's Dream - Just the Other Side of Nowhere [Kris got a few laughs when he stuck in 'Not D.C.' following one of the lines in this one.] - Jody & the Kid - The Pilgrim: Chapter 33 [Kris said how Johnny Cash thought he had written this song about him. Someone in the audience shouted out 'did you?' to which Kris replied Cash was one of many people it was about.] - To Beat the Devil - This Old Road [Kris seemed very pleased when, by the end of this song, the audience was singing the 'Ain't you come a long way home' refrain with him.] - The Promise - The Final Attraction - Sunday Morning Comin' Down - The Silver Tongued Devil & I
ENCORE
- For the Good Times - Love is the Way - Moment of Forever - Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends
Like I said, there may be one or two songs missed or mis-ordered in there, but that's a pretty accurate rundown of a great performance. As always - whether from this show or any other on tour - send your photos, videos, thoughts, reviews, etc. to glesnick@gmail.com and I'll publish them here.
I'll be posting a complete report of Kris' great show at the Sixth & I synagogue tonight, but in the meantime, here' a few photos and a copy of the official set list given to members of the crew (Kris strayed from this some, though it's mostly correct). Check back later for more later today.
It's a little after 10 am - only 9 hours until the doors open at Kris' general admission show at the Sixth @ I synagogue in DC. A very friendly security guard tried to tell us it was too cold to wait, but we will be here from now till the end of the show. No one else is here yet - come out and join us. But dress warm!
