Kristofferson charms with classic songs at The Egg

ALBANY — As a guitarist, Kris Kristofferson has no grace. He plays out of tune, he sticks to the barest handful of keys and he stumbles through simple chord progressions.

As a singer, he doesn't have much more. His voice is as craggy as his 72-year-old face, and his ability to hit the notes he's aiming for varies from day to day.

As a songwriter, though, he has no peer.

And as a spirit, well, as a spirit, he simply soars.

Kristofferson entranced a healthy house of fans at The Egg Saturday night, rolling out one staggering, absolutely classic song after another.

He didn't really finish any of the songs. He just stopped — often midchord — and said "Thank you" as he cracked a beaming smile.

But those little tics and foibles didn't bother anyone, they just added to the charm.

When Kristofferson finally broke Nashville in the early '70s, after half a decade of struggling and sweeping floors, he did it with songs that married simple yet sturdy melodies with literate, emotionally searing lyrics.

If Hank Williams had lived long enough, he might have written "For The Good Times," "Help Me Make It Through The Night" or "Me and Bobby McGee." But he didn't, so Kristofferson had to write them instead.

Kristofferson sang those songs Saturday, as well as "Darby's Castle," "Nobody Wins," "Jesus Was A Capricorn" and "Broken Freedom Song." The list could go on to fill up this page and another. Each was a jewel.

He prefaced "Here Comes That Rainbow Again" by noting that it was Johnny Cash's favorite song. He also noted that Cash inspired "To Beat The Devil." And near the end of the show he offered "Sunday Morning Coming Down," which was a huge hit for Cash in 1970.

Kristofferson is rarely mentioned in the same Mount Rushmore tones as Cash, and that's just wrong. He's right up there with his old friend, as well as with many of the greats he nodded to in "The Final Attraction," peers like Waylon Jennings, Shel Silverstein, Mickey Newbury, and yeah, Hank Williams, too.

Kristofferson was clearly having a good time in Albany. He laughed occasionally at his own mistakes, cracked asides in the middle of songs ("Well, it ain't Dylan, but it's all we've got") and marveled at the warmth of fans despite the cold outside.

As if to prove that he's still kicking even as he enters deeper into senior territory, he featured plenty of numbers from his most recent album, "This Old Road," including the title track, the stark "In The News" and the seminal "Pilgrim's Progress."

He's at work on a new album with producer Don Was between road trips. Hopefully he'll bring those new songs back to The Egg when he's ready.

We'll be waiting.

Michael Eck is a freelance writer from Albany and a frequent contributor to the Times Union.

Music review

KRIS KRISTOFFERSON

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: The Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany

Length: 2 hours, 10 minutes; one intermission

Highlights: Kris Kristofferson!

The crowd: Most were just a little younger than the singer.


Source: timesunion.com