Kris Kristofferson: Surreal Thing : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

In the early years of his career, Kris Kristofferson's down-and-out tales were often quite affecting slices of reality; if his own versions paled compared to covers by the likes of Ray Price, one was inclined to allow the author the benefit of the doubt. But by now, the only suitable term for Kristofferson's records is sluggish.

Since hooking up with Rita Coolidge, Kristofferson has learned to sing adequately, but that has cost him the one edge his vocals had—their vulnerability. Now, one listens to his albums only to see if there are any tracks someone else might pick up. On Surreal Thing, it's hard to find any. Both "Eddie the Eunuch" and "If You Don't Like Hank Williams" sound like half-baked throwaways. (The former is an anti-rock-critic song: "Eddie makes a damn good livin', baby/Putting other people down/Eddie couldn't ever forgive them, baby/'Cause he wasn't born Jackson Browne.") The one song that's interesting lyrically—"The Golden Idol"—was written in 1967, and even "Idol" is bogged down by an ill-fitting, harsh arrangement. The remaining songs cover subjects that Kristofferson has explored previously and much more interestingly. One hopes Kristofferson delays his next album until he has something new—or at least different—to say.