Label
	Monument Records
	Release
	1970
	Artist
	Kris Kristofferson
	Rating

You can’t really sit there talking about Kristofferson albums without going to back to where it all started, in 1970. The album initially failed to be success on a commercial basis because a load of the songs on the album had already been covered by the likes of Johnny Cash, Ray Price, Roger Miller, Faron Young, Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Stevens. But when it was released a year later under the name ‘Me & Bobby McGee’ it gained the recognition it deserved.

The album includes the original recordings of classics such as Me & Bobby McGee, Help Me Make It Through The Night, For The Good Times and Sunday Morning Coming Down, all of which were recorded the way he wanted them to sound. Some of the songs on this album, in my opinion, are among the best country songs ever written. To Beat The Devil in particular is one that can never be bettered. He talks through most of the song, but it still has rythm and the flowing lyrics keep you hooked. Just The Other Side of Nowhere is one of my favourites, as is Darby’s Castle, two songs which portray a very real sense of sadness in both lyrics and musical arrangement - something which a lot of the songs on this album seem to do. All the songs are written so beautifully that you can quite happily sit back and enjoy the whole album through and enjoy the songs for what they are, rather than feeling any sadness due to their content.

Up-tempo songs such as Blame It On The Stones, The Law Is For Protection Of The People and Best Of All Possible Worlds show another side to Kristofferson’s musical ability - something which he’d use often in his live shows throughout his career. While writing this I noticed the songs on this album seem to have quite long titles. Could do with Why Me on there to balance things out a bit…