The Austin Sessions

1	Me and Bobby McGee / Jackson Browne 4:31
2	Sunday Morning Coming Down / Steve Earle 5:20
3	For the Good Times / Matraca Berg 3:59
4	The Silver Tongued Devil and I 3:37
5	Help Me Make It Through The Night / Vince Gill 4:10
6	Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again) / Marc Cohn 5:18
7	To Beat the Devil 4:30
8	Who's To Bless And Who's To Blame 3:29
9	Why Me / Alison Krauss 2:58
10	Nobody Wins / Catie Curtis 4:05
11	The Pilgrim, Chapter 33 2:41
12	Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends / Mark Knopfler 2:38

Barnes & Noble

Better known in recent years for his acting than his music, Rhodes scholar turned country outlaw Kris Kristofferson penned songs that formed a soundtrack for the early '70s. Janis Joplin's signature tune, "Me and Bobbie McGee," was Kris's; so was Johnny Cash's grim picture of a man on the edge of life's wasteland, "Sunday Morning Coming Down." For these sessions, Kristofferson surrounded himself with friends and admirers -- Steve Earle, Mark Knopfler, Catie Curtis, Jackson Browne, and Stephen Bruton among them -- in an Austin studio to record the songs that made him famous. THE AUSTIN SESSIONS revisits his most complex work stripped down to bone and sinew. "The Pilgrim: Chapter 33" is something of an autobiography rendered in Kristofferson's trademark gravelly voice; "For the Good Times" is a hauntingly beautiful and painful vignette with harmony vocals by Matraca Berg; and the classic "Why Me?" features harmonizing by Vince Gill and Alison Krauss. Looking back on his career with some of today's top singers and songwriters, Kristofferson's THE AUSTIN SESSIONS is both heartfelt and illuminating. Kerry Dexter

All Music Guide

For the follow-up to Moment of Forever, his first set of new original songs in years, Kris Kristofferson decided to record a set of stripped-down new versions of his classic songs. This project, released on Atlantic Records and entitled The Austin Sessions, was a star-studded affair, featuring harmony vocals from Jackson Browne, Steve Earle, Matraca Berg, Vince Gill, Marc Cohn, Alison Krauss, Catie Curtis, and Mark Knopfler. In one sense, it's easy to question why Kristofferson needed to record these songs again, since much of his catalog seems to consist of reinterpretations of these songs, but taken on its own terms, it's a good listen. In a way, Kristofferson's voice -- which never had too much range, even at its peak -- sounds better now that its older; the ragged edges and wear give it more character, which lend character to the songs. Ultimately, The Austin Sessions isn't a major addition to his catalog, but there's enough warmth and personality to these recordings to make it worth a listen for longtime fans. Stephen Thomas Erlewine