The music they made
together lives on long
after their marriage
fizzled
She's the honey-voiced singer from Tennessee, and he's the Texan troubadour and together, as wife and husband from 1973 to 1981, they made beautiful music.
Well ... almost. I never thought Kris Kristofferson's rough-hewn songwriter's voice quite matched with Rita Coolidge's warm, sensuous one, but he did lend some of his many songs to their respective albums.
"Delta Lady: The Rita Coolidge Anthology" (Hip-O/A&M)
"The Essential Kris Kristofferson" (Columbia/Legacy)
These two recently released double-CD compilations feature several of their collaborations -- "Loving Arms" and the too-cute "A Song I'd Like to Sing" on Coolidge's album, and the country weeper "I'd Rather Be Sorry" on Kristofferson's.
The two met around the time Coolidge cut her third solo album in 1972, "The Lady's Not for Sale," on which she nicely wraps her voice around the Kristofferson-penned title tune.
BEFORE THAT, Coolidge was one of those artists who was blossoming as a solo act on the then artist-friendly A&M label. She made her name as a member of Joe Cocker and Leon Russell's Mad Dogs and Englishmen 1970 tour, specifically in her solo spotlight singing Russell and Bonnie Bramlett's "Superstar" (later a hit for the Carpenters).
Coolidge's first two A&M albums, particularly her sophomore effort, "Nice Feelin'," showcase her low-key but emotive vocal style to fine effect. With production help from David Anderle, highlights from those two albums that are on her anthology include choice covers of "Born Under a Bad Sign" and Dave Mason's "Only You Know and I Know," plus, as a fond memory from my own teenage years, the Marc Benno-penned "Nice Feelin'."
I don't know if Benno ever recorded his own version of his song, but I doubt if it ever got close to the sweet, erotic quality of Coolidge's take. It's definitely one of the sexiest songs I've ever heard. (Kudos go to superb backing by studio and touring band the Dixie Flyers.)
But it was inevitable that Coolidge would eventually record in more slick, revenue-driven conditions, what with the rise of the Adult Contemporary format. 1975's "It's Only Love" was her last truly personal album, although one can start to hear more the L.A. machinations in the recording techniques. Still, songs like the pop-sounding "I Wanted It All," the funky, night-after ruminations of "Late Again" (written by Kristofferson) and the sophisticated intimacy of a piano trio on the standard "Am I Blue?" are reminders that under the right circumstances, Coolidge will always be a singer's singer.
ONE OF the last things Coolidge and Kristofferson recorded together was his "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends," which she describes as an "epiphany," foretelling their parting two years later. That same song closes Kristofferson's collection, one recorded in the late '90s.
While Kristofferson is known to the general public nowadays as a movie actor, at one time around 35 years ago, he was considered one of the finest songwriters around.
The songs from his first two albums, "Kristofferson" and "The Silver Tongued Devil and I," make up most of his collection's first disc, and if you can get by his baritone croak, you'll hear the original versions of songs made hits by other, better singers, mostly in a country vein. Here are "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," "Me and Bobby McGee," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)," "For the Good Times" and "The Pilgrim: Chapter 33."
The man certainly had a way with a lyric, and during a time when singer-songwriters were the thing, his solo albums indulged his musical whims. Luckily, his albums included solid musical backup that offset his limited singing voice.
Much like the second disc of Coolidge's anthology, "The Essential Kris Kristofferson" gets less essential on disc two, although it has some of the better songs from his 1972 album, "Jesus Was a Capricorn," including his last hit, "Why Me."
If I had to choose between the two, I'd easily pick the Coolidge collection -- it's better annotated and is an entertaining career overview. We already know Kristofferson to a certain extent -- it's overdue to rediscover the voice of Rita Coolidge.
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