''Closer to the Bone'' is the twentieth studio album by

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...

. The album was released on September 29, 2009 on the

New West New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...

record label. Kristofferson has said: 'Closer to the Bone'' is a reflective album. It's about making sense of life at this end of the game." It was originally entitled ''Starlight and Stone'', but Kristofferson changed it to ''Closer to the Bone'' as he felt like it was more descriptive of the meaning of the album: "...the closer to the bone you are and the closer to the truth." The song, "Good Morning John" was written in the 1970s and is about

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

. Kristofferson wrote "Sister Sinead" as a tribute to

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want What ...

. The album is dedicated to

Stephen Bruton Turner Stephen Bruton (November 7, 1948 – May 9, 2009) was an American actor and musician. Background Born in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, he moved with his family to Texas at the age of two. He fell into the Fort Worth music scene after ...

Track listing

(All songs by Kris Kristofferson, except as noted) #"Closer to the Bone" #"From Here to Forever" (Kristofferson,

, Glen Clark) #"Holy Woman" #"Starlight and Stone" #"Sister Sinead" #"Hall of Angels" #"Love Don't Live Here Anymore" #"Good Morning John" #"Tell Me One More Time" #"Let the Walls Come Down" #"The Wonder" #"I Hate Your Ugly Face"

Personnel

*Kris Kristofferson - vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica *

Rami Jaffee Rami Jaffee (born March 11, 1969) is an American musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the rock band Foo Fighters, whom he initially joined in a touring and session capacity in 2005. Jaffee has contributed to six of the band's studi ...

- keyboards *

- guitar,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, backing vocals *

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer and record executive. Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was (Not Was). In later years he produced s ...

- bass guitar *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".Howard Sounes. ''Down ...

- drums

Charts

Notes

External links

Kris Kristofferson, New West Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Closer To The Bone Kris Kristofferson albums 2009 albums Albums produced by Don Was New West Records albums