This Old Road - Kris Kristofferson
Metascore
74 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 15
  2. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Everything... sounds struggled over, from his ruminative lyrics to that rode-hard-'n'-put-away-wet voice. [10 Mar 2006, p.68]
  2. An album that is not only one of the very best in his career but likely one of the best you'll hear from any singer-songwriter this year. [#13, p.86]
  3. 80
    For a studio album it sounds remarkably like a live one. [Mar 2006, p.90]
  4. 80
    A quietly glorious affair. [Apr 2006, p.110]
  5. A return to his best work. [Apr 2006, p.116]
  6. His most consistently compelling release in decades.
  7. Kristofferson is dead-on here, razor-sharp, economical in his language, and to the bone in his insight.
  8. One of the finest albums in his storied career. [9 Mar 2006, p.88]
  9. If the delivery is occasionally lacking, the writing, as anyone would expect, is This Old Road's selling point, and in that regard the album is undoubtedly a success.
  10. As a singer, Kristofferson remains a hell of an actor, but there is a lot to love about this record. [11 Mar 2006]
  11. His wheels may not leave the traction marks they once did, but the evidence here suggests the ride isn't over yet.
  12. Though the spare, warts-and-all production does his ashy growl no favours, it underlines his authenticity on political songs like Burden of Freedom and Wild American.
  13. Recall's Johnny Cash's recordings with Rick Rubin. [Apr/May 2006, p.111]
  14. So many of these 11 songs are variations on the title track's closing line ('Look at that old photograph, is that really you?') that this sentimental journey becomes one of just a few too many miles.
  15. It's great to have Kristofferson back writing songs again, although it still feels like he's only half the way back.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. [Anonymous]
    9
    Kris and his guitar. No fluff. Honest. Gruff. Music at its purest. Find out why Johnny Cash called him the best song writer in Nashville. Kristofferson shines and cements his status as a legend as he rides off into the sunset. Full Review »
  2. Alan
    9
    I have been an avid fan of KK's music for well over 30 years. I have enjoyed each (original) album, always considering, until now, "Kristofferson" to be his finest work. I have grown to appreciate that singer/songwriters of KK's calibre, should be presented in, what I call, an "intimate" environment. That is to say, a small venue where the performer and the audience can develop a "relationship". "This Old Road" does just that, by removing the "polish" of the fancy studio recordings and providing the listener the true emotion reflected in the voice and the music. I wonder how his earlier albums would have been received, if they had been presented in a similar fashion. Full Review »
  3. klassv
    9
    deep and moving as life