Kris Kristofferson / Rita Coolidge @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center (September 9, 1973)

Country singer warms chilled fans

by Jim Kunstler, The Knickerbocker News, September 10, 1973

It waş a subdued Kris Kristofferson who crooned through the Arctic blasts Sunday night at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center to a huddled crowd of hungry country music addicts. Also on deck was Kris’s wife of three weeks, Rita Coolidge, who joined him in his songs of hard times, bad luck, folly, drink, God, and broken hearts.

And they did right good—considering that Kris, Rita and the band were bouncing back from a six-week layoff, and considering the natural effects of frost on the average guitar player’s fingertips.

There were moments when Kristofferson stopped in the middle of a song — upset at his own performance. But he is a charmer and was wise enough to crank quickly into something more serviceable without upsetting his very loyal audience.

He was well served by an able back-up band, which was slick and professional, quick to follow Kris’s frequent mood swings and sudden inspirations.

Midway through the first set, he brought on Bob Neuwirth, former Dylan crony, who offered up the ironic “Mercedes Benz” written by the late Janis Joplin. Neuwirth then sang a song about Vincent Van Gogh, the paintег.

Rita Coolidge is a different breed. A former back-up singer for Leon Russell and others, she struck out on her own two years ago with considerable success. Her voice, deep and sonorous like a cello, and superbly controlled, is harnessed to come of the best material churned out of the gigantic music industry.

She and Kris released an album this week called “Full Moon.” They have another one, undelivered. on the contract sheet. They work well together — no hogging, no mugging, no cheap clowning.

As for Kris himself, his comet may be headed back to the outer orbits of the musical solar system. But he is a versatile character — former prize-winning short-story writer, Golden Gloves boxer, Rhodes Scholar and movie actor, among other things. And he should be around, in one incarnation or another, for a long time to come.