Personnel includes: Kris Kristofferson (vocals, guitar); Steve Burton, Fred Carter Jr., Johnny Christopher, James Colvard, Ray Edenton, Chris Gantry, Mac Gayden, Steve Gibson, Jerry Kennedy, Mark Knopfler, Dennis Linde, Grady Martin, Jerry McGee, Wayne Moss, Jerry Shook, Billy Swan, Fred Tackett, John "Bucky" Wilkin, Chip Youn (guitar); Peter Drake, Paul Franklin, Weldon Myrick (steel guitar); David Briggs, Glen Clark (keboards); Dennis Belfield (bass); Kenny Buttrey (drums); Bobbye Hall (percussion).
Producers includes: Fred Foster, David Anderle, Nancy Carlen, Dennis Linde, Norbert Putam.
Compilation producer: Gregg Geller.
Recorded between 1969 & 1985. Includes liner notes by Jim Bessman.
Personnel: Kris Kristofferson (guitar, background vocals); Jerry McGee (guitar, dobro, mandolin, sitar, background vocals); Fred Tackett (guitar, mandolin); Mark Knopfler, Stephen Bruton, Billy Swan (guitar, background vocals); Chip Young, Chris Gantry, Dennis Linde, Fred Carter, Jr., Grady Martin, John "Bucky" Wilkin, Jim Colvard, Jerry Kennedy, John Willis, Johnny Christopher, Mac Gayden, Ray Edenton, Wayne Moss, Steve Gibson, Jerry Shook (guitar); Paul Franklin, Pete Drake, Weldon Myrick (steel guitar); Josh Graves, Norman Blake (dobro); Norman Bruton (mandolin); Tommy Jackson, Buddy Spicher (fiddle); Charlie McCoy (harmonica, horns); Nick DeCaro (accordion); Don Sheffield, Chuck Findley, Dick Hyde, Darrell Leonard, Dwight Smith, Earl Lon Price, Harrison Calloway, Jackie Kelso, Jim Horn, Harvey Thompson, Ronnie Eades (horns); Donnie Fritts, Mike Utley (keyboards, background vocals); David Briggs , Glen Clark, Jim Cox, John Harris , Shane Keister, Bobby Emmons, Bobby Wood (keyboards); Gene Chrisman, Kenneth A. Buttrey, Andy Newmark, Sammy Creason, Jerry Carrigan (drums); Farrell Morris, Bobbye Hall (percussion); Clydie King, June Page, Sherlie Matthews, D. Bergen White, Donna Rhodes, Terry Dearmore, Don Gant, Jack Skinner, James Cason, Herb Pedersen, Randy Cutlers, Allan Wald, Benny Whitehead, Gary Busey, Sandra Chalmers, John Beland, Larry Gatlin, Larry Murray, Alan Rush, Mentor Williams, Mickey Newbury, Ray C. Walker, Rita Coolidge, Sammi Smith, Terry Paul, Venetta Fields, Gordon Stoker, Hoyt Hawkins, Millie Kirkham, Buzz Cason, Byron Berline, Charles Chalmers (background vocals).
Recording information: 1969-1983.
Photographers: David Gahr; Jim Marshall .
The two-CD Essential Kris Kristofferson compilation isn't a balanced retrospective of his lengthy career, heavily emphasizing his 1969-1971 recordings, which in fact comprise all of disc one. And it doesn't represent many of his albums at all (particularly the ones not done for Monument or Columbia), including just one post-1985 track. On the other hand, for the vast majority of Kristofferson listeners who want a best-of that offers more than a single-disc greatest-hits anthology can, it serves its purpose well. His best-known songs are here, in the original Kristofferson-sung versions: "Me and Bobby McGee," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," "Why Me," and "For the Good Times." His earliest Monument records are sampled particularly deeply, with no less than nine of the 12 songs from his 1970 debut, Kristofferson, appearing. Still, there's no doubt that his early work was his most popular and best, and the disproportionate representation allows for the appearance of good songs from the era that escape skimpier greatest-hits collections. And there's no doubt that disc two, devoted almost entirely to post-1971 material, is less impressive and consistent, not to mention more haphazardly organized in its chronology, with the 1972 track "Why Me" appearing as the second-to-last cut. Room's also made for a few songs Kristofferson recorded with others, those being "I'd Rather Be Sorry" (a duet with Rita Coolidge), "Highwayman" (done with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash), and "How Do You Feel About Foolin' Around" (on which he paired with Willie Nelson). ~ Richie Unterberger
Drunkards, free spirits, wayward travelers, and lady-killers populate the songs of Kris Kristofferson, who was a wandering soul himself before becoming a professional musician. Always one to appeal to country and rock fans alike, Kristofferson is a songwriter's songwriter, as illustrated by this double-disc collection. The first disc is primarily comprised of nine tracks from his landmark 1970 debut, KRISTOFFERSON, and seven cuts from 1971's equally strong THE SILVER TONGUED DEVIL AND I. These include "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," and "For the Good Times"--all hits for other artists, though Kristofferson's weathered, raspy versions feel definitive.
Disc two culls tracks from more varied sources, though a mere five of 19 go beyond 1979. It opens with 1972?s narcotic "Border Lord," and continues through four tracks from 1972's JESUS WAS A CAPRICORN (including "I'd Rather Be Sorry," a duet with his then-wife, Rita Coolidge), "How Do You Feel About Foolin' Around" (with Willie Nelson, from the 1986 film SONGWRITER), and a 1985 cut from the country supergroup Highwaymen (with Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings). A strong collection for the true fan, or a fantastic intro for the uninitiated, ESSENTIAL is a concise overview of this groundbreaking songwriter's work.

Q (p.134) - 4 stars out of 5 - "One of the most insightful country writers of the '70s..."
Uncut (p.116) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[H]e brought an outsider's perspective to Music City's staid conservatism that drew from the confessional folk of Fred Neil and the freewheelin' narrative of Dylan."
Mojo (Publisher) (2/04, p.114) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[G]athering the best of his '70s solo sides and making a persuasive case for him as one of country's great storytellers."