Released 10 years ago
The Complete Monument & Columbia Album Collection
Kris Kristofferson · 2016
648 min · 200 tracks · country music
A rich tapestry of storytelling woven with heartfelt melodies and poignant lyrics that define the essence of American folk and country music.
Top tracks — play these first
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Me and Bobby McGee Start here — This track exemplifies Kristofferson's ability to blend narrative depth with catchy melodies, becoming one of his most recognizable songs. Its themes of love and loss resonate deeply, making it a timeless classic.
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Sunday Mornin’ Coming Down — The song paints a vivid picture of solitude and reflection, showcasing Kristofferson’s skill in capturing complex emotions within simple verses. Its introspective nature has made it an enduring favorite.
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Help Me Make It Through the Night — This track stands out for its intimate portrayal of vulnerability and longing, highlighting Kristofferson's unique voice in expressing human fragility. Its widespread acclaim underscores its cultural relevance.
Elevation
Our rating, out of 100 — and why.
AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.
This collection showcases strong songwriting and varied storytelling, though its cohesion suffers from the sheer volume of tracks.
What we noticed
- The collection features a wide range of storytelling styles, with tracks that shift from personal narratives to broader social commentary.
- Many songs utilize a simple verse-chorus structure, allowing the lyrics to take center stage and engage the listener.
- Several tracks incorporate instrumental interludes that enhance the emotional weight of the lyrics without overshadowing them.
- The sequencing includes both well-known hits and deeper cuts, creating a balance between familiar melodies and less commercial material.
- Composition 25% of the score
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8/10
- Craft 20% of the score
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7/10
- Durability 25% of the score
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8/10
- Distinctiveness 18% of the score
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7/10
- Sequencing 12% of the score
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6/10
the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics
production, performance, arrangement
whether it rewards returning to it
whether it sounds like itself
running order, pacing, length
Significant within its genre. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.
Is this for you?
Good fit if you like
- heartfelt storytelling with depth
- wave-like pacing for reflection
- for long drives
- evocative themes of americana
- ideal for nostalgic afternoons
Maybe skip if you
- prefer instant gratification tracks
- seek high-energy party music
Where this album fits
- In the catalog
- Deep Cut — A comprehensive collection that showcases the artist's extensive catalog without being a single entry point.
- Career context
- When The Complete Monument & Columbia Album Collection was released in 2016, Kris Kristofferson was already an established figure in American music, known for his profound songwriting and iconic hits. This collection serves as a comprehensive retrospective, encapsulating his journey from his debut self-titled album in 1970 to later works, showcasing the evolution of his narrative style and musical prowess over decades.
- Stylistic neighbors
- Townes Van Zandt· John Prine· Guy Clark
Tracklist
Disc 1
- 1 Blame It on the Stones 2:45
- 2 To Beat the Devil 4:42
- 3 Me and Bobby McGee Start here 4:18
- 4 The Best of All Possible Worlds 3:01
- 5 Help Me Make It Through the Night 2:20
- 6 The Law Is for Protection of the People 2:39
- 7 Casey’s Last Ride 3:35
- 8 Just the Other Side of Nowhere 3:38
- 9 Darby’s Castle 3:19
- 10 For the Good Times 3:25
- 11 Duvalier’s Dream 2:58
- 12 Sunday Mornin’ Coming Down 4:31
Disc 2
- 1 The Silver Tounged Devil and I 4:19
- 2 Jody and the Kid 3:06
- 3 Billy Dee 2:57
- 4 Good Christian Soldier 3:22
- 5 Breakdown (A long Way From Home) 2:44
- 6 Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again) 3:47
- 7 The Taker 3:15
- 8 When I Loved Her 3:03
- 9 The Pilgrim-Chapter 33 3:12
- 10 Epitaph (Black and Blue) 3:24
Disc 3
- 1 Josie 3:12
- 2 Burden of Freedom 3:22
- 3 Stagger Mountain Tragedy 2:53
- 4 Border Lord 3:38
- 5 Somebody Nobody Knows 3:36
- 6 Little Girl Lost 3:10
- 7 Smokey Put the Sweat on Me 3:10
- 8 When She’s Wrong 4:47
- 9 Gettin’ By, High and Strange 2:37
- 10 Kiss the World Goodbye 3:02
Disc 4
- 1 Jesus Was a Capricorn (Owed to John Prine) 2:30
- 2 Nobody Wins 3:08
- 3 It Sure Was (Love) 2:54
- 4 Enough for You 3:08
- 5 Help Me 3:25
- 6 Jesse Younger 2:42
- 7 Give It Time to Be Tender 3:29
- 8 Out of Mind, Out of Sight 3:01
- 9 Sugar Man 4:01
- 10 Why Me 3:28
Disc 5
- 1 Same Old Song 3:15
- 2 Broken Freedom Song 5:24
- 3 Shandy (The Perfect Disguise) 3:38
- 4 Star-Spangled Bummer (Whores Die Hard) 3:35
- 5 Lights of Magdala 3:42
- 6 I May Smoke Too Much 3:08
- 7 One for the Money 3:05
- 8 Late Again (Gettin’ Over You) 3:34
- 9 Stairway to the Bottom 3:26
- 10 Rescue Mission 5:22
- 11 Smile at Me Again 3:33
- 12 Rock and Roll Time 4:55
Disc 6
- 1 Lover Please 3:03
- 2 We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds 3:19
- 3 Dakota (The Dancing Bear) 3:06
- 4 What’cha Gonna Do 2:48
- 5 The Things I Might Have Been 3:09
- 6 Slow Down 3:06
- 7 Rain 3:41
- 8 Sweet Susannah 2:33
- 9 I’ve Got to Have You 3:31
- 10 I’d Rather Be Sorry 3:11
- 11 Crippled Crow 3:14
Disc 7
- 1 The Year 2000 Minus 25 3:38
- 2 If It’s All the Same to You 3:14
- 3 Easy, Come On 3:38
- 4 Stallion 4:44
- 5 Rocket to Stardom 3:33
- 6 Stranger 3:07
- 7 Who’s to Bless and Who’s to Blame 3:32
- 8 Don’t Cuss the Fiddle 3:24
- 9 Silver (The Hunger) 8:16
Disc 8
- 1 You Show Me Yours (And I’ll Show You Mine) 3:38
- 2 Killing Time 3:43
- 3 The Prisoner 4:25
- 4 Eddie the Eunuch 2:56
- 5 It’s Never Gonna Be the Same Again 3:54
- 6 I Got a Life of My Own 3:36
- 7 The Stranger I Love 4:10
- 8 The Golden Idol 3:04
- 9 Bad Love Story 3:31
- 10 If You Don’t Like Hank Williams 3:31
Disc 9
- 1 Risky Bizness 2:35
- 2 How Do You Feel (About Foolin' Around) 3:20
- 3 Forever in Your Love 3:16
- 4 The Sabre and the Rose 5:16
- 5 Spooky Lady’s Revenge 3:50
- 6 Easter Island 3:42
- 7 The Bigger the Fool (The Harder the Fall) 3:33
- 8 Lay Me Down (And Love the World Away) 2:53
- 9 The Fighter 3:42
- 10 Living Legend 4:36
Disc 10
- 1 Shake Hands With the Devil 3:27
- 2 Prove It to You One More Time Again 2:45
- 3 Whiskey, Whiskey 3:48
- 4 Lucky in Love 2:42
- 5 Seadream 3:03
- 6 Killer Barracuda 3:03
- 7 Come Sundown 3:40
- 8 Michoacan 3:00
- 9 Once More With Feeling 2:50
- 10 Fallen Angel 4:10
Disc 11
- 1 Magdalene 3:42
- 2 Star-Crossed 3:29
- 3 Blessing in Disguise 3:26
- 4 The Devil to Pay 3:23
- 5 Daddy’s Song 5:03
- 6 Snakebit 3:32
- 7 Nobody Loves Anybody Anymore 3:08
- 8 Maybe You Heard 2:59
- 9 The Last Time 4:13
- 10 I’ll Take Any Chance I Can With You 3:29
Disc 12
- 1 If You Don’t Like Hank Williams 2:09
- 2 The Law Is for Protection of the People 3:29
- 3 Band Introductions 1:28
- 4 The Pilgrim-Chapter 33 3:26
- 5 Duvalier's Dream 2:53
- 6 Help Me Make It Through the Night 3:00
- 7 Shake Hands With the Devil 2:49
- 8 To Beat the Devil 4:43
- 9 Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again) 3:34
- 10 Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down 4:46
- 11 Me and Bobby McGee Start here 4:47
Disc 13
- 1 Duvalier's Dream 2:55
- 2 When I Loved Her 3:24
- 3 Jesus Was a Capricorn (Owed to John Prine) 2:16
- 4 Same Old Song 3:17
- 5 Band Introductions 2:23
- 6 Smile at Me Again 2:39
- 7 Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again) 3:43
- 8 Casey’s Last Ride 3:55
- 9 Billy Dee 2:49
- 10 The Law Is for Protection of the People 2:26
- 11 Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down 3:01
- 12 Help Me Make It Through the Night 2:55
Disc 14
- 1 Late John Garfield Blues 2:53
- 2 Jesus Was a Capricorn (Owed to John Prine) 1:58
- 3 Nobody Wins 5:40
- 4 Jesse Younger 2:35
- 5 Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again) 3:37
- 6 Late Again (Gettin’ Over You) 3:39
- 7 Out of Mind, Out of Sight 3:02
- 8 Sugar Man 3:48
- 9 Billy Dee 2:38
- 10 The Law Is for Protection of the People 2:26
- 11 For the Good Times 2:17
- 12 Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down 2:51
- 13 Okie From Muskogee 2:06
- 14 Border Lord 3:57
- 15 Funny How Time Slips Away 2:42
- 16 Night Life 2:38
- 17 Me and Paul 2:49
- 18 Mountain Dew 2:52
- 19 The Pilgrim-Chapter 33 2:51
- 20 Rainbow Road 3:18
- 21 It Sure Was (Love) 3:36
- 22 Help Me 3:56
- 23 Me and Bobby McGee Start here 5:32
- 24 Whiskey, Whiskey 3:49
Disc 15
- 1 Golden Idol 2:23
- 2 Killing Time 2:31
- 3 Hello in There 3:32
- 4 The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me 3:24
- 5 Shadows of Her Mind 3:13
- 6 The Lady's Not for Sale 3:27
- 7 From the Bottle to the Bottom 2:58
- 8 The Bandits of Beverly Hills
- 9 Here Come That Rainbow Agin 2:53
- 10 The Bigger the Fool, the Harder the Fall
- 11 Help Me Make It Through the Night
- 12 Born to Love Me 4:19
- 13 Put It Off Until Tomorrow 2:26
- 14 Ping Pong 2:20
- 15 Casey’s Last Ride
- 16 To Make a Long Story Short, She’s Gone
- 17 How Do You Feel About Foolin’ Around 2:46
- 18 Eye of the Storm
- 19 Crossing the Border 5:11
- 20 Down to Her Socks 2:51
- 21 Under the Gun 6:18
- 22 The Fatal Attraction 3:33
- 23 I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
Disc 16
- 1 Gypsy Rose and I Don't Give a Curse 3:07
- 2 I Believe That I Believe 2:43
- 3 Born to Die Alone 2:23
- 4 The Hurricane and the Helicopter 2:19
- 5 Bread for the Body (And Food for the Soul) 2:47
- 6 I Can Be Had 2:32
- 7 The Table, the Glass, the Wine 2:16
- 8 A Stitch in the Hand 2:22
- 9 File It Under Sick and Wrong 2:24
- 10 Where She Stops Nobody Knows 3:22
- 11 Lonesome Way of Dying 2:45
- 12 Good for Nothing Blues 2:17
- 13 Fallen Woman 2:43
- 14 No One’s Gonna Miss Me 2:57
- 15 Hitting Close to Home 2:38
- 16 Nobody Owns My Soul 3:01
What to play next
The Cedar Creek Sessions
2016
Continues the storytelling and heartfelt melodies with a fresh perspective.
Feeling Mortal
2013
Sets the stage with similar themes of reflection and emotional depth.
Reference: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz · Wikidata
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