Kris Kristofferson
"Feeling Mortal"
KK Records

Many songwriters lead storied lives, no doubt, but few are as successful and iconic as Kris Kristofferson.

Relying on ludicrous coincidences in a predictable, badly written story, “Deadfall” offers sociopathic criminals fleeing across snowy Michigan for the U.S.-Canadian border. A sure sign of a lack of depth, about every fifteen minutes an expendable character gets shot or a sex scene intrudes. Nothing really works; it’s lame and superficial and dull.

In a bold musical project aptly titled "Kin," singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell and poet-memoirist Mary Karr have crafted a collection of lyrical stories, not unlike chapters in a book, that narrate a family history.

In honor of the silver-tongued devil's appearance with his old friend Merle Haggard at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on March 9, I thought a list was in order -- as absurd as any such list of songs by one of the true masters could be.