| Shake Hands with the Devil | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 1979 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | Monument | |||
| Producer | David Anderle | |||
| Kris Kristofferson chronology | ||||
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Shake Hands with the Devil is the ninth solo album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1979 on Monument Records. Several of the songs on the album were written by Kristofferson years before its release.
By the end of the Seventies, Kristofferson was having much more success as a film actor than a recording artist, having won a Golden Globe for his role in the 1976 blockbuster A Star Is Born. He had not had a hit solo LP since 1973's Jesus Was a Capricorn, itself largely fueled by the surprise country gospel hit "Why Me", and a ten album contract with Monument, of which Shake Hands with the Devil was the ninth since 1970, resulted in rushed albums that many critics felt did not match the high standards of his early recordings. He was in the midst of divorcing wife and duet partner Rita Coolidge, whose recording career had eclipsed his by this time.
Shake Hands with the Devil was produced by David Anderle, who had produced all of Kristofferson's solo albums since 1973. In his 2008 biography Kristofferson: The Wild American, Stephen Miller comments that, considering the singer's string of commercial failures, it's somewhat surprising that there was no insistence from Monument "on trying out a different producer, the usual course when a formula has become stale…With David Aderle once again behind the controls and the same nucleus of musicians, even though some different styles were tried out – a Caribbean feel here, some Tex-Mex there – the results were unremittingly monotonous." [1]
For years critics had complained that Kristofferson's interest in Hollywood had reduced his albums to nothing more than afterthoughts, and this idea was reinforced by the fact that Shake Hands with the Devil consisted mostly of songs from his past, such as the title track, which was an unheard 1970 copyright, as well as "Come Sundown", which hit the Top 10 for Bobby Bare in 1970 (and would also be recorded twice by George Jones) and "Once More with Feeling," which was a Top 5 country smash for Jerry Lee Lewis the same year. (Lewis, well-known for altering the lyrics to songs however he pleased in the studio and on stage, told biographer Rick Bragg in 2014, "You don't mess with Kristofferson.") [2] Kristofferson and Aderle dusted off two numbers associated with the films the singer had been involved in, including "Michoacan" from 1971's Cisco Pike, and "Seadream", which Kristofferson wrote for the 1976 film The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea. Tom Ghent's "Whiskey, Whiskey", a 1970 country hit for Nat Stuckey, was in Kristofferson's concerts as far back as 1972, and the somewhat menacing "Killer Barracuda" was a Kristofferson copyright from 1975. The only brand new song from Kristofferson's pen on the LP was the Caribbean-tinged ballad "Prove It to You One More Time Again", which was released as a single and barely scraped the lower reaches of the country singles chart. Soon-to-be ex-wife Rita Coolidge provides background vocals on the album and also received a co-writing credit for "Fallen Angel".
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
Shake Hands with the Devil was the first Kristofferson album that failed to make the charts. AllMusic's William Ruhlmann writes, "By the time of Shake Hands With the Devil, the ninth album of Kris Kristofferson's ten-album contract with Monument Records, he must have considered his recording career an afterthought to his more prominent career in the movies. That's what's suggested by this album, to which he's given little thought." Kristofferson biographer Stephen Miller also takes a dim view of the album and takes Kristofferson to task for his singing, commenting "From the opening track, it was clear that even by his unorthodox standards, Kristofferson was on worse vocal form than usual; often well off-key and with poor phrasing and timing, he exhibited less ability than the average club singer or karaoke hopeful." [1]
All songs by Kristofferson except as noted
Kristoffer Kristofferson is an American retired country singer, songwriter, and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night", all of which were hits for other artists.
Rita Coolidge is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on Billboard magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and then-husband Kris Kristofferson. Her recordings include "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher," "We're All Alone", "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love", and the theme song for the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy: "All Time High".
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Border Lord is the third album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1972 on Monument Records.
Jesus Was a Capricorn is the fourth album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1972 on Monument Records. The album cover pictures Kristofferson and his soon-to-be wife Rita Coolidge. "Why Me" reached #1 on the Country singles charts.
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Spooky Lady's Sideshow is the fifth solo album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1974 on Monument Records. It was preceded and followed by duet albums with his wife, Rita Coolidge. It was recorded shortly after Kristofferson's appearance in the movie Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. The album mostly consists of songs about decline due to alcohol and drug abuse. That theme of decline proved to be (unintentionally) prophetic as this was Kristofferson's first album that failed to see commercial success on a large scale.
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Surreal Thing is the seventh solo album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1976 on Monument Records. "Killing Time" and "The Golden Idol" are re-recordings of songs that were originally released as a single in 1967.
Easter Island is the eighth solo album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1978 on Monument.
Repossessed is an album by Kris Kristofferson, released on Mercury Records in 1986. It was Kristofferson's first full-length solo album since 1981's To the Bone, although the singer did collaborate with other artists in the meantime, most notably on Highwayman with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
Full Moon is a duet album by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, released in September 1973 on A&M Records. It is the first of three duet albums by the couple, who married weeks before the album's release, and arguably the best. Unlike Kristofferson solo albums, it features several covers.
Breakaway is the second duet album by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, released in 1974 on Monument Records. It is one of three duet albums by the couple. Unlike Kristofferson solo albums, it features several covers. "I've Got to Have You" and "I'd Rather Be Sorry" had both previously been hits for other artists; they appear here by Kristofferson for the first time.
Natural Act is the third and final duet album by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, released in 1978 on A&M Records. The couple would divorce the following year. The album was released while Coolidge's career was at a peak; her recent albums Anytime...Anywhere and Love Me Again had seen much commercial success. Natural Act is Kristofferson's only album to chart in the United Kingdom.
To the Bone is an album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1981, his last for Monument Records. It is his first album after his divorce from Rita Coolidge, and many of its songs deal with relationship decline. "Nobody Loves Anybody Anymore" became a minor hit.
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The Lady's Not For Sale is a 1972 album by Rita Coolidge, and was released on the A&M Records label, AMLH 64370. It was later reissued on the Music For Pleasure label, MFP-50500. The inner gatefold photo was shot on location by Terry Paul at Stonehenge in the English county of Wiltshire.
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