Kristofferson Focuses On Musical Basics

Kris Kristofferson

“A Moment Of Forever” - Karambolage/Justice

Like Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” or Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” the latest work from the well-traveled Kris Kristofferson is a milestone recording representing some of the finest writing of his career, presented in an appropriately stripped-down setting that spotlights the songcraft. The lovely acoustic guitar intro to the title track sets the pace for an album that never wavers in quality, from swinging country heartbreaker “Good Love (Shouldn’t Feel So Bad)” to touching paean to Native American culture “Johnny Lobo” to stirring rocker “Between Heaven And Here” to spine-chilling “Road Warrior’s Lament.”

Terri Clark

Mercury

This debut album is an impressive first outing by someone who moved to Nashville straight out of high school and was waiting tables and singing for tips at Music Row’s Gilley’s not too many years ago. She wrote or co-wrote 11 of these 12 songs and has a big, strong, exuberant yet controlled country voice.

Debbie Gibson

“Think With Your Heart” - SBK/EMI

In her continuing efforts to establish herself as a credible, adult contemporary artist, onetime teen star Debbie Gibson delivers an album of well-written, passionately performed piano ballads and pop tunes. Worth noting are string-adorned ballads “For Better Or Worse,” “Didn’t Have The Heart” and “Dancin’ In My Mind,” and a cover of Carole King’s “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”

Clarke, DiMeola, Ponty

“The Rite of Strings”- Gai Saber/I.R.S.

Stanley Clarke, Al DiMeola, and Jean-Luc Ponty, three musicians who made their names with jazz-rock fusion in the ‘70s, band together in the ‘90s for an enjoyable trio set that artfully leaps the boundaries between jazz, rock, and even world music. Standouts of a set marked by clear, clean, can’t-fudge-it musicianship include the romantic rhythms of “Indigo,” the funky, rocky changes of “Renaissance,” the sweetly swaying melody of “Change Of Life,” and the uptempo “Chilean Pipe Song.”