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''Repossessed'' is an
album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
, released on
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
in 1986 (see
1986 in music The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
). 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 A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foo ...
'' with
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
,
Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...
and
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
.


Background

Kristofferson's career hit a wall at the start of the 1980s. In the second half of the previous decade, his recording career had been on a steady downward slope, and the release of the film ''Heaven's Gate'' in 1980 torpedoed his film career. His turbulent marriage to singer
Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) 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 th ...
came to an end in December 1979, and his record label for ten years,
Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
, went under. Kristofferson decided to take a sabbatical from his solo career and became much more politically active. He also contributed to three albums recorded with others: ''Kris, Willie, Dolly & Brenda ... The Winning Hand'' (1982) (with Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Brenda Lee); the soundtrack ''Music From Songwriter'' (1984) (with Nelson), which contained four Kristofferson solo tracks; and ''Highwayman'' (with Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings). The last was a major success, topping the country charts, and probably interested Mercury Records in giving Kristofferson a new contract as a solo artist.


Recording and composition

Chips Moman Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums li ...
, who had produced the first Highwaymen LP and recorded the likes of
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
,
Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...
, and
Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack ( ; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's ...
, was brought in to produce Kristofferson's debut on Mercury. Moman scored a massive hit with
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
's 1982 album ''Always on My Mind'', and had topped the country album charts a year later with ''Pancho & Lefty'', Nelson's duet album with
Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...
. After a string of commercial misfires in the second half of the Seventies, it was hoped that Moman's magic might revive Kristofferson's stalled recording career. Although the music had a loose, languid feel despite some synthesized sounds and superfluous echo on the vocals, performed by Kristofferson's backing group The Borderlords, it resembled a live recording without an audience – particularly when Kristofferson called out intros and lead breaks as he would in concert. The songs on ''Repossessed'' were heavily informed by Kristofferson's political activism. In the early 1980s his political activities – which also included appearing in concert for
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
and stridently protesting U.S. policy in
Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
– overshadowed his music, like at the 1981
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
show press conference, when the former army captain, without so much as a cue or a provocation, issued his first loud condemnation of U.S. involvement in Central America by blurting out "Let's get the hell out of El Salvador," as the paparazzi and fellow actors looked on. It is unsurprising, then, that such geopolitical concerns would find their way into his songwriting, with Streissguth noting: "What About Me" makes direct reference to the civil war in El Salvador; fearing another Vietnam, Kristofferson's anger was directed at
President Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...
, who was providing support for that country's military in their efforts to defeat the left-wing rebels. "Shipwrecked in the Eighties" became Kristofferson's show opener and was partly inspired by a chance meeting with a Vietnam vet, although it also reflected the mess the singer's career had been reduced to in the early years of the decade. Another song with a humanitarian bent, "They Killed Him," came to Kristofferson after seeing the film ''
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...
'' and becoming "depressed by the murdering of all the visionaries…whoever was promoting peace seemed to get killed."
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
had recorded the song for a non-charting single in 1984 and
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
was so impressed by the tune that he recorded it for his ''Knocked Out Loaded'' album. (The Highwaymen would also cover "Anthem '84" on ''Highwaymen 2''.) ''Repossessed'' contains some sentimental moments, such as "The Heart," a song of praise and affection for Kristofferson's father that was covered by Lacy J. Dalton on the album ''Survivor'' in 1987, and the closing track, "Love Is the Way," a paean for peace that was accompanied by a mawkish music video with picturesque landscapes and waterfalls, two newborn babies (one black, one white), toddlers, and puppies. "Love Is The Way" was covered by
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
and
Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...
in 1986 on the album ''
Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
''. "Mean Old Man" features rock and roll legend Carl Perkins on guitar, and the song would serve as the title track for
Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...
's 2009 release. "This Old Road" was re-recorded for Kristofferson's 2006 release of the same name. "El Gavilan (The Hawk)" was covered by
Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...
in the 1985 movie '' Trouble in Mind''.


Reception

Considering the provocative nature of some of the songs, ''Repossessed'' was not a commercial success, reaching number 31 on the country albums chart, although it lingered in the charts for several months.
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's William Ruhlmann writes "there were no real insights to be found in the songwriter's sketchy and abstract descriptions either in these songs or the more philosophical statements…it was not one of his better records."


Track listing

All tracks written by Kris Kristofferson. # "Mean Old Man" – 3:08 # "Shipwrecked in the Eighties" – 4:24 # " They Killed Him" – 3:23 # "What About Me" – 3:41 # "El Gavilan (The Hawk)" – 3:54 # "El Coyote" – 2:37 # "Anthem '84" – 3:09 # " The Heart" – 2:52 # "This Old Road" – 3:42 # "Love is the Way" – 3:00


Personnel

*Kris Kristofferson – guitar, vocals *Terry McMillan – harmonica The Borderlords *
Billy Swan William Lance Swan (born May 12, 1942) is an American country singer-songwriter, best known for his 1974 single " I Can Help". Background Swan was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri southeast of St. Louis on the Mississippi River. As a child, ...
, Stephen Bruton – guitar, vocals *Glen Clark – guitar, keyboards, harmonica, vocals *Tommy McClure – bass *
Donnie Fritts Donald Ray Fritts (November 8, 1942 – August 27, 2019) was an American session musician and songwriter. A recording artist in his own right, he was Kris Kristofferson's keyboardist for over forty years. In 2008, he was inducted into the Alaba ...
– keyboards, vocals * Sammy Creason – drums


Charts


References

{{Authority control Kris Kristofferson albums 1986 albums Mercury Records albums Albums produced by Chips Moman