Surreal Thing is not one of Kris Kristofferson's better known albums, but it is actually a much stronger effort than the one preceding it, 1975s Who's to Bless and Who's to Blame, and the one that came after, 1978s Easter Island (included on this two-fer). In fact, the run of songs beginning with "Never Gonna Be the Same Again" through to "If You Don't Like Hank Williams" qualifies as one of the most consistent sequences of high-quality music on any Kristofferson album. Surreal Thing is probably one of my top five favorite Kristofferson releases.
Easter Island, on the other hand, is not as strong; there's really too much filler on this one. With that said, the final two tracks, "The Fighter" and "Living Legend" (redone in the Nineties admirably, but not as powerfully, by Kristofferson and company in the Highwaymen) are two of the man's finest creations. And, "The Sabre and the Rose" is an interesting track; I'm not exactly sure why, but I've always enjoyed this song.
I definitely recommend this re-issue. It holds some great music from one of our greatest songwriters.
If you are not familiar with Kris' works,take my advice and buy everything he has done,you won't be sorry.His music paints such vivid pictures of life,love,pain,and everything we face along life's journey.His feel for humanity,and hard times or good times,or whatever life dishes out,is uncanny.His spin on his own hardships can be done with humor,or sarcasm,or however it hits him at the time.He runs a gamut of emotions,that we can all relate to,and it is purely raw life experiences.With Kris,What you see is what you get,and that is,every bit of him,and believe me,he is the best.
