The Silver Tongued Devil and I is the second studio album recorded by singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson. It was produced by Fred Foster, released in July 1971 on Monument Records and followed his critically acclaimed debut Kristofferson.
The album is mostly composed of Kristofferson's self-written material. It met critical success upon its release and unlike its predecessor, had commercial success. It became a top-thirty album on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and reached the top five of the Hot Country LPs chart. Its single, "Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)" charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number twenty-six and Easy Listening chart at number four. The Silver Tongued Devil and I was later certified gold.
Background and recording
In 1969, Kris Kristofferson signed a recording contract with producer Fred Foster, and joined Monument Records and its publishing house Combine Music. His debut album Kristofferson was a critical success but it sold poorly. That year, Kristofferson started an eighteen-month tour, during which he suffered a bout of walking pneumonia, which was worsened by his alcohol consumption. While performing, he would not face the audience and mumbled the words to his songs. Eventually, he was hospitalized.
During the tour, Kristofferson performed on The Johnny Cash Show. While in California, Kristofferson met and became friends with singer Janis Joplin. Upon returning to Nashville, Tennessee, in early 1971, he received with his mail at Combine Music Joplin's posthumous album Pearl, which at the time was still unreleased. Joplin's album included a cover of his original composition "Me and Bobby McGee". The following morning, he returned to the studio and recorded the songs for his second release, titled The Silver Tongued Devil and I.
Composition
"The Silver Tongued Devil and I" opens the album. The song is set in Tally-Ho Tavern, a Music Row bar where Kristofferson worked earlier as a bartender; the patrons included musicians and songwriters. Kristofferson describes a man drinking in a bar; he is too shy to talk to a woman. As the character gets drunk, he tries to warn the woman of "The Silver Tongued Devil" that alcohol brings out in him and how it controls him, inevitably seducing women. Kristofferson was known among his peers to easily cause the infatuation of women, a recurring theme in the songs of the album. According to Kristofferson's biographers, due to the autobiographical nature of the record, he may have experienced guilt because his sporadic partners aimed to romantic-related results, while he did not.
"Jody and the Kid" had been recorded in 1968 by Roy Drusky and became a radio hit while Kristofferson worked as a janitor for Columbia Records. The inspiration for the song was an experience Kristofferson had at Tally-Ho Tavern. As he approached the building with his daughter Tracy, a patron shouted: "Look, here comes Critter, and the kid", in reference to one of Kristofferson's nicknames, Critter. The song tells the story of a young girl who follows the main character, and the positive reaction of the locals who see them together. As they grow older, they become lovers. At the end of the story, the main character walks with his daughter. While the locals acknowledge them as they pass by, he laments that his partner is absent. "Billy Dee" described the life struggles of a heroin addict whose life ends with an overdose.