Following his politically charged 1990 album Third World Warrior, Kris Kristofferson took a five-year hiatus from recording only to reemerge renewed in 1995 with A Moment of Forever. Like his peers Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, Kristofferson found renewal in the ‘90s through collaboration with a younger producer. In the case of A Moment of Forever, that producer is Don Was. As Daniel Lanois did with Dylan and Rick Rubin did with Cash, Was helped to reinforce Kristofferson’s essential persona, and also encouraged him to find new aspects of his songwriting. In the classic mold, there are songs devoted to blistered romances and salty antiheroes, like the Sam Peckinpah tribute “Sam’s Song (Ask Any Working Girl).” However, the beautiful title track opens previously untapped channels of delicacy and earnestness. A Moment of Forever is one of the few Kristofferson albums that doesn’t feature his close-knit backing band and instead brings aboard top-tier session players like Jim Keltner and Benmont Tench. The stripped-down performances give the album a focused, sober air.