production of The Silver Tongued Devil and I introduced violins and a horn section to Kristofferson's music. The theme remained centered in his songwriting. At the time of its release, fans of the album argued it was a concept album. Kristofferson later expressed uncertainty of his intentions while working on it; he stated, "I was just trying to put together my best songs in a way that all made sense". The cover of the album shows Kristofferson standing front-and-center while to his left, his own faded figure—which was intended to represent "The Silver Tongued Devil"—is visible. The picture was taken by Baron Wolman. In the liner notes, Kristofferson wrote; "call these echoes of the going-ups and the coming-downs, walking pneumonia and run-of-the-mill madness, colored with guilt, pride and a vague sense of despair". Release and reception The Silver Tongued Devil and I was released in July 1971 to critical and commercial success. It peaked at number twenty-one on Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and at number four on the Hot Country LPs chart. By 1973, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The track "Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)" was released as a single on August 21, 1971, and was backed with "Epitaph (Black and Blue)"; it entered the top thirty of Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at number twenty-six. Meanwhile, it reached number four on the Easy Listening chart. Critic Dave Hickey of Country Music was impressed by Kristofferson's sense of metrics. Of the lines composed by twelve and sixteen syllables he wrote; "they are so tight and clear that it is like having another rhythm instrument in the band". Hickey also wrote; "There has never been, and probably never will be a better songwriter album". Robert Christgau of The Village Voice rated the album C- and criticized what he considered Kristofferson's "pet paradox" as a songwriter and a "hobo intellectual as Music Row hit man". He called Kristofferson's contributions to the album "ungainly, not to say dishonest". Billboard said the album shows Kristofferson's "consummate skill at natural, sincere simple country songs" and that his "untrained bass voice" interprets the songs "even better" than artists who had previously covered his work. Stereo Review delivered a favorable review, saying the album is "better" than Kristofferson's debut album. The review predicted The Silver Tongued Devil and I would have