Border Lord was a crucial album for Kris Kristofferson. After five years of scuffling in Nashville, he had broken through in 1970-1971 largely because of a series of song hits recorded by others, though his first two albums, Kristofferson (aka Me and Bobby McGee) and The Silver Tongued Devil and I had enjoyed healthy sales, the latter even spawning a Top 40 pop hit in "Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)." But he needed to consolidate that success and even increase it, especially as a recording artist. Yet, as is so often the case, he was afforded precious little time to craft his next work. Border Lord, which, like its predecessors, was an album of all-original compositions, was in record stores only seven months after The Silver Tongued Devil and I, and it was his third such collection in 20 months.

Track List:
01. Josie
02. Burden of Freedom
03. Stagger Mountain Tragedy
04. Border Lord
05. Somebody Nobody Knows
06. Little Girl Lost
07. Smokey Put the Sweat On Me
08. When She's Wrong
09. Gettin' By, High and Strange
10. Kiss the World Goodbye