Like his late friend Johnny Cash did, 73-year-old Kris has found his late-career groove by stripping down his sound to its acoustic basics with the tasteful assistance of a big-name rock producer (Johnny had Rick Rubin; Kris has Don Was). And like the final entries in Johnny’s “American Recordings” series, Closer to the Bone draws much of its power from the unflinching way it addresses the finite nature of life and the urgent need to make each moment count. The message is driven home throughout by the very presence of guitarist, mandolinist and vocalist Stephen Bruton, who passed away just after the album’s completion.