Though Kris Kristofferson's previous records saw him inching towards a more mainstream feel, Shake Hands with the Devil is a bit edgier, as if the country titan had actually become his rock-star character from A Star Is Born. The title track carries a hurtling heartland-rock momentum, while "Killer Barracuda" laces its minimal folk feel with foreboding imagery. On the rootsier side, "Once More with Feeling" plays like a salute to Jerry Lee Lewis' country period, and "Michoacan" boasts a Doug Sahm–style Tex-Mex stomp.