Customer Reviews

Bang Bang

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kelly Willis has one of the biggest, strongest voices in music today, and this cd is a winner. To get a hold of her other MCA releases, "Well-Traveled Love" and "Kelly Willis", you'll have to look through used cd stores, because they're gone. Take advantage of the chance to grab this one. "Baby, Take a Piece of My Heart" is a song even a non-country fan could appreciate. The title cut and Joe Ely's "Settle for Love" are also great rockers, and for a lovely ballad, look no further than "Sincerely (Too Late to Turn Back Now)." Willis' sound has changed with her new cd, "What I Deserve", and while its more acoustic setting and quieter songs are wonderful, this is where you can hear Willis really let loose. So get it while you can, because it may not be long before the plug gets pulled on this one, too!

This album still cooks - years after I first bought it. Kelly can rock with the best of them on one song - and then she can bring you to tears with the next song.

She's got an amazing voice, she's as beautiful as a woman could get, and she's got more talent than just about anything you'll ever hear come out of Nashville.

Kelly, you are a true talent and this one is nothing short of perfect!

I am actually listening to this CD right now and it is so awesome. I really like this more than "What I Deserve". It's really upbeat and her voice is amazing. To me it's not really "country" - it's kind of bluesy actually. I don't understand why she isn't more popular - this is definitely better than anything you'll find on country radio. Buy this CD - you won't regret it.

Kelly Willis still doesn't get the attention she deserves. An incredibly gifted vocalist, and still one of the sexiest women I have ever laid eyes on, she could have been as big as Shania Twain. Terribly, sadly overlooked. This album beat the Sophmore Slump while covering more bases than most pigeonholed Country artists are bold enough to get near. Texas Swing. ALT/POP Country. Heartbreaking Ballads. The band is tight. The vocal performances are full of nuances. It sounds great too, the production and mixing is just slick enough without sounding fake or forced. A modern country classic.

Willis pulled out all the stops for her sophomore MCA effort, including a terrific Steve Earle ballad ("Sincerely-Too Late To Turn Back Now,") some rockabilly gems ("Bang, Bang," "I'll Try Again,") and her most successful recording to date, a Kostas-penned top 60 hit single, "Baby, Take A Piece of My Heart." Her studio band here is superb, and this CD moves like a rifle shot, pushing Willis' strengths to the forefront: a sweet, vibrato-laced soprano perfectly suited for her rough-and-tumble uptempo song arrangements and tender ballads. Problem is, country radio in 1991 was nowhere near ready for this feisty Okie's groundbreaking recordings. Later generations are discovering Willis, who'll have to settle for 'pioneer' status in the alt-country category. Her first MCA CD, "Kelly Willis," (out of print, of course) is a grab bag of rockabilly chestnuts worth obtaining-if you can find it.

Kelly Willis has been called "The Queen of Alternative Country" and she certainly is a refreshing change from the current country hitmakers....This is her second album on the MCA label (from which she was later dropped.) Kelly does a bang up job on the title track and well as a saucy renditon of Joe Ely's "Settle for love". Her cover of Jim Lauderdale's "Not Afraid of the Dark "is a haunting piece that trancends beyond anything that Nashville has ever produced. This little gal has a voice bigger than Texas!! Grab this CD now, before it's out of print for good. Equal parts Wanda Jackson, Patsy Cline and Bobbie GEntry.

Kelly Willis's catalog is largely out-of-print. All that remains is this, her second CD. It's also her best. The title track is reminiscent of her early days in Kelly & the Fireballs. "Sincerely" is noteworthy if for no other reason than it was written by Steve Earle and Robert Earl Keen. If you like uptempo country with a heatlhy dose of rockabilly influence, you'll like this. (BTW, word is a new Kelly Willis CD will be out in Jan. 1999 on Rykodisk. By then, it will have been 6 years since her last full-length CD.)

Kelly Willis is another of the many talented Texas-based country performers that have chosen to remain outside the Nashville mainstream. The genre of "Bang Bang" could best be described as Texas county rock with an extra dose of honky tonk. Willis' voice is an original. Passionate and sultry, her voice avoids the prepacked excesses of Shania Twain. While some of the songwriting on "Bang Bang" leaves a bit to be desired, Willis' phenomenal talent shines through. Her performances on "Settle For Love" and "Piece of My Heart" alone make this CD worth the freight.

YOU CAN NOT PLAY IT TOO MUCH.
GREAT ENERGY, GREAT SONGS, PERFECT VOCALS BY KELLY. YOU WON'T FIND A BETTER ALBUM AND THERE IS NO ONE WITH A MORE UNIQUE VOICE.

This was Kelly's 2d Album, and it was a good one; in fact, it still stands the test of time. At the time of its release, Kelly's sound was considered unique, and in fact, it was. I'm not sure if I'd label it "Alt-Country" or even "Americana", because it still maintained grass-roots country. I'm guessing the Alt-Country label came into being since Kelly was never really successful, when compared with her peers of the time which included Garth Brooks and Clint Black. Nashville was definately pushing her sound and persona, as I recall her videos on CMT on a nonstop rotation, and even a VH1 "Country" Show where she was the cohost with Kevin Welch. She was indeed a media darling, but radio and records sales did not agree with the overzealous producers and publicists. But with all of that aside, this album contains Kelly's best piece of work ever, a Robert Earl Keen penned song, "Sincerely"; Kelly knocks this one out of the park. There are a few numers that should have become country standards: "Settle For Love", "Standing By the River", and "Baby Take A Piece of My Heart". At the same time, there are a few weak songs here as well, including: "Not Afraid of the Dark" and "The Heart that Love Forgot". There is no comparison between the lively and soulful sound of this early Kelly Willis, and the current "lifeless" sound of Kelly Willis. A good album.