Customer Reviews

What I Deserve

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the best mainstream country album of 1999. Hands down, no argument. Kelly Willis performs the same kind of country music as the Dixie Chicks. Why she is not more popular is a mystery. "What I Deserve" is an absolute gem in which Willis brings out the best in songs written by others, including her husband, Bruce Robison. Highlights include "Wrapped," "Not Forgotten You," and "Cradle of Love." Willis's voice is as fine as country music has to offer and she manages to avoid the slick production that ruins many modern Nashville products.

If you like this album, check out Bruce Robison's "Wrapped" which features the song of the same name. It'll give you a completely different perspective.

When MCA and A&M were unable to market Willis to commercial radio, the Austinite struck out on her own to record this brilliant fourth album. A subsequent deal with Ryko has resulted in the most solid release of her career. Her voice retains the country flavor of earlier albums, but the songlist and style have expanded, eluding such simple classification.

Willis' confidence as a songwriter has grown, as she contributes five new titles and a reworking of her little-heard "Fading Fast." Her songs emphasize the exquisite dichotomy of her voice: world-weariness delivered with an unfailing resolve to hang on. Whether it's a lost lover or the loneliness of misplaced family roots, she walks the edge between recovery and disaster, unable to find the former and unwilling to fully give herself up to the latter. In addition to her own works, she picks thoughtfully from the catalogs of Bruce Robison, Damon Bramlett and Paul Kelly, and less successfully from the works of Nick Drake and Paul Westerberg.

What Willis clearly deserves is the critics-darling reception afforded Lucinda Williams, and the popular acclaim (and sales) rung up by heavily groomed hacks from Nashville's factories.

I am a long time fan of Kelly Willis...since her self titled album, Bang Bang and the concerts I have attended. This is not like any other Willis album. I guess for me, I wasn't expecting it to be. If I had to compare it to her other works I may have been disappointed. I took it as it is...great. It fits so many of my moods. I just love her voice. I do have to say she comes across better on CD. She is kind of inhibited on stage. I recommend this to any one who loves a powerful female voice and is tired of mainstream music. I have always felt that there is so much more interesting music to be found that what we are fed on the radio stations.

Such an amazing voice from such a slight body! Kelly Willis has wowed critics and listeners alike since her return to the music scene with What I Deserve. The album is her strongest ever -- perhaps because of the amazing songwriting talents who contribute, such as her immesnely talented husband Bruce Robison and the intense Damon Bramblett (both of whose CD's I highly recommend as well). Kelly's album is a fit for anyone who appreciates good music -- it's country in the loosest sense -- don't buy it if you expect good ol' Nashville rhinestone twang. I would also recommend a live Kelly show to anyone, though she'll be off the touring circuit for a while because of the upcoming birth of her baby. So in the meantime, buy this album, sing along (it's impossible not to), and enjoy alternative, small-label country at it's finest.

Kelly Willis has the best voice around!! You will be able to sing these songs by heart in no time at all!! I just don't get why they don't play her music on the radio. Her songs on this album are the best songs yet(except "That'll Be Me", which was on her self titled album "Kelly Willis")!! She just captures your attention with her songs and her voice! The best song on the album is "Wrapped" because it is just so good, I can't really explain why... Bruce Robison, her husband, wrote it, he has amazing song writting skills!!! Bruce also wrote "Angry All The Time" for Tim McGraw, see Bruce Robison also! She is the most amazing singer/songwriter ever!!!! Seriously get this cd!!!

How can a voice as enchanting and as beautiful be kept a secret, especially by a state as large as Texas? Kelly Willis -- accessible without being commercial, country without being limiting, experimental without being cacophonous, daring without being brash -- will immediately capture the interests of music lovers, whether or not they are fans of good country (that is, Texas country). "What I Deserve" offers a variety of music that is memorable, passionate, and lovely. Songs such as "Not Forgotten You" and a cover of her husband's song "Wrapped" will have toes tapping. Other songs such as "They're Blind" and "Not Long for This World" will testify to Willis' range and talent, both of which are unequalled by most of that offered by Nashville and country radio and basically by most of the music industry altogether. Only those conditioned by the commercialization of music perhaps will not dare to venture beyond Nashville and allow themselves to be exposed to Willis' melodious songs and beautiful voice.

I really cant define what it is about her, but Kelly Willis should be a superstar. Is it her slurs,warmth,barebones honesty or the "Stevi Nicks" of country voice? All the above and so much more. Dont think about it, buy this cd-today!

I discovered Kelly Willis a few years back while stumbling across her performance on PBS's Austin City Limits. Her beautiful and soft voice immediately captured my attention. I can honestly say that up to this point I've never had been a fan of country music. My impression of country was of dressed up "country-fied" pop stars retro-fitted with cowboy hats and shiny boots (i.e.: Shania Twain and Faith Hill). Kelly's performance on Austin City Limits and this CD changed that stereotype for me.

The music on this album is wonderful, down to earth, and pure. Many of the songs, such as "Talk Like That" are from the heart and autobiographical. Highlights of the album also include: "Not Forgotten You", nicely accentuated by a Hammond organ; "Fading Fast" which she had previously recorded with Jay Farrar of Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt; the cover of Nick Drake's "Time Has Told Me" with it's haunting fiddle is fantastic, albeit a little sad and somber; and "Wrapped" which was written by her husband, Bruce Robison. Alt-country guitarist Chuck Prophet also lends his support on the album. In fact, I don't think there is a bad song on the entire album, with the possible exception of her cover of The Replacements "They're Blind".

This is a fantastic CD that I continuously play in my rotation. In fact, my accidental discovery of Kelly has expanded my foray in "alternative country" and has lead me to "discover" and appreciate her husband's work, her brother-in-law Charlie Robison, her sister-in-law's band the Dixie Chicks, Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt/Jay Farrar, Chuck Prophet, Alison Kruass & Union Station, Nickel Creek, Slobberbone, and Drive-by-Truckers, to name a few.

Lastly, I have had the wonderful experience to see Kelly live at the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis, MD. Kelly is one of those rare singers that sounds as beautiful live in person as she does on this CD, if not better. When she performs, the sound of her voice flows so freely that it is as if she barely has to try. Don't miss out on this CD or seeing her live! I highly recommend.

First of all, for a "country" artist to cover both Nick Drake and The Replacements deserves kudos alone. What I Deserve is one of my all time favorite albums, one I would be happy to be stranded with on a desert island. Standouts include "Talk Like That", "They're Blind", "Not Forgotten You" & "Time Has Told Me".

Buy this album, artists like Kelly Willis, unpretentious and not bound commercially, deserve our support.

If you like the standard fare from today's country radio with catchy refrains and a string arrangement in the background, don't buy this record. If you prefer strong melodies and interesting lyrics sung by a beautiful, unique voice this album will wrap you around its musical finger. Track 6--Wrapped--is particularly strong. This album grows on you. The first time I listened, I enjoyed 2 or 3 tracks. By the third time through I was hooked on almost the entire album. Enjoy.