What I Deserve (25th Anniversary Edition)
Omnivore, 2024
10/10
Listen to What I Deserve (25th Anniversary Edition)
Originally released in 1999, this Anniversary Edition of Kelly Willis’ 4th studio album includes previously unreleased bonus tracks of her inimitable country sounds.
The warm country rock of “Take Me Down” gets the listen off to a pretty start, where Willis’ distinct voice is met with scrappy drumming from Larry Aberman, and “What I Deserve” follows with an intimate mood of poetic and harmonic songwriting that benefits from Michael Been’s bass lines.
Further along, “Not Forgotten You” makes great use of fluid acoustic guitar, Amy Noelle Farris’ mandolin and emotive singing with strong imagery, while “Time Has Told Me” is a bare moment of beauty that tugs on the heartstrings with much grace amid Michael Ramos’ keys and Lloyd Maines’ pedal steel guitar.
The original album exits with “Not Long For This World”, where Willis draws us in with her superb singing amid Mark Spencer’s dreamy guitar, and the live bonus tracks from November 14, 1999 on Mountain Stage include 5 tracks from the LP that are fleshed out meticulously and memorably.
What I Deserve is Willis’ highest charting record to date, and the originals with Gary Louris and tunes by Paul Kelly, Paul Westerberg, Nick Drake, and Dan Penn makes this a must in the area of Americana and alt-country sounds.
Travels well with: Joe Ely- Driven To Drive; Brennen Leigh- Prairie Love Letter