What I Deserve
Kelly Willis's first full-length offering since 1993 is one of the better country records you will hear, alternative or otherwise. She covers tunes by the likes ofPaul Westerberg,Nick Drake, andPaul Kelly, and cowrites with theJayhawks' Gary Louris and John Leventhal. If none of the songs quite rises to the heights of theSteve Earle,Jim Lauderdale, andJoe Elymaterial on her 1991 masterpieceBang Bang, it is still solid stuff nonetheless. Any new song by Dan Penn ("Got a Feelin' for Ya", cowritten with Chuck Prophet) is already worth the price of admission, but Willis herself penned what may be the best tune here, "Talk Like That," an ode to the comfort of a familiar accent far from home.What I Deservewas recorded on a tight budget without a record deal, which may be why the backing, though well played (especially by guitarist Prophet), verges on sounding unfinished--or, it may be the alternative-country sound she was intentionally seeking. Either way, Willis's sublime voice and delivery reside on a more sophisticated plane. If listening to her throaty warbling of Nick Drake's "Time Has Told Me" or her sultry rendering of the Penn tune doesn't give you "chicken skin," it is time to check your pulse.--Michael Ross