Kelly Willis

Finally, Kelly Willis returns (Jul 2007)

Kelly Willis didn't exactly go on the fast track in releasing the follow-up to 2002's "Easy." The Texan could not plead guilty to being gun shy especially since "Easy" received very positive reviews. But fans of the singer had to wait until late June for "Translated From Love," a dozen-song package produced by rootsy guitarist Chuck Prophet. "Translated From Love" is quite a different breed of music from "Easy." That is apparent from the get go with electric guitars in evidence, a big departure from the acoustic bent of the more traditional country sounding "Easy." Willis still is country, but she offers several twists and turns.  ...

Kelly Willis takes it easy (Sep 2002)

Last time out, Kelly Willis may have gotten what she deserved. So much so, so above and beyond expectations that now life is apparently "Easy." Well, at least that's what she called her brand new CD on Rykodisc. But if you think the Texas singer would hit the replay button, forget about it. "I wanted it to be different than the last record," says Willis in a telephone interview from her Austin home. "It's more interesting for me. I wanted to go out and do something for me. You get tired  ...

For Kelly Willis, absence proves the proverb right (Mar 1999)

Is Kelly Willis this year's Lucinda Williams? Both seem to have reaped the benefits of the "absence makes the heart grow fonder" proverb. Willis' new Rykodisc album, "What I Deserve" (like Williams' 1998 "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road") arrives after a seemingly endless array of frustrating delays that seem to have left most critics' in a worshipful state. The adulation that has already greeted Willis' latest, in every major musical and general entertainment publication, belies the fact that her only three previous albums were not only commercial failures, but didn't get much attention from most of these publications.  ...