This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Actually, she deserved it five years ago.
That’s how long it’s been since Oklahoma-born, Austin-based country songbird Kelly Willis has cut a full-length album. But believe me, this disc is more than worth the wait. Since we last heard from her, she’s changed labels — and broken away from the Nashville gloss that coated her previous records. This time out, there’s nothing to get in the way of the songs; the relaxed pace, simple arrangements, and sparsely elegant instrumentation all serve to highlight Willis’s aching, lonesome voice. And while there’s way more torch than twang here, some definitely un-country songwriting credits (Nick Drake, Paul Kelly, even Paul Westerberg) make this Willis’s most distinctive disc. Which is what she deserves.
