One of the reasons why I find myself getting so frustrated at times with country music is because of my experiences in the early 90's. Kelly Willis, Freakwater, Lyle Lovett, and KD Lang were all the country artists I found most interesting at the time and they all failed in Nashville. That is when alt-country boomed and when a lot of people like me turned their backs on Nashville. Of course I think truth be told we weren't ever really into the Nashville scene and were all drawn to country by these artists who really didn't fit in Nashville. I guess in reality it's not Nashville's fault, it's just that these artists belonged somewhere else. That is how Austin became a focal point for alt-country and where Kelly Willis and her husband Bruce Robison ended up settling. Robison is best known as a songwriter but he has put out his own solo efforts and has his own base of followers like Willis. Together they make an interesting team and for quite some time now their fan base has been waiting for a joint album. Now it's here and it does not disappoint.
It's split between seven original songs from Robison and six covers. For the last few years Robison and Willis have been performing together doing shows of covers and original songs, so it's fitting that they took that format to their first album. The production feels very simple and creates quite an intimate feel. For songs like "Long Way Home" by Hayes Carll this works brilliantly.
For the Kelly and Bruce fans out there this album does not disappoint and lives up to all their expectations. I'm not sure it will find them any new fans, but I hope it does.
Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 3 out of 5 stars for Pretty Good.
I like these guys so much here's another video of them performing a song that's on the album.
Man, she is a terrific singer.
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