Over the course of three albums cut during her tenure at MCA and two records cut for the more indie-minded Rykodisc, Kelly Willis has often left her biggest fans wondering just what is so wrong with the world that such a gifted musician and songwriter could fail to ever crack the Top 50. Always one to stick to her guns, Willis has never compromised her own integrity for the promise of stardom, and it’s that noble stubbornness that has most endeared the Austin-bred alt-country heroine to fans and critics alike. After taking a far-too-long break from recording to raise a few kids with her husband—fellow shoulda-been musician Bruce Robison (the Dixie Chicks’ “Traveling Soldier”)—Willis returns with Translated from Love, and it’s one of her strongest and most diverse releases yet. Hooking up with the likes of Jules Shear and producer/guitarist Chuck Prophet, as well as Robison, The Gourds and Michael Ramos, she tweaks her sound with a more aggressive approach to the music. On her cover of Adam Green’s “Teddy Boys” and a heartily delivered take on Iggy Pop’s “Success,” she comes out in a countrified approximation of rocking, giving both tracks a fresh dose of world-wise femininity. Those tunes—as well as the propulsively wistful opening number, Damon Bramblett’s “Nobody Wants to Go to the Moon Anymore” and the Steven Yerkey-penned title track—show Willis’ strength as an interpreter that can take someone else’s material and make it fully her own. They are some of the strongest songs on the disc, but Willis is also an accomplished songwriter in her own right—a fact that gets proven several times over on gorgeous originals like “Sweet Little One” and “Too Much to Lose” (both co-written with Shears and Prophet), as well as “Don’t Know Why” and “Stone’s Throw Away,” which easily sound like they could have appeared on either of her former Ryko records, 2002’s Easy and 1999’s extraordinary What I Deserve. Prophet’s production is appropriately earthy—it’s easy to imagine Willis performing these tunes in some red-brick-floor joint littered with peanut shells and empty beer bottles—and showcases Willis’ throaty vocals and her passion for the material. Though it’s unlikely that Translated from Love will catapult her into the Top 50, the record is a solid reminder of what country music should sound like, as well as a testament to the merits of stubbornness. Still, let’s hope it’s not another five years before Willis gets around to recording her next masterpiece.
--Ken Knox
