Kelly Willis
Easy
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Kelly Willis
Easy
Rykodisc, 2002
RiYL: Son Volt, Bruce and Charlie Robison, Kirsty MacColl |
And that's the thing about Willis: she doesn't just sing, she soothes. Her angelic voice is strong enough to move mountains, yet balmy enough to cure even the most dreaded hangover.
Willis is somewhat famous for her stint as the "should've, could've, and would've been" the next big Nashville superstar, likely on par with such bloated pop country singers like Garth Brooks and Tanya Tucker. But after gaining only modest sales on her first three records in the early '90s, and trying to play an uncomfortable role as Nashville's newest sweetheart, she left Music City, looking to find a simpler, more natural sound.
In 1999, she released the triumphant Rykodisc debut What I Deserve, putting her past behind her and demonstrating that this chanteuse had more in mind than greasing the palms of record executives. While the album did contain a few country tunes, Willis also branched out into straight-out rock ("Take Me Down"), sultry blues ("What I Deserve") and even a tinge of gospel ("Not Long For This World").
The album, a critical and commercial success, turned Willis from a Nashville castaway to a major player in the music industry. It also came at a strange time, as Willis was newly married and had started raising a family.
So it's no surprise that Easy finds Willis reaching back to her roots, as the album is more firmly based in country and even bluegrass than What I Deserve. But it is not a return to the Nashville sound. As the title suggests, Easy is an incredibly laid back and -- for lack of a better word -- pleasant album. It's the sort of record you'd play either on your first date or after a bad breakup: Easy fits the mood whether you're drowning in love or in your beer.
Easy starts strong enough with the up-tempo "If I Left You," a stripped-down catchy number lamenting lost love, as every good country singer should do.
"If I left you / I wouldn't go out on the town / if I left you / I'd drag my heart along the ground / but you left me / up here in my misery / Its not something I would do / If I left you," she croons.
From there, the album moves into the quiet title track, the tune that best highlights Willis's luminous vocals. "Easy" is pretty much a standard country tune, but her voice lilts effortlessly throughout, and perhaps its only downfall is the harmony on the chorus, only because it crowds her voice.
But she rights these wrongs with "What Did You Think," a comforting number penned by husband Bruce Robison. This is the song every man would want to hear his girlfriend sing: "What did you think that I've been waiting for all night / to hear you cry again about her on my shoulder / what did you think that I'd say to you / that you ain't heard / wondering what in the world do I know about love."
Easy also contains a few cover tunes, notably the straight-up bluegrass classic "You Can't Take It With You" and the late Kirsty MacColl's "Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim."
The album closes strong as well, with the simple guitar- and piano-driven "Reason To Believe," a paean to her pure contentment with marriage and family life. "Spread the news / that I'm alive / cause I was born in your blue eyes / good things are meant for me / oh I've a reason to believe."
Good things are indeed meant for Willis, and they are meant for anyone else who picks up Easy. Yes, that's cheesy and watery, but if she doesn't melt your heart either, then man, I feel sorry for you.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.