What I Deserve

1999 studio album by Kelly Willis

What I Deserve

Studio album by

Kelly Willis

Released

1999

Studio

The Hit Shack (Austin, TX)
Cedar Creek Studios (Austin, TX)
Congress House Studio (Austin, TX)

Genre

Country

Length

50:11

Label

Rykodisc

Producer

Dave McNair
Daniel Presley
Norman Kerner

Kelly Willis chronology

Kelly Willis
(1993)

What I Deserve
(1999)

Easy
(2002)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	B+^[2]
Entertainment Weekly	A^[3]
Tom Hull	B^[4]
PopMatters	6.9/10^[5]
Rolling Stone	^[6]
Spin	8/10^[7]

What I Deserve is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Kelly Willis. It was released in 1999 through Rykodisc, almost six years after her eponymous album. The recording sessions took place at the Hit Shack, Cedar Creek Studios and Congress House Studio in Austin. The album was produced by Dave McNair with Daniel Presley and Norman Kerner.

The album peaked at number 30 on the Top Country Albums and number 24 on the Heatseekers Albums in the United States and number 36 on the UK Independent Albums chart. It was supported with two promotional singles: "Take Me Down" and "Not Forgotten You".

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Take Me Down"	Kelly Willis Gary Louris	3:46
2.	"What I Deserve"	Willis Louris	4:20
3.	"Heaven Bound"	Damon Bramblett	3:20
4.	"Talk Like That"	Willis	3:09
5.	"Not Forgotten You"	Bruce Robison	3:36
6.	"Wrapped"	Robison	4:28
7.	"Cradle of Love"	Paul Kelly	4:57
8.	"Got a Feelin' for Ya"	Dan Penn Chuck Prophet	3:25
9.	"Time Has Told Me"	Nick Drake	4:37
10.	"Fading Fast"	Willis John Leventhal	2:54
11.	"Happy with That"	Willis Louris	3:34
12.	"They're Blind"	Paul Westerberg	4:37
13.	"Not Long for This World"	Willis Leventhal	3:28
Total length:			50:11

Personnel

Track information and credits adapted from the album's liner notes:^[8]

Kelly Willis – vocals
Bruce Robison – harmony vocals (tracks: 2-5, 7)
Amy Farris – harmony vocals (tracks: 2, 3, 6, 11), fiddle (tracks: 4, 9, 11), mandolin (track 5)
Charlie Robison – harmony vocals (track 4)
John Ludwick – harmony vocals (track 6), bass (tracks: 4-6, 8, 10)
Chuck Prophet – harmony vocals (track 8), acoustic guitar (tracks: 1, 5, 8, 10, 12), electric guitar (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9)
Mark Spencer – acoustic guitar (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13), electric guitar (tracks: 1, 5, 8, 10, 12)
Jon Dee Graham – lap steel guitar (tracks: 3, 11, 13), electric guitar solo (track 5)
Max Butler – electric guitar (tracks: 3, 7)
Lloyd Maines – pedal steel guitar (track 9)
Michael Ramos – Hammond B-3 organ (tracks: 5, 6, 12), Farfisa organ (track 8), piano (track 9)
Michael Been – bass (tracks: 1-3, 7, 9, 11-13)
Larry Aberman – drums (tracks: 1-3, 7, 9, 11-13)
Rafael Gayol – drums (tracks: 4-6, 8, 10)
Dave McNair – percussion (tracks: 1, 5, 6), bells (track 8), producer, recording, engineering, mixing, mastering
Daniel Presley – producer & engineering (tracks: 1-3, 7, 9, 11-13)
Norman Kerner – producer & engineering (tracks: 1-3, 7, 9, 11-13)
Geoff Travis – executive producer
Adam Larson – design
Steven Jurgensmeyer – design
Michael Gomez – photography

Charts

Chart (1999)	Peak position
UK Independent Albums (OCC)^[9]	36
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[10]	30
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)^[11]	24

References

^ Anderson, Rick. "What I Deserve Kelly Willis". AllMusic. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
^ Christgau, Robert (May 18, 1999). "Kelly Willis". Robert Christgau. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
^ Kim, Wook (February 23, 1999). "What I Deserve". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
^ Hull, Tom. "Grade List: Kelly Willis". www.tomhull.com. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
^ Zupko, Sarah. "Kelly Willis, What I Deserve - PopMatters Music Review". PopMatters. Archived from the original on September 3, 2000. Retrieved August 13, 2024 – via Wayback Machine.
^ Puterbaugh, Parke (March 18, 1999). "Recordings". Rolling Stone. No. RS 808. p. 63. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
^ Aaron, Charles (April 1999). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 4. SPIN Media LLC. ISSN 0886-3032.
^ What I Deserve (liner notes). Kelly Willis. Rykodisc. 1999. RCD 10458.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
^ "Kelly Willis Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
^ "Kelly Willis Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2024.