Track Listing

1. Nobody Wants To Go To The Moon Anymore
2. Sweet Little One
3. Don't Know Why
4. Teddy Boys
5. Losing You
6. Too Much To Lose
7. The More That I'm Around You
8. Sweet Sundown
9. Success
10. Stone's Throw Away
11. I Must Be Lucky
12. Translated From Love

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51574 in Music
• Released on: 2007-06-26
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Kelly Willis returns after five years with the much-anticipated Translated From Love. Produced by long-time collaborator Chuck Prophet, Translated From Love is Willis' most sonically adventurous album to date. Prophet says of Willis, "She's one of those singers who can make a track come alive. She's got that kind of charisma."

Translated From Love gives nods to five decades of rock, pop and country with `60s girl group drum sounds one minute and strings-drenched C&W angst the next. Its 12 tracks are comprised of originals, intriguing and unexpected covers (including a vintage Vox organ-fueled take on Iggy Pop's "Success" and Adam Green's retro-cool "Teddy Boys") plus collaborations with Prophet, acclaimed singer-songwriter Jules Shear and Kelly's husband, ace country songwriter Bruce Robison.

Amazon.com
With her vocal twang and timbre, Kelly Willis will never sound anything but country. Even so, she's long been adventurous in her choice of material, and her first release in five years is her most expansive to date, as collaborations with producer/guitarist Chuck Prophet and songwriter Jules Shear (who also provides backing vocals) bring a freshness to her signature style. Half of these cuts could have fit on a previous Willis album; the other half wouldn't have fit on any of them--yet somehow they all fit together. The biggest surprise is a cover of Iggy Pop's "Success," with an arrangement that channels the Sir Douglas Quintet's Vox keyboards (with the Gourds contributing to the call-and-response). Other twists include the propulsive pop lilt of "Nobody Wants to Go to the Moon Anymore," the touch of Phil Spector girl-group grandeur in "Don't Know Why," the Chuck Berry guitar and gender reversal of "Teddy Boys," and the hint of Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl" in "The More That I'm Around You." With results that transcend category, Willis sounds like an artist renewed. --Don McLeese

NPR
"alternative country's golden goddess"

Customer Reviews

Best Cd of the Year
This was not a good year for country music, filled as it was with the usual lackluster fare on the mainstream and very littl on the alt-country side to make up for it. This pretty June release marks one bright and shining gem in a sea of dross. There is nothing unexpected about the shining beauty and honey warmth of Kelly's vocals, but she brings them forth in new and remarkable ways, growling with grown up sexuality on Teddy Boys and spitting with angst and rage on Too Much To Loose. The grown up quality of Kelly's vocal nuances really sets this album apart. There is a knowledge of the feelings and experiences behind songs like Translated From Love and Nobody Wants to Go To the Moon that show more than the loud/happy-soft/sad modulation of her mainstream peers. In Kelly's hands Sucess becomes something more than an anthem, something similar too, but more than, tongue in cheek. Sweet Sundown reflects both the joy and the sorrow of remembering a lost summer fling. All told thsi is a strong collection of songs from a woman who made an even stronger case for herself as the reigning queen of alt-country.

Kelly
I totally love this CD. I am always astouned at the voice that comes from this young woman. This is an incredible Cd. The most underated perfomer.

For me, her best yet
I've enjoyed everything Kelly has done, especially her uptempo songs. She has a way of being fully natural and involved and yet getting every technical element perfect. She and her traveling group are great as well, worth seeing if you ever have the chance. This album has taken up permanent residence in my car, and although every track is well done, I can honestly say that I get that "Oh, good, this one!" feeling when any but a couple start to play. Her other albums "only" did that for about 6 each. Her styles have expanded a little, and her art is consistent.