Translated from Love is Kelly Willis' seventh album and her first (aside from a Christmas set in 2006) in five years.
It was produced by Chuck Prophet with a small group of musicians that rotates a bit but is more or less a unit: Prophet, Greg Leisz, Marc Pisapia, John Ludwick, and Michael Ramos.
Guests include Willis' husband Bruce Robison, the Tosca String Quartet, and Jules Shear (who wrote or co-wrote a couple of tunes here).
Prophet, Willis and Shear take on the lion's share of writing credits here, often in combinations.
Willis is the darling of alt country fans and NPR listeners, and each recording has received more platitudes than the one before.
It will be interesting to see what they make of Translated.
This is, in many ways, as slick as her MCA records, though it is punchier, rocks a little harder, and feels like it was geared for more open-minded country radio stations.
The music is full of keyboards featured as prominently as guitars, tight arrangements, clipped harmonies, and bona fide rock riffs in places; what's more, the tracks accent the jumpier side of Willis' voice.
Think Carlene Carter's 1980 album Musical Shapes (produced by Nick Lowe) (and yeah, it is a good thing).
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweet Little OneChuck Prophet, Kelly Willis | Kelly Willis | Play | 03:55 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Don't Know WhyChuck Prophet, Jules Shear, Kelly Willis | Kelly Willis | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Teddy Boys | Kelly Willis | Play | 02:44 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Losing YouChuck Prophet, Kelly Willis | Kelly Willis | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | The More That I'm Around YouJules Shear | Kelly Willis | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Sweet SundownDamon Bramblett | Kelly Willis | Play | 03:01 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | SuccessDavid Bowie, Ricky Gardiner, Iggy Pop | Kelly Willis | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Stone's Throw AwayGreg Leisz, Chuck Prophet, Kelly Willis | Kelly Willis | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | I Must Be LuckyChuck Prophet, Jules Shear, Kelly Willis | Kelly Willis | Play | 03:01 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Translated From LoveStephen Yerkey | Kelly Willis | Play | 02:19 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Nobody Wants to Go to the Moon Anymore | Kelly Willis | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Too Much to Lose | Kelly Willis | Play | 04:33 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 41 mins | 94 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penny Arth | Wardrobe |
| 2 | Stephanie Ames Asbell | Main Personnel, Viola |
| 3 | Adam Ayan | Mastering |
| 4 | Claud Bernard | Vocals |
| 5 | Claude Bernard | Main Personnel |
| 6 | David Bowie | Composer |
| 7 | Damon Bramblett | Composer |
| 8 | Ricky Gardiner | Composer |
| 9 | The Gourds | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 10 | Michael Hardwick | Dobro, Main Personnel |
| 11 | Andrew Hernandez | Audio Engineer |
| 12 | Phil Hill | Audio Engineer |
| 13 | Phil Hill | Engineer |
| 14 | Jamie Hoyt Vitale | Package Design |
| 15 | Max Johnston | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 16 | Paul Q. Kolderie | Audio Engineer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 17 | Keith Langford | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 18 | Greg Leisz | Banjo, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Main Personnel, Mandolin, National Steel Guitar, Pedal Steel, Slide Guitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | John Ludwick | Bass, Bass (Upright), Guitar (Bass), Main Personnel |
| 20 | Leigh Mahoney | Main Personnel, Violin |
| 21 | Sara Nelson | Cello, Main Personnel |
| 22 | Marc Pisapia | Drums, Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 23 | Iggy Pop | Composer |
| 24 | Chuck Prophet | Audio Production, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Baritone), Guitar (Electric), Harmonica, Main Personnel, Mando-Guitar, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 25 | Michael Ramos | Accordion, Arp Strings, Main Personnel, Moog Synthesizer, Organ, Organ (Hammond), Piano, String Arrangements, Vox Continental, Wurlitzer |
| 26 | Bruce Robinson | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 27 | Bruce Robison | Main Personnel, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 28 | Colleen Runne | Hair Stylist, Make-Up |
| 29 | Kevin Russell | Main Personnel |
| 30 | Kevin Russell | Vocals |
| 31 | Tracy Seeger | Main Personnel, Violin |
| 32 | Jules Shaw | Vocals (Background) |
| 33 | Jules Shear | Composer, Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 34 | Jimmy Smith | Main Personnel |
| 35 | Jimmy Smith | Vocals |
| 36 | Tosca String Quartet | Main Personnel, Strings |
| 37 | Frank Veronsky | Photography |
| 38 | J.J. Wiesler | Audio Engineer, Engineer |
| 39 | Kelly Willis | Composer, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocal Harmony, Vocals |
| 40 | Stephen Yerkey | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |