What I Deserve

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.

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]

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