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Artist
Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison
12+ albums
USA
about
Neither Kelly Willis nor her husband Bruce Robison has made a record since 2008. The singer/songwriters both took time off the road and from recording to raise children. While they've appeared on one another's recordings before, Cheater's Game is their first as a duo. Produced by Brad Jones and recorded in Nashville, this 13-song set features seven new Robison tunes. The balance is made up of songs by some contemporary songwriters, and a couple from Nashville legends. Recorded with a small band in an intimate, retro, '70s style; the album is warm, inviting, and features a seamless meld of the duo's voices. The title cut opener is the only Robison co-write; his collaborators are Liz Foster and Savannah Welch of the Trishas. Issued as the album's pre-release single, "Cheater's Game," is a classic, late-night, country torch song introduced by Willis' contralto accompanied by a low-key pedal steel, fiddle, shuffling snare, and acoustic guitars. Robison joins her on the chorus, making the tune reminiscent of the vibe created by Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons. It's followed by a looser, more rootsy backporch duet on Dave Alvin's "Border Radio." There's a deep lonesome read of Hayes Carll's "Long Way Home," with Willis up front opening the vein of regret wide and true. Robison's lead on Don Williams' "We're All the Way" takes the sweetness out of the original to reveal its poignancy. The wide-open near-bluegrass ramble of "Leavin'' is one of Robison's finest road songs. A big surpr
