Get Away From Me (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Nellie McKay

...subtle irony of 'I Wanna Get Married' with its slow jazzy rhythm and sarcastic lines like: 'I Wanna Get Married that's why I was born'. Similarly 'Manhattan Avenue' with its warm vocal, neat piano accompaniment and lazy drum rhythm, sounds like something Ella might have sung in some downtown smoke filled bar back in '53, but like all the tracks on the album, this is an original penned by Nellie herself. The impressive mock interpretation of languorous ...
.../> If you go I'll get your dough - So won't you please be nice
If you run I'll pull a gun - Give me head or you'll be dead
Salute the flag or I'll call you a fag - Oh won't you please be nice"

More smooth jazz cynicism and cutting commentary about the less pleasant aspects of human nature are present in the final soothing ballad 'Really' that brings the album to gentle finale:

"I don't know why - I'm ... more

'Get Away from Me' was the debut album of British-born New Yorker Nellie McKay. It was produced by Beatles sound engineer Geoff Emerick and released by Columbia/Sony Records in February 2004. The title of the album is a pun on a Norah Jones album 'Come Away with Me' - an artist with whom she is wary of being compared. Apparently the title wasn't her first choice. She wanted to call the album 'Penis Envy', but thankfully this was turned down by Columbia.

Influences

Vocally McKay is not the easiest singer to categorise. She does sound like she's doing a Doris Day impression on the slower tracks and at other times I'm reminded slightly of a vocal similarity with Suzanne Vega. Many reviewers have lazily compared her vocal style and sound to the likes of Fiona Apple, Nelly Furtado, Diana Krall, Peggy Lee and even Ella Fitzgerald, but these are often misguided, or in the case of Ella, ridiculous comparisons. What she does share with these artists is a vocal jazz influence on some songs for McKay is not simply a singer of romantic ballads. Sure she takes on popular themes such as sexuality and relationships, but her subject matter is more extensive. Her elaborate songwriting style combines cynicism and wit in equal measure and has led some to draw comparisons with Cole Porter and Randy Newman. Although her songs are no where near as polished as those two great song writers, it is still refreshing to come across a young female artist creating songs tinged with such dark humour, vivacious wit and a radical political edge.

This double CD consists of a striking eclectic mixture of musical genres: slow vocal jazz compositions that parody the style sit alongside more upbeat swing rhythms, funk disco, rap, hip-hop and even some Latin rhythms and reggae beats are thrown into the mix. Despite these disparate influences the album is solidly framed within a New York setting with many songs possessing a theatrical element as if they might have been taken from some Off-Broadway musical. Indeed McKay is familiar with stage performance having dropped out of Manhattan School of Music in 2002 to, remarkably, perform as a stand-up comic in Manhattan nightclubs and Greenwich Village gay bars. In 2007 she also received critical acclaim for her performance as Polly Peachum in a limited-run production of The Threepenny Opera with the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York.

Tracks

I was first drawn to Nellie McKay when I heard her quirky rendition of 'Ding Dong', one of the songs off this album, performed on the Jools Holland 'Later' show in the UK. Her performance led me to buy the CD but I have to say I preferred the version of the song she did in the show. 'Ding Dong' uses a delightful melody to accompany dark humoured lyrics about depression and madness but on the album track the instrumental backing detracts from the emotive quality of Nellie's voice. On Jools' show Nellie was accompanied solely by her piano playing and the resulting intimacy was far more effective.

Many of the songs on this album come across as parodies of 1950s piano lounge jazz ballads. The kind of thing Doris Day might have sung except that the cynical feminism in the lyrics actually mocks the purist virtues once associated with Day's songs. Check the subtle irony of 'I Wanna Get Married' with its slow jazzy rhythm and sarcastic lines like: 'I Wanna Get Married that's why I was born'. Similarly 'Manhattan Avenue' with its warm vocal, neat piano accompaniment and lazy drum rhythm, sounds like something Ella might have sung in some downtown smoke filled bar back in '53, but like all the tracks on the album, this is an original penned by Nellie herself. The impressive mock interpretation of languorous coffee table jazz continues on CD2 with the soothing orchestral arrangements of 'Suitcase Song' and the sparse jazz piano of 'Won't U Please B Nice'. There is extra cynicism in the latter track that pokes fun at marriage and conservative politics:

"Isn't it nice - Now you've married me
Sugar and spice - Like it's supposed to be
If you go I'll get your dough - So won't you please be nice
If you run I'll pull a gun - Give me head or you'll be dead
Salute the flag or I'll call you a fag - Oh won't you please be nice"

More smooth jazz cynicism and cutting commentary about the less pleasant aspects of human nature are present in the final soothing ballad 'Really' that brings the album to gentle finale:

"I don't know why - I'm such a sh**
I realise this doesn't help a bit
I feel bad - Not bad enough really
I feel angry and upset - I could write you a small cheque
Look I wish you luck - And here's you're buck
It's just that I'm a yuppie f*** -
Yes indeed I am
Really"

It should be noted that many of the lyrics on this, the original album, contain words that some might find offensive. Apparently there is now an edited version of the album in which the 'bad words' have been removed or replaced. This is rather silly in my opinion as such 'obscenities' are crucial to the irony in some of the songs.

Swift stylistic shifts are taken throughout the album sharply juxtaposing the slower jazz ballads against frenetic rap-like numbers, theatrical high tempo show tunes and upbeat pop songs with catchy melodies. Although Nellie can produce a suave vocal that excels on slow sparsely arranged compositions, her voice sometimes strains and gets drowned out when the tempo accelerates on more crowded instrumental tracks. However, the rap-like verses in 'Work song' and 'Sari' are still lyrically appealing with their feminist rants and youthful rage at everything under the sun with the Eminem influenced 'Sari' working best.

McKay's insistence on producing a 18 track double album CD (Columbia originally wanted a 13 song album) was probably a mistake. Apparently her aim was to mimic a double vinyl LP and possibly to become the first female artist to bring out a debut double album. Dropping some of the weaker tracks from disc 2 and producing the rest on a single CD, might have produced a more focussed and accomplished recording. 'Toto Dies' for example (my least favourite track), starts off sweetly enough but even some really neat instrumentation on violins, guitar and piano fails to rescue Nellie's vocal which for the most part struggles to compete and ultimately degenerates into an irritating whine. Nevertheless, there are pleasant melodies and an exhilarating sense of fun on many tracks. 'David' the opening track on CD1 makes use of a reggae beat to carry the catchy tune and lively vocal. 'The Dog Song' is an intelligent upbeat number with a bouncy vocal. Animals seem dear to McKay's heart - she declares her membership of PETA on the back of the album. 'Waiter' is one of the more modern sounding tracks on the album with a feverish beat and pleasant melody. 'Change the World' picks you up from the slow penultimate track on CD1 and starts with a marching drum beat before almost transcending into cabaret.

You might wonder what the rhythmic groove of 'Baby Watch You're Back' is doing on this album as another set of musical influences is taken on board. It sounds very much like late 1960s funk disco with background organ, trumpets and sax, funky distorted guitar and some crafty percussion arrangements involving Nellie this time showing off on the glockenspiel. It's one of the tracks I didn't warm to at first but with repeated listens it kind of grows on you.

'It's A Pose' opens CD2 and begins like a ragtime melody before transforming into something that resembles an old Tin-Pan Alley song. The lyrics however are thoroughly modern and take the form of an angry but acerbically witty diatribe against the male gender. There's some stunning piano and violin/fiddle improvised solos (no wonder Jools invited Nellie onto his show). The fourth track on CD2 is the hyperactive 'Inner Piece' that zips along in hyper mode and is one of the better up-tempo tracks where McKay delivers her words with great effect. 'Clonie' is a clever short witty tune and lyric about human cloning. 'Respectable' is the penultimate track on CD2 and is a pleasant uplifting song with another biting social commentary set against a myriad arrangement of instruments including Spanish guitar and what sounds like castanets.

Conclusion

So although 'Get Away from Me' is far from being a perfect cohesive whole, it does possess a certain eccentric charm and you have to admire McKay's fearless ambition and willingness to take chances. One could argue that McKay's attempt to cover so much ground with such a diverse arrangement of interlocking genres, leaves the listener somewhat disoriented and incapable of latching on to a singular musical identity. One can also imagine that younger listeners might not get the dinner jazz irony running through the album. It is perhaps for these reasons that Nellie McKay has struggled to hit the mainstream like some of her contemporaries. On the plus side she is clearly going overboard to entertain the listener with the full expression of her musical versatility and songwriting talent. Her biting satirical lyrics and insightful social narratives possess considerable weight and substance for such a young debut artist. She is no doubt a musical talent to watch out for.

Each disc of this album is half an hour long and a well designed CD booklet contains some nice photos and lyrics albeit rather crammed between the pages. You should be able to order online for under £5/$10.

Tracks:

CD1
1 David 2:47
2 Manhattan Avenue 3:38
3 Sari3:27
4 Ding Dong 3:11
5 Baby Watch Your Back 3:28
6 Dog Song 3:04
7 Waiter 4:15
8 I Wanna Get Married 4:01
9 Change the World 3:58

CD2
10 It's a Pose 3:30
11 Toto Dies 4:02
12 Won't U Please B Nice 2:09
13 Inner Peace 2:53
14 Suitcase Song 2:33
15 Work Song 4:08
16 Clonie 1:56
17 Respectable 4:07
18 Really

 

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