Influences

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

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:

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.