Customer Reviews
Great singer, glad she left her label 
2006-03-18
A beautiful voice with some interesting nonstandard formats. Nellie is very refreshing and I would refer her to anybody in a second. BUT!!! this lousy label she recorded this wonderful music on limits me from hearing her on all my listening devices. This is a locked (anti-theft) CD so I can't import to my iPod (thanks SO very much). It plays only on my main stereo equipment, not my Mac or car stereo. In other words, it's an event if I want to listen to her music. I can't casually listen to Nellie. I say, Nellie, Get Away From THEM! I'm glad you left that label! Good luck to you! I hope all recording artists wake up and free themselves from this horrible, limiting "locked" format! Nellie gets 5 stars. Recording label, a negative 100000000. By the way, just download this from the iTunes store.
Get away, get here 
2005-08-26
Nellie McKay shows in her charmingly-titled debut "Get Away From Me" that she is definitely one of the fresher musical voices out there. She has the energy and voice nailed down -- what her songs need is further maturity and a bit of songwriting polish. (Not to mention a rhyming dictionary)
In a sprawling two-disc album, McKay runs her full range of songs with rap (the gritty girlie-rap "Sari"), countryish pop (the amusing anti-male "It's A Pose"), punkish stuff ("Inner Peace"), classical instruments given a new spin (piano-based "Work Song"), poppish reggae ("David") and jazz ballads ("Won't U Please B Nice?"). What are the songs about? Blasting men, domestic dreams, politics, pets, masturbation and "my clonie."
At nineteen, McKay shows a lot of budding talent that will probably be a force to be reckoned with in future years. She's pretty solid here, but not as good as one senses she could be someday. Even so, she's more eclectic and inventive than many of the singers/bands out there.
Musically, she uses a mix of pop, rock, Tin Pan Alley, hip-hop, jazz, rap, country, and... oh, just about everything in modern music aside from metal. And in keeping with the wide range of musical types, there's an instrument for everyone, from cellos to accordians, from the violins and clarinet to the xylophone and Spanish guitar.
Her songwriting is a mix of the witty ("I wanna pack cute little lunches/for my Brady Bunches") and weird (the entire "Clonie" song -- hello, tortured rhymes!). In these, her youth makes itself pretty evident -- they can be simple and almost goofy at times. A joke on her part? Maybe. She obviously has inspiration and talent, and an appealingly edgy outlook, but needs to work on what she has in places.
McKay's voice is, of course, the centerpiece of the whole album. And it's a pretty good voice, very flexible and versatile, capable of being wispy one moment and throaty the next. Her rapping in "Sari," however, is a disappointment. She's no Eminem; she's more like Blondie vocalist Deborah Harry, whose rapping efforts haven't been too great either.
Nellie McKay's double-disc debut has a unique flavour that few singers have. Despite some chunks of musical inexperience and wobbly writing, "Get Away From Me" is amusing and brings back memories of music past, with a new spin.
A promising start 2005-07-11
I like this album. I've listened to it a lot since I bought it. That being said, Ms. McKay has emerged onto the scene with this album as a promising talent, not as a brilliant fully-formed artist.
At her best (the opening track David) is a good example, McKay does what certainly qualifies as "rocking" her driving piano playing and strong feeling for pop-melody is absolutely electric. There are some over produced tracks on this two disc set ("Sari" is one) where Ms. McKay is taken out of the driver's seat and placed in front of a heavily produced pop-backdrop, and these tracks lack the personality of the tracks which Ms.McKay is allowed to lead.
Emotionally this album produces some rocky-terrain too, alternating -sometimes jarringly- between catchy pop melodies ("The Dog Song") and an authentic and passionate sense of angst ("Inner Peace"). There's no reason that Ms. McKay can't do both of these things, and perhaps the order of the songs is partially to blame for the uneveness, but somehow there's the sense that she hasn't quite found exactly what she wants to say and how she wants to say it.
My favorite moments on the record are those when Ms. McKay is less than straightforward; "I Wanna Get Married" is a work of demure irony. Other times, she is so direct that at the end of the 4 minute track it's hard not to be a little disappointed that her lyrics are so transparent and understandable.
You should buy this album because because it represents the hopeful first step in what promises to be a career whose best works are surely yet to come. This album's youthful exuberance, passion and lack of restraint offer certain charms, which I hope will only become more precious when considered with an expanded body of work which becomes more focused.
The concert video is excellent 
2005-06-21
This release makes the original release somewhat obsolete. This contains all of the songs from the original on side A - in cd format, and and 25 minute video of Nellie McKay on side B. (Side B also contains two b-sides, and a useless surround version of the album - all of side B requires a DVD player).
Nellie is quite magnetic on stage, I wish that this concert contained more of her silly banter between songs, there's only about 2 minutes of that. But if you want a record of her live, this is excellent.
She's a nut--but a colorful, genuine nut 
2005-04-25
Nellie McKay(the M.C .on the DVD pronounces it "Mc-eye")has an unplaceable accent, a faraway glint in her scheming eyes, and a tart sense of humor that catches you totally unawares. She's an honest-to-God original, and a breath of fresh air in these calculated-pop times. Her music careens between different inspirations, and she's juggles them all like a pro. My favorites are the whimsical "David", the plaintive "Really", the humorous/serious "I Wanna Get Married" and the comical "Clonie". "Married" really epitomizes McKay--sardonic, rueful, but wistful and longing. You can hear the yearning in her voice even as she spouts scattershot poetry. The DVD is a wonderful(but brief)concert in San Francisco, and her in-between patter is constantly surprising. You never know where she's gonna take you.
My CAT died and I quickly poured myself some gin 2005-04-25
Just an example of the lyrics that nellie comes up with. Great songwriter! This cd is unique, fun, and catchy! I originally heard her on the late night show and I went out and bought the cd the next day. Great cd!! a must buy if you like unique lyrics and music!
Even more from the great Nellie McKay 2005-04-03
Congratulations if you're here on this page, and you're reading about Nellie - she is worth your attention. If you've never heard her songs before, spend the extra few bucks and get this dual disc. It showcases what is perhaps her greatest strength - her ability to dazzle and charm (and educate) a live audience, with all the humble confidence she can muster. Although the live show is all too short, you can't imagine how talented this person is until you watch her play the piano like someone who's got more years of experience than she has years. And I say this as a pianist - and a very humbled fan of Nellie McKay. (Why humbled? Here's a direct quote of credits from the jacket of this album: "All Vocals, Piano, Organ, Recorder, Vibes, Chimes, Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Synthesizer, Additional Percussion: Nellie McKay.") And oh, by the way, when she made this album with legendary (Beatles) producer Geoff Emerick, she was 21.
This is one of the best albums to come along in years. Do yourself a favor and find out why people like me are spending the time to write 5-star reviews.
a great album in a great format 2005-03-30
First, thoughts on the DualDisc format: it's pretty cool. My car's CD player won't play the CD, which is a bummer, but all my other players spin it fine, so it's not that big a bummer. As for the DVD side of the disc, well, the highlight is the 5.1 surround mix of the album itself. The sound is fantastic. The bonuses are: a very good (but brief -- only 26 minutes) concert film, including two new songs; and two studio recordings from the period between the release of the album and the fall '04 presidential election. Both of those last two songs are great, and deal with politics in a totally un-heavy-handed manner. At the same time, it's clear that McKay is dissatisfied with the current administration, as well as the choices we had to replace it.
Now, the album. Well, it's awesome. McKay (it's pronounced "Mick-Kigh," apparently, by the way) is obviously a talented woman, and the talent sometimes threatens to get out of her control. But it never does, even on a track like "Sari," a hip-hop track that really ought not to work but totally does. Every song is good, but my particular favorites are "Ding Dong" (the catchiest song about suicide ever written), "Change the World," "Manhattan Avenue," and the hilarious "Clonie," in which McKay's lyrical wit is at its keenest.
I liked this album an awful lot when I bought it in the spring of 2004; now, a year later, it's even better. It's one of those albums that doesn't give over all its secrets at once. It rewards attention. There aren't too many artists who do that, and there are NONE who do it in so many ways. By turns funny, yearning, subversive, cynical, and sincere, this is a seriously good piece of work, and if the next one comes out tomorrow, then it isn't a moment too soon.
