GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Music

Upcoming Release Calendar
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Music In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

74 Absentee
69 AC/DC
72 Ryan Adams
66 Trace Adkins
67 The Aliens
66 All That Remains
93 Amadou & Mariam
80 Amon Amarth
66 Anastacia
46 Brett Anderson
75 Theresa Andersson
66 Annuals
79 Antony And The Johnsons
76 Apollo Sunshine
58 David Archuleta
76 Aterciopelados
72 Attic Lights
75 Joan Baez
80 Belle & Sebastian
61 Beyonce
80 Blitzen Trapper
69 Bloc Party
83 Bound Stems
73 Brightblack Morning Light
64 The Broken West
64 The Bronx
74 Ane Brun
50 Buckcherry
77 Lindsey Buckingham
92 Buena Vista Social Club
78 Calexico
73 Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
64 Castanets
69 Catfish Haven
66 Chairlift
63 Tracy Chapman
73 The Chemical Brothers
60 Kenny Chesney
66 Tony Christie
82 The Clash
66 Cold War Kids
69 Coldplay
67 David Cook
70 Nikka Costa
51 Cradle Of Filth
60 Crooked Fingers
78 Rodney Crowell
75 Crystal Stilts
77 Rivers Cuomo
70 The Cure
62 Kimya Dawson
72 Dead Confederate
72 The Dears
81 Deerhoof
81 Deerhunter
70 Brett Dennen
78 Department Of Eagles
73 Angela Desveaux
68 Devin The Dude
73 Dido
79 Ani DiFranco
58 DJ Khaled
82 DJ/rupture
66 The Donkeys
54 Dr. Dooom
61 Dragonette
79 Dungen
86 Bob Dylan
82 Eagles Of Death Metal
79 El Guincho
57 Electric Six
74 Brian Eno + David Byrne
64 Everlast
75 The Fireman
62 Ben Folds
69 Free Blood
74 Friendly Fires
84 Fucked Up
71 Fujiya & Miyagi
77 Gang Gang Dance
78 Morgan Geist
74 Giant Sand
81 Girl Talk
69 Girls Aloud
82 Glasvegas
67 Gojira
83 Grails
61 Growing
67 Guns N' Roses
67 Gym Class Heroes
76 Hauschka
65 Her Space Holiday
75 High Places
49 Hinder
71 Jolie Holland
79 David Holmes
81 Horse Feathers
64 Howling Hex
58 Jennifer Hudson
78 Hush Arbors
70 I'm From Barcelona
68 Jack's Mannequin
72 Jake One
73 James
59 Japanese Motors
64 Jem
80 The Jesus And Mary Chain
81 Johann Johannsson
68 Grace Jones
60 Tom Jones
75 Damien Jurado
69 Kaiser Chiefs
64 Keane
76 Toby Keith
70 The Killers
63 Kings Of Leon
77 The Knux
78 Koushik
74 Lady GaGa
72 Ladyhawke
75 Lambchop
73 Ray LaMontagne
74 Land Of Talk
68 John Legend
75 Jenny Lewis
71 Little Joy
60 The Little Ones
57 LL Cool J
81 Los Campesinos!
76 Love Is All
81 Patty Loveless
73 Ludacris
79 Luomo
73 Madlib
65 Margot & The Nuclear So And So's
68 Mercury Rev
78 Metallica
70 Metronomy
57 Ingrid Michaelson
76 Mogwai
77 Juana Molina
67 Monkey
79 Mount Eerie
46 Mudvayne
73 Murs
61 Nelly
51 New Kids On The Block
77 The New Year
79 Ne-Yo
51 Nickelback
57 Nightmares On Wax
60 The Nightwatchman
62 Noah And The Whale
66 Oasis
68 O'Death
70 Of Montreal
79 Okkervil River
77 Old Crow Medicine Show
54 The Organ
65 Joan Osborne
77 Brad Paisley
82 Pale Young Gentlemen
78 Amanda Palmer
65 Parenthetical Girls
76 Parts & Labor
74 Passion Pit
67 Peter Bjorn And John
66 The Peth
51 Kellie Pickler
69 Pink
73 Benoît Pioulard
70 Pivot
54 Plain White T's
40 Daniel Powter
74 The Pretenders
51 Pussycat Dolls
84 Q-Tip
42 Queen + Paul Rodgers
71 Rafter
74 Raglani
57 Razorlight
69 Lou Reed
74 Religious Knives
62 Rex The Dog
65 Rise Against
76 Roots Manuva
74 The Rosebuds
66 Darius Rucker
83 Arthur Russell
82 Raphael Saadiq
60 Sam Champion
68 School of Seven Bells
75 The Sea And Cake
60 Seal
69 Seasick Steve
65 Secret Machines
81 Pete Seeger
71 Serena-Maneesh
68 The Shaky Hands
72 Blake Shelton
58 Jessica Simpson
89 The Smiths
72 Todd Snider
68 Snow Patrol
62 Spinto Band
68 Squarepusher
65 Starfucker
82 Marnie Stern
62 The Streets
73 The Subways
81 Taylor Swift
74 T.I.
66 Talkdemonic
64 James Taylor
66 Ten Kens
72 Robin Thicke
67 Thievery Corporation
79 Tindersticks
88 Shugo Tokumaru
75 Emiliana Torrini
70 T-Pain
65 Travis
70 Tricky
66 Trivium
88 TV On The Radio
92 Underoath
56 UNKLE
74 Chad VanGaalen
76 Vivian Girls
78 Volcano!
84 Butch Walker
57 Scott Weiland
74 Kanye West
73 White Denim
78 Wild Beasts
78 Wilderness
71 Hank Williams III
72 Lucinda Williams
67 Michelle Williams
70 Brian Wilson
73 Lee Ann Womack
75 Women
63 XX Teens
72 Rachael Yamagata
60 Yo Majesty
72 Young Jeezy

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Get Away From Me
by Nellie McKay

Nellie McKay reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 79 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.0 out of 10
based on 17 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 19 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

London-born, 19-year-old jazz vocalist Nellie McKay makes her debut with this 2-disc set produced by Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick. Unlike contemporaries such as Norah Jones, McKay brings a darker edge and a sense of humor (and even a hint of hip hop) to her songs, all of which she wrote herself.

LABEL: Columbia
RELEASE DATE: 10 February 2004
DISCS: 2 discs
GENRE(S): Jazz, Pop, Singer-Songwriter

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Entertainment Weekly
Sophisticated stuff even for a music vet; truly stunning considering McKay is only 19.
Read Full Review
100
The Guardian
Dizzying in its scope and ambition.
Read Full Review
91
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
Not counting Stephin Merritt, no other under-40 approaches McKay's gift for cabaret.
Read Full Review
88
Los Angeles Times
Filled with just the kind of unpredictable twists and turns that you'd expect from someone who lists Doris Day as one of her idols and hopes someday to be compared to Bob Dylan. [29 Feb 2004]
80
Rolling Stone
McKay mixes pathos and goofiness with egghead glee.
Read Full Review
80
Mojo
This has wit in spades, an irrepressible love of language and genuine originality. [Oct 2004, p.110]
80
Blender
Her coy delivery suggests a seething everywoman concealing her rage under an ominously bright surface.
Read Full Review
80
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Often, Get Away From Me sounds like the work of someone with decades of experience getting one shot to try every idea she's ever had. [17 Mar 2004]
80
Stylus Magazine
So ignore the Doris-Day-meets-Eminem descriptions you’re seeing; this is more like Kate Bush meets Phil Ochs.
Read Full Review
75
Spin
The record could use more songs like "David," where her bratty valedictorian wit is balanced with a sense of real emotional stakes. [Apr 2004, p.93]
70
Uncut
Think Randy Newman crooned in a voice like Peggy Lee and delivered with the panache of Rufus Wainwright. [Sep 2004, p.96]
70
All Music Guide
Get Away From Me is an exciting debut that could become a cult favorite among pissed-off girl-women of McKay's age; if she can focus her creative energy without sacrificing any of the bite of her debut, she'll become an even more impressive talent.
Read Full Review
70
Q Magazine
A screw is definitely loose somwhere, but so what? [Oct 2004, p.128]
70
PopMatters
McKay runs the risk of stalling out at "adorably wacky" instead of actually meaning anything at all, or rewarding multiple listens with something more.
Read Full Review
68
ShakingThrough.net
There's no mistaking McKay's talent as a songwriter, even if, as on "The Dog Song," she still falls too easily prey to cloying preciousness.
Read Full Review
63
Pitchfork
With better lyrics and a longer attention span, McKay would be a jaw-dropping songwriter, but it's difficult to get sucked into a song if you don't connect with the singer.
Read Full Review
40
Austin Chronicle
It's sometimes hard to tell who's running the show, the major label or the major talent.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Dan F gave it a10:
Totally unpredictable and funny and smart. What else could you ask for?

Chris H gave it a9:
If the Bloodhound Gang went to Berekley, this would be the kind of music they would make. Hillariously brilliant album!

d gave it a10:
one of the greatest albums of the 00's

Josh W gave it a10:
Her album is so innovative and fresh. Who knew that vocal jazz and rap went together like two peas in a pod?

Stiven gave it a9:
Absolutely fantastic record!

Andrew gave it a10:
First time I heard Nellie Mckay was on the Late Show with David Letterman, she was performing "The Dog Song". I thought it seemed a little weird at first. Next time I saw her, was on the Late Late Show (not sure if it was a guest host, of if Craig Ferguson had started), and she was performing "Sari". At that moment I was duly impressed! "Sari" being her song that she delves into rapping about what is troubling her, and apologises for it. So upon hearing the album, and getting to know her, definitely nothing weird about her! "The Dog Song" is a creative quirky song, just what is probably lacking in much popular music of today. Overall the album defies categorisation, although pop, and adult pop/jazz would work well, which is rather impressive for a 19 year old! Besides being a great album, she is funny, a great performer, and smart. Some of her lyrics have a political tinge to them, including songs, such as "John-John", about John Kerry and Ralph Nader (originally titled "Mickey Mouse", changed for obvious reasons), it appears on the DualDisc release, and "Columbia is Bleeding" about Columbia University's cruelty to animals. Since she was (jokingly) disappointed on "The View" about Rolling Stone only giving her album four stars, I'll give it five, but I do mean it! Her sophomore is tentatively scheduled for a September 27th release!

Skagitguy gave it a10:
I'm a 48 year old middle class republican male (please don't throw things at the monitor). That being said I am very critiacal of music and enjoy Dorisa Day as well as Eminem (yes, really) And while many of Nellie's lyrics often drip with that sardonic liberal wit I've come to loathe... her songwriting and performance is pure genius and soars high above the mind-numbing pop stuff that tries to pass itself off as music. I sat entranced as I listened to her pound out "Sari" on Letterman. It was that same kind of chill as when I heard Coltrane's "Giant Steps" or Tom Wait's "Closing Time" for the first time. Gwen, Jessica, Britney.... please step aside and let a blonde who actually HAS talent step up to the mike. Thank you.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this album in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: MLB | Spore | iPhone 3G | Paris Hilton | Antivirus Software | GPS | Recipes | Shwayze | NFL

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use