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Get Away From Me
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 19 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Columbia
Release Date: 10 February 2004
Discs: 2 discs
Genre(s): Jazz, Pop, Singer-Songwriter
Summary
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.
Also By This Artist: Pretty Little Head
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
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...
Entertainment Weekly
Sophisticated stuff even for a music vet; truly stunning considering McKay is only 19.
Read Full Review >Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
Not counting Stephin Merritt, no other under-40 approaches McKay's gift for cabaret.
Read Full Review >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]
Mojo
This has wit in spades, an irrepressible love of language and genuine originality. [Oct 2004, p.110]
Blender
Her coy delivery suggests a seething everywoman concealing her rage under an ominously bright surface.
Read Full Review >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]
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 >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]
Uncut
Think Randy Newman crooned in a voice like Peggy Lee and delivered with the panache of Rufus Wainwright. [Sep 2004, p.96]
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 >Q Magazine
A screw is definitely loose somwhere, but so what? [Oct 2004, p.128]
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 >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 >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 >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
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.
