Pretty Little Head

Performer: Nellie McKay
Engineer: Seth Waldmann; Walter Fishbacher; Shachar Gilad; Glenn "DJ Wool" Brady; Jim Keller; Kurt Uenala
Producer: Nellie McKay
Distributor: Ryko Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Nellie McKay (vocals, cello, piano, synthesizer, vibraphone, percussion); Cyndi Lauper (vocals, dulcimer, ukulele, trombone); k.d. lang (vocals); Larry Campbell (guitar, banjo, mandolin); Jay Berliner (Spanish guitar); Rob Paparozzi (harmonica); Bob Reynolds (saxophone); Obed Calvaire, Ray Marchica, Sammy Merendino (drums). Audio Mixers: Walter Fishbacher; Kurt Uenala. Recording information: Conway Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Lofish Productions, New York, NY. Photographer: Amy T. Zielinski. Arrangers: Cyndi Lauper; Nellie McKay; Sammy Merendino. Originally scheduled for release in October 2005, Nellie McKay's follow-up to her lauded debut, GET AWAY FROM ME, remained in limbo for months due to a dispute with Columbia Records over the album's long track listing. Finally, in the fall of the following year, PRETTY LITTLE HEAD was issued as a two-disc set by SpinART with its 23 songs all accounted for, proving that the tenacious pop performer had no qualms about bucking major-label support. This fiery, uncompromising attitude is apparent throughout the record, whether the proudly quirky singer/pianist is pondering her existence (the boisterous "Real Life") or decrying the mistreatment of lab animals (the outraged "Columbia Is Bleeding," apparently about the university, not the record company). Given its considerable running time, PRETTY LITTLE HEAD has room for McKay's many shifts in both style and mood, with two impressive duets--"Beecharmer," featuring her THREEPENNY OPERA co-star Cyndi Lauper, and "We Had It Right," with fellow jazz/pop renegade K.D. Lang--proving to be the icing on this unusual two-layer cake. Pretty Little Head, the Nellie McKay record that Columbia refused to release in early 2006, is remarkably similar to Get Away from Me, the record it released to wide acclaim in 2003. Like McKay's debut, it's a two-disc album packed with brash wordplay, passionate causes, and a diverting variety of New York music locales, from the Brill Building to Cafe Carlyle to the South Bronx. If it sacrifices some of the humor and precocious flair of her debut in favor of more social criticism, it's still a very entertaining and occasionally beautiful album that allows space for McKay's continuum of emotions, from gleeful to melancholy to furious. Beginning with a cheerleading tribute to gay marriage ("Cupcake"), she deftly interposes songs on activism, romance, and fun -- not all of which are identifiable at first blush. A key part of her charm is that few of her activist songs are dour or academic (although a song about food, and titled "Food," is the most delightful song on the record). McKay, who sits in the production chair, sounds as musically astute as her predecessor Geoff Emerick (a large feat), and her band, resourceful and economical, again functions as an excellent vehicle for her eccentric songwriting. As on her debut, no songs are obvious highlights, although they're all good or great. In the bitter relationship song "There You Are in Me," McKay prefaces the title with "Everyone you meet secures a wretched seat within your memory/Wipe their filthy feet upon the yearning of your soul," but sings it with such energy and insistency that it doesn't sound maudlin or depressing. "The Big One" may make commercialism sound as terrifying as apocalypse, but "Columbia Is Bleeding" (about allegations of animal cruelty at Columbia University) is a quietly bewitching song quite apart from its subject matter. Although she may not strain for the humor of her first album, she summons a quiet beauty that's new for the elegy "Gladd" (which honors peace activist Gladd Patterson). Pretty Little Head sounds like a record from a woman coming out of girlhood -- more confident, more wise about love, and more focused about her concerns, if no less passionate. ~ John Bush

Rolling Stone (p.72) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "McKay channels her wit and near-virtuosic command of pre-rock pop on jazz-tinged protest songs and killer faux-Broadway singalongs..." Spin (p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he full album has finally surfaced with quirkier and catchier results than the short version." Entertainment Weekly (p.76) - "Carried along by her jazzy piano and agile voice, the politically outraged pop songs are more than mere propaganda." -- Grade: A-

While making waves in the East Village anti-folk scene in 2003, the charismatic and versatile singer-songwriter Nellie McKay played an important gig as the opener for the critically acclaimed Trachtenberg Family Sideshow Players. She caught the attention of local journalists whose enthusiastic coverage caused some buzz in the recording industry. She was soon signed to Columbia Records and released one well-received debut album, but parted ways with them over creative disputes. McKay's literate lyrics, genre-hopping music (jazz, folk, rap, pop), and humorous delivery have made her a big hit with intelligent music lovers and critics, and her ability to charm a crowd has carried over into a side career as a stage actress. She self-released her sophomore album, PRETTY LITTLE HEAD, in 2006.

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