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If vocal fans were forced to predict the honoree for a Nellie McKay tribute album, most would have gone far down the list before eventually happening upon the winner, Doris Day. (Granted, McKay had penned her praise of Day two years earlier in an article for the New York Times Review of Books.) But even though her lyrics and attitude are another story (or another era), McKay has a pure but nuanced voice that was always a good match for Day's, and her concern for animal rights is even closer (just check the liner notes for evidence). It's clear to see also that she truly honors her subject; she arranged and selected nearly all of the songs on the album, and even plays all the instruments on the opener, "The Very Thought of You" (that would be vocals, piano, organ, and bells). The selection choices shy away from Day's hits; only "Sentimental Journey" appears from a list of Doris Day's biggest, while "Secret Love," "Day by Day," "Come to Baby, Do," and "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" are left behind. Many of the songs play up Doris Day the coquette, with "Do Do Do" and "Mean to Me" coming across just as sweet as the originals (actually, sweeter). The arrangements are strictly small-group, which is slightly surprising granted that the originals were either big-band swingers or highly orchestrated pop, but McKay shines here too, posing most of the charts halfway between cabaret and Broadway. Actually, when the professionals Bob Holderbaum and Bob Dorough reveal their orchestrations, the charts are a little too Broadway, a little too bland compared to McKay's -- although "Wonderful Guy" is rescued by the most subtle vocal of McKay's career and wonderful accompaniment from Charles Pillow (channeling John Coltrane) on tenor sax. Fans of her subject may doubt her sincerity when, on "Crazy Rhythm," she revels in a series of corny asides -- "Absolutely pip!" and "That's jazz!" -- while Cenovia Cummins takes a hot violin solo. So, the question becomes: Does she revere all the lyrics she sings, as must any artist born past 1950? Of course not, but neither did Day herself. The long tradition of stagecraft (as well as songcraft) honors the fact that a performer can inhabit any character she wishes. The success of the project obviously hinges on McKay herself, and she brings it off thanks to one of the most affecting voices in modern music, a bewitching way of humanizing her songs, and her ability to echo Day's sincerity and joi de vivre (even if it is a performance).
© John Bush /TiVo
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Nellie McKay, Producer, Bells, Organ, Piano, Vocals, Tambura, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ray Noble, ComposerLyricist - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Nellie McKay, Producer, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - George Gershwin, ComposerLyricist - Ira Gershwin, ComposerLyricist - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Lawrence Feldman, Clarinet, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Glenn Drewes, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - John Allred, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Nellie McKay, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Richard Rodgers, ComposerLyricist - Bob Dorough, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Oscar Hammerstein II , ComposerLyricist - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Clarence Penn, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Jay Anderson, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Charles Pillow, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Nellie McKay, Producer, Vocals, Ukulele, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Gimbel, ComposerLyricist - António Carlos Jobim, ComposerLyricist - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - NEWTON MENDONCA, ComposerLyricist - Lawrence Feldman, Flute, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - John Allred, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Nellie McKay, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Roy Turk, ComposerLyricist - Fred E. Ahlert, ComposerLyricist - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jay Berliner, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Roger Wolfe Kahn, Composer - Nellie McKay, Producer, Organ, Piano, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Cenovia Cummins, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Irving Caesar, ComposerLyricist - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Joseph Meyer, ComposerLyricist - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jay Berliner, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Nellie McKay, Producer, Piano, Vocals, Synthesizer Programming, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Lew Brown, ComposerLyricist - Benjamin Homer, ComposerLyricist - Bud Green, ComposerLyricist - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Charles Pillow, Bass Clarinet, Oboe, Saxophones, AssociatedPerformer - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Nellie McKay, Producer, Vocals, Drum, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Cenovia Cummins, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Clarence Penn, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Jay Anderson, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Jay Berliner, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Charles Pillow, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Nellie McKay, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - David Weiss, Flute, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Francis Webster, Author - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Sammy Fain, Composer - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Clarence Penn, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Nellie McKay, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Johnny Mercer, ComposerLyricist - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Lawrence Feldman, Clarinet, Flute, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Clarence Penn, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Jay Anderson, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Jay Berliner, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Glenn Drewes, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Hal Bourne, ComposerLyricist - Charles Pillow, Tenor Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - John Allred, Trombone, AssociatedPerformer - Lucas Steele, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Robin Pappas, Producer - Paolo Perre, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Kevin Rennard, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Nellie McKay, Producer, Bells, Vocals, Mellotron, Ukulele, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Burt Bacharach, ComposerLyricist - Hal David, ComposerLyricist - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Sharon Moe, French Horn, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Nellie McKay, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Dorough, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Bernice Petkere, ComposerLyricist - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Clarence Penn, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Jay Anderson, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Nellie McKay, Producer, Vocals, Synthesizer, Drum, Mellotron, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Johnny Mercer, Author - Victor Schertzinger, ComposerLyricist - JAMES FARBER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Mark Wilder, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Robin Pappas, Producer
℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
If vocal fans were forced to predict the honoree for a Nellie McKay tribute album, most would have gone far down the list before eventually happening upon the winner, Doris Day. (Granted, McKay had penned her praise of Day two years earlier in an article for the New York Times Review of Books.) But even though her lyrics and attitude are another story (or another era), McKay has a pure but nuanced voice that was always a good match for Day's, and her concern for animal rights is even closer (just check the liner notes for evidence). It's clear to see also that she truly honors her subject; she arranged and selected nearly all of the songs on the album, and even plays all the instruments on the opener, "The Very Thought of You" (that would be vocals, piano, organ, and bells). The selection choices shy away from Day's hits; only "Sentimental Journey" appears from a list of Doris Day's biggest, while "Secret Love," "Day by Day," "Come to Baby, Do," and "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" are left behind. Many of the songs play up Doris Day the coquette, with "Do Do Do" and "Mean to Me" coming across just as sweet as the originals (actually, sweeter). The arrangements are strictly small-group, which is slightly surprising granted that the originals were either big-band swingers or highly orchestrated pop, but McKay shines here too, posing most of the charts halfway between cabaret and Broadway. Actually, when the professionals Bob Holderbaum and Bob Dorough reveal their orchestrations, the charts are a little too Broadway, a little too bland compared to McKay's -- although "Wonderful Guy" is rescued by the most subtle vocal of McKay's career and wonderful accompaniment from Charles Pillow (channeling John Coltrane) on tenor sax. Fans of her subject may doubt her sincerity when, on "Crazy Rhythm," she revels in a series of corny asides -- "Absolutely pip!" and "That's jazz!" -- while Cenovia Cummins takes a hot violin solo. So, the question becomes: Does she revere all the lyrics she sings, as must any artist born past 1950? Of course not, but neither did Day herself. The long tradition of stagecraft (as well as songcraft) honors the fact that a performer can inhabit any character she wishes. The success of the project obviously hinges on McKay herself, and she brings it off thanks to one of the most affecting voices in modern music, a bewitching way of humanizing her songs, and her ability to echo Day's sincerity and joi de vivre (even if it is a performance).
© John Bush /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:43:19
- Main artists: Nellie McKay
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Verve
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. ℗ 2009 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
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