Obligatory Villagers(Explicit Version) (2007)

Artist: Nellie Mckay
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Product Summary
Label: Welk Music Group
UPC: 00015707984324
Release Date: 9/25/2007
Buy.com Sku: 205115867
Item#: M3RG9P
Format:  CD

Song Listing

Disc 1
Song TitleSample
1. Mother Of Pearl ~ Nellie McKay
2. Oversure ~ Nellie McKay
3. Gin Rummy ~ Nellie McKay
4. Livin' ~ Nellie McKay
5. Identity Theft ~ Nellie McKay
6. Galleon ~ Nellie McKay
7. Politan ~ Nellie McKay
8. Testify ~ Nellie McKay
9. Zombie ~ Nellie McKay



 
Album Notes and Credits

Notes & Personnel Info
The irony inherent in Obligatory Villagers, the shortest of Nellie McKay's first three albums, is that it's her most difficult to understand, comprehend, or even take in. This despite the fact that, unlike her first two albums, these nine songs don't sprawl stylistically. Except for a light pop opener -- granted, that opener is a mocking satire of conservatives called "Mother of Pearl" with an opening line ("Feminists don't have a sense of humor") that deftly counterbalances McKay's later call for a dance break -- the album is Broadway all the way. With McKay's voice and piano, plus heavyweight help from jazz horns including David Liebman, Phil Woods, and Bob Dorough (the latter a singing horn), the album charges by with lightning speed. Her nimble Broadway orchestrations step and kick so quickly that it's nearly impossible to decode McKay's lyrics until after several listens -- even keeping up with the lyric book is difficult. (On his features, Dorough plays it up perfectly, a bemused and befuddled onlooker to the madness.) The fact that Obligatory Villagers does eventually coalesce into a unified and pleasurable listening experience is primarily a testament to Nellie McKay's sizable skills in arrangement and orchestration; writing original charts to provide the meat, then quoting from show tune tradition where she needs to lighten the mood, she makes the entire album a treat, an entertaining experience that listeners will want to sit through over and over until they figure out all of the points -- large and small -- she's making in these songs. If only there were a Broadway musical companion for Obligatory Villagers that listeners could actually sit through, either to visually unite the songs or merely to watch while they listened, Obligatory Villagers would be an amazing soundtrack. ~ John Bush

Producer: Robin Pappas; Nellie McKay

 
Compilation Appearances
Monster-In-Law
This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul
Grey's Anatomy (Soundtrack)
Weeds:music From The 0905
Weeds:music From The 0905
Ps I Love You (ost)

 
Technical Info
Release Date : 09/25/2007
Original Release Date : 2007
Catalog ID : 7079
Label : Vanguard Records (USA)
Number of Discs : 1
Runtime : 31m : 33s
Studio/Live : Studio
Mono/Stereo : Stereo
SPAR Code : n/a
UPC : 00015707984324

 
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.74)
- 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's carried by its two or three standouts, innumerable charming moments and kooky mood."

Spin (p.108)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] brisk nine-song set that plays like the breathless first act of a stage musical decrying American fascism."

Entertainment Weekly (p.107)
- "With nine succinct songs, some pointed and some dreamy, VILLAGERS is playful without being arch." -- Grade: A-

JazzTimes (p.130)
- "[U]nquestionably thought-provoking....[With] 'Identity Theft,' a fiery rage against the suppression of free expression, and 'Testify,' which challenges us villagers to regain our protestor voices."

  
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