Get Away from Me

Get Away from Me is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Nellie McKay. The album was met with widespread praise from critics, and charted on the Billboard 200.

Get Away from Me
Studio album by Nellie McKay
Released	February 10, 2004
Recorded	August 4–22, 2003
Studio	Clinton Recording Studios, New York City
Genre	Pop, rock, jazz, comedy
Length	61:31
Label	Columbia
Producer	Geoff Emerick
Nellie McKay chronology
Get Away from Me (2004) Pretty Little Head (2006)
Singles from Get Away From Me
"David" Released: 2004

Release

The album was released on February 10, 2004, by Columbia Records. McKay insisted on Columbia releasing this album as a two-disc set even though all of its content could fit on a single disc. On iTunes, a clean version was made available which removes the profanities found on some of the songs like "Sari."

A DualDisc version of the album was released on March 29, 2005, featuring a DVD side with a live concert, 5.1 audio, and two previously unreleased tracks, "John-John" and "Teresa." The CD side features both discs of the previous release as one continuous album.

"David," the album's opening track, was released as a promotional single,^[1] with an accompanying music video.^[2] The song was included on MTV2's "Shortlist 2004 Nominees" compilation and on the soundtrack for the TV series Weeds.^[3] McKay stated in an interview with ELLEgirl that the song was written about her neighbor, whom she has a crush on.^[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100^[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[6]
Blender	^[7]
Entertainment Weekly	A^[8]
The Guardian	^[9]
Los Angeles Times	^[10]
Pitchfork	6.3/10^[11]
Q	^[12]
Rolling Stone	^[13]
Spin	B^[14]
The Village Voice	A−^[15]

Get Away from Me was met with widespread praise from music critics. On the review aggregator Metacritic, the album holds a score of 79 out of 100, based on 17 reviews.^[5] Heather Phares, reviewing the album for AllMusic, gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, commenting that the album "is the kind of feverishly inventive, sprawling album that only comes from young artists," going on to praise the album's musical and lyrical eclecticism but feeling that the variety made the album sometimes feel "dizzying rather than dazzling." Phares concluded that the record "could become a cult favorite among pissed-off girl-women of McKay's age."^[6] In a rave review, The Guardian's Maddy Costa, who awarded the album 5 out of 5 stars, felt that "lyrically [...] her elegance and control are irrefutable" and singled out "I Wanna Get Married" and "Won't U Please B Nice" as highlights.^[9] Entertainment Weekly, whose review was also extremely positive, likened McKay to Julie London and praised her vocals and lyrics, giving the album an "A".^[8]

Some critics were less enthusiastic in their assessments of the album. Chris Dahlen, writing for Pitchfork, gave the album 6.3 out of 10, calling McKay "annoying" and her music "a mess of jazz, pop, and easy listening," but praising the record's "graceful melodies, barbed hooks, and confident voice" on songs such as "Ding Dong" and "The Suitcase Song."^[11] The Austin Chronicle's Matt Dentler was also more skeptical of the album, awarding the album 2 stars and criticizing some of McKay's lyrics, but feeling that McKay has "talent" and concluding that McKay will "only get better as she figures out who the real Nellie McKay is."^[16]

Commercial performance

Get Away from Me debuted at number 16 on the Billboard Heatseekers album chart on the chart dated March 13, 2004.^[17] The following week, the album rose to its number 7 peak on the Heatseekers chart^[18] and debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 181.^[19] The album remains her highest-charting album in the US, her only other album to reach the Billboard 200 being her Doris Day tribute album, Normal As Blueberry Pie.^[20]

Track listing

All songs written by Nellie McKay.^[6][21]

Disc 1

1. "David" – 2:47
2. "Manhattan Avenue" – 3:38
3. "Sari" – 3:27
4. "Ding Dong" – 3:11
5. "Baby Watch Your Back" – 3:28
6. "The Dog Song" – 3:04
7. "Waiter" – 4:15
8. "I Wanna Get Married" – 4:01
9. "Change the World" – 3:58

Disc 2

1. "It's a Pose" – 3:30
2. "Toto Dies" – 4:02
3. "Won't U Please B Nice" – 2:09
4. "Inner Peace" – 2:53
5. "Suitcase Song" – 2:33
6. "Work Song" – 4:08
7. "Clonie" – 1:56
8. "Respectable" – 4:07
9. "Really" – 3:56

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes of Get Away From Me^[21] and AllMusic.^[22]

Instruments Jay Berliner – Spanish guitar Cenovia Cummins – violin, fiddle Patricia Davis – violin Joyce Hammann - violin Paul Holderbaum - orchestra director Jim Hynes - flugelhorn, trumpet Birch Johnson - trombone Billy Kaye - drums Richard Locker - cello Nellie McKay - chimes, glockenspiel, organ, percussion, piano, recorder, vibraphone, synthesizer, xylophone Emily Mitchell - harp Norman Panto - accordion Charles Pillow - flute, alto saxophone Carol Pool - violin Ari Roland - upright bass Rob Shaw - violin Andy Snitzer - clarinet, tenor saxophone Andy Stein - violin Corin Stiggall - electric bass Jade Synstelien - guitar Belinda Whitney-Barratt - concertmaster

Production Stuart Breed - assistant engineer Greg Calbi - mastering Geoff Emerick - engineer, producer Steve Genewick - assistant engineer Nellie McKay - associate producer Bill Airey Smith - assistant engineer Miscellaneous Timothy Dark - rap consultant Phillip Stewart - rhythm consultant Elinda Whitney - contractor Amy T. Zielenski - photography

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[23]	181
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)^[24]	7

References

1. "Nellie McKay — "David"". Discogs. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
2. ""David" music video". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
3. ""David" Song Overview". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
4. Walker, Melissa (April 2004). "ELLEgirl Apr 2004 (page 82)". Google Books. Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
5. "Reviews for Get Away From Me by Nellie McKay". Metacritic. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
6. Phares, Heather. "Get Away from Me – Nellie McKay". AllMusic. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
7. Holden, Stephen. . Blender. Archived from the original on March 12, 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
8. Feliciano, Kristina (February 13, 2004). . Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 14, 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
9. Costa, Maddy (September 3, 2004). "Nellie McKay, Get Away From Me". The Guardian. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
10. Hilburn, Robert (September 3, 2004). "Young singer, old soul". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
11. Dahlen, Chris (April 5, 2004). "Nellie McKay: Get Away from Me". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
12. "Nellie McKay: Get Away from Me". Q (219): 128. October 2004.
13. Walters, Barry (March 18, 2004). . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 14, 2004. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
14. Hermes, Will (April 2004). "Norah Jones: Feels Like Home / Nellie McKay: Get Away From Me". Spin. 20 (4): 93. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
15. Christgau, Robert (March 23, 2004). "Consumer Guide: Edges of the Groove". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
16. Dentler, Matt. "Nellie McKay Record Review". The Austin Chronicle. Austin Chronicle Corp. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
17. "Heatseekers albums: March 13, 2004". Billboard. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
18. "Heatseekers albums: March 20, 2004". Billboard. Nielsen Media. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
19. "Billboard 200: March 20, 2004". Billboard. Nielsen Media. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
20. "Nellie McKay chart history". Billboard. Nielsen Media. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
21. Get Away From Me album booklet
22. "Album Credits for "Get Away From Me"". Allmusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
23. "Nellie McKay Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
24. "Nellie McKay Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2016.