Customer Reviews

Home Sweet Mobile Home

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really like Nellie McKay's music and I wish more people were aware of her talent. I was blown away by "Get Away From Me." I thought "Pretty Little Head" had its moments, but you had to search for them, and could have used some paring down. The "Rumor Has It..." songs never permeated me that much. Minute-for-minute and song-for-song, "Obligatory Villagers" is my favorite of hers to date. "Normal As Blueberry Pie" was okay, but it's something I'd have to force myself to listen to more than three or four times.

I was hoping "Home Sweet Mobile Home" would pick up where "Obligatory Villagers" left off. It didn't. It DID go in a new direction, which is fine, I'm all for new directions (and not just on "Glee"), but like "Normal As Blueberry Pie," "Home Sweet Mobile Home" didn't have a pulse, no toe-tapping (or foot-stomping) beats of "Waiter" or "Inner Peace." No pushing the audio envelope, like the left channel and right channel singing different bridges in "Galleon."

On this album: No rapping? And if not traditional "rapping," then "rapid-fire wordplay"? "Sari," "Columbia Is Bleeding" and "Identity Theft" all push the boundaries of spoken word set to music. I wished "Home Sweet Mobile Home" had continued that tradition, if for nothing more than to wake the listener up. A Nellie McKay album without rapping is like a Portishead album without turntables (see also: Portishead's "Third").

Also, no lyrics in the liner notes? For an artist who packs such a lyrical punch, I was surprised and disappointed there weren't Nellie's official transcriptions of what she was saying.

As for what I liked, I enjoyed "Bruise on the Sky." "Unknown Reggae" is another one I enjoyed; it lets Nellie take a new genre (for her) and put a vegan twist on it, taking me to a new place. But even on that song, the first verse talks about a boy she liked/loved, but she never brings him up again in any of the following verses, so I was unsure why she mentioned him in the first place. Much of the rest of the album has the same lack of clarity, like I'm not sure what I was supposed to take away from it.

Even some of the songs that were okay, like "Dispossessed"--she did the New Orleans/jazzy vibe SO much better on "Zombie." "No Equality," which seems right up her political, protesting alley, and has a funky 70s feel--I'm not even sure what KIND of inequality she's talking about? Gender? Race? Creed? Color? National Origin? Age? Sexual orientation? Income? Religion? It's fertile territory. I think it's about inequality within a relationship of hers, but it'd be nice for the listener to know what's going on.

This is an album where even after I listened to it several times (and even after going online to look for lyrics, listening closely, comparing the album versions with live versions on YouTube, piecing together my own transcriptions), not many of the melodies or lyrics stuck with me. I couldn't hum or sing much from memory.

Sidenote/rant: On both "Home Sweet Mobile Home" and "Normal As Blueberry Pie" (her two albums on Verve Forecast), 1) neither album include lyrics in their liner notes, which I can understand with the Doris Day covers if royalties involved with reprinting lyrics were an issue. 2) both "Blueberry" and "HSMH" have different bonus tracks on different versions. To get all three bonus tracks on "Blueberry," I'd have to buy both the whole Barnes & Noble physical version AND the whole iTunes version? I'd have to buy the album twice to get all the songs--really. Similarly, on "HSMH," to get the five bonus tracks, I'd have to buy both the $35 deluxe edition AND the whole iTunes album? As a loyal, law-abiding relic who still pays money for (often hard copies of) music, it's irritating the hurdles set up to (legally) be a completist.

In the end, "Home Sweet Mobile Home" may be like a lot of Alanis Morisette's post-"Jagged Little Pill" work--meant to be more studied than enjoyed. As Nellie says in "HSMH"'s opener "Bruise on the Sky": "I used to think about it / When I say 'think' I mean 'satirize'." Well, I miss satirical Nellie, and rapping Nellie, and theatrical Nellie, and ironic Nellie, and manic Nellie, and funny Nellie.

I'll still get Nellie's next album, hopefully not as just an obligatory listener.

One of the things I love about Nellie is her variety of musical styles, so I was excited to find out that she had added an island flavor on this album. I wasn't disappointed. She's got steel drums and ukuleles going on, but she reminds me exactly of herself. I'm also excited to hear some chamberpop a la Camera Obscura, which I also love. I don't hear any hard-edged rap or anger music here, although her lyrics still express her discontent on a few songs. Nellie sounds a lot more relaxed than she did on Get Away From Me and Pretty Little Head. She might be making the same journey that Alanis Morisette did, but I like both angry Nellie and mellow Nellie, so I'm very happy with her latest offering.

I dug Nellie McKay's first album Get Away from Me, but I didn't care for her next one Pretty Little Head, so I passed on Obligatory Villagers and her Doris Day album. But I thought her contribution to David Byrne's Imelda Marcos concept album was decent, so I decided to give her another chance. This is a good album with island-ish sounds that I have not heard her do before. But the song with the chorus about eating hamburger was a bit extreme for me, so that's why I knock the rating down to 4 stars. So, I disagree with mary bee's review that Nellie McKay has lost her edge!

Nellie has done it again in creating a wonderful CD encompassing around a dozen different genres. She has managed to create a variety of music that will appeal to a wider audience while still being uniquely Nellie. Whereas most singers do not write much of their own music, and if they do, the music all tends to be from the same or similar genres, Nellie can write music in any genre and write it well. I think she has even created a few new genres of her own. I highly recommend this CD! It is a beautiful work of art and I am sure it will remain one of my favorites for a very long time.

I am particularly fond of "Beneath the Underdog," which I heard McKay perform live last year and had been waiting to find on an album, and "¡Bodega!," which is a perfectly silly and entertaining song. Many of the tracks on this album showcase McKay's skills as a mimic. We've listened to this one a lot around the house.

When I first listened to HSMH, I had mixed feelings about it. It seemed like Nellie lost her edge on this one. But after a couple of more spins, it started to grow on me. I now like it as much as Get Away From Me. My favorite song: Coosada Blues.

After her tribute album to Doris Day, which was heartfelt but so-so, Nellie returns with a great album of original tunes. I enjoy her musical diversity and her consistent intelligence and good humor. (Disguising the CD as a children's album is another whimsical touch!) Highly recommended.

After seeing Nelly in person I wanted to get some of her music and this cd is just wonderful, well done songs with good musicians & a great variety of joyful music. I am going to order another cd asap

This is a great CD to have playing in the background while I meet the day's challenges. The soothing quality of Nellie's rich vocals keeps me calm and focused. What a wonderful singer!

Nellie is like no other artist. I was lucky enough to catch her on NPR some time ago and she has become a favorite of our little family. My toddler daughter and I listen to Caribbean Time every single day. Favorites are Caribbean Time, Bluebird and Unknown Reggae in that order. Nellie you are a lovely person, thank you so much for sharing your art!

We humbly request more reggae music from you!