Obligatory Villagers

Nellie McKay | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 1, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hungry Mouse Records
• ASIN: B000UDUN2W
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,975 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #3 in Music > Pop > Easy Listening > Retro Space Age
  • #5 in Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > Shock Comedy
  • #21 in Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > Comedic Music > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Musical Suite for the Ages, November 27, 2007

By 

Anne R. Eason "J Eason" (Deep Gap, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Obligatory Villagers (Audio CD)

What a short and sweet album! I think to truly appreciate it you have to think of it as two songs--Mother of Pearl and Zombie--which serve as bookends for one of the most thrilling suites of musical inventiveness since, well, I'm not sure when. Comparisons to Bohemian Rhapsody don't do Nellie justice.
The suite kicks off with McKay's shout out to newsworthy dog owner Maxine Shreck and ends with the gospel rave up Testify. In between the listener is treated to everything from sea chanties (Livin) to Latin ballads (Politan) to hip-hop pop (Identity Theft). Just in the space of one song (Testify) she goes from Mancini-style spy music to anthemic rap to SNL-horn ensemble jazz to raise-the-roof soul.
The album is incredibly well-served by McKay's choice of backing musicians, including Bob Dorough whose scratchy vocals provide a perfect counterpoint to young Ms. Nellie on Oversure and Galleon.
Give this album a couple of spins and the nifty arrangements and hook-laden melodies will stick in your head for weeks. Lyrically, McKay manages to take episodes from her own life and turn them into poetic vignettes. Like Steely Dan lyrics, they are vague enough to keep you guessing yet include enough concrete imagery to point you in the right direction.
One of the best albums of 2007!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a Point of Information--Explicit vs. Clean Versions, November 26, 2007

By 

Richard P. Glasser (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Obligatory Villagers (Clean) (Audio CD)

I contacted Nellie's publicist about the differences between the explicit and clean versions of this disc, and was told that the clean version contains three edits in which swear words were replaced by animal sounds--and that Nellie herself likes the clean version.

In light of Nellie's love for animals and her keen sense of humor, this may be one case where the clean version may be a truer representation of the artist.

Yes, I like the disc too, my only reservation being its short length. This is one talented, clever, original artist. But I'll stand aside and let others comment on the musical merits.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars instantly became one of my top 10 favorite CDs..., December 7, 2007

By 

Ray59 (White Haven, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Obligatory Villagers (Audio CD)

I had never heard of Nellie McKay until just a couple weeks ago, when I caught a bit of her music (and interview) on NPR while driving home. The music impressed me so much I turned the car around and headed to our local Barnes and Noble. NPR often features really off-beat music, so I was pleasantly surprised to find "Obligatory Villagers" in stock.

I popped it into my car's CD player on the way home, and it has been there ever since. I am totally hooked! I have been buying records (showing my age here) for about 35 years, and have just a few favorite albums that never seem to get old. This one instantly entered my top 10 albums of all time...which is pretty amazing, considering those personal favorites go back to the 1970s!

How to describe this music? A lot of it I would class as jazz...or close to jazz...with sharp, often funny lyrics. About the best comparison I can think of would be a hybrid of Nora Jones (sound) with the Cherry Poppin' Daddies (lyrics). But even that is doing Nellie a dis-service, because her music is totally original and takes so many different forms. She also has some GREAT catchy musical hooks and elaborate orchestrations.

Just bought her first CD yesterday ("Get Away from Me") and really enjoyed that as well...but not quite as much as "Obligatory Villagers". Which means she is only getting better with time. Can't wait to hear the next one!