But McKay also includes the non-romantic Carmichael tune "Lazybones," and "Small Day Tomorrow," a semi-obscurity by Bob Dorough and Fran Landesman. As producer, she makes judicious use of overdubs and sound design, incorporating cinematic atmosphere on a couple of tracks.Īlong with "Nearness," her track list includes flickering old standards like "My Romance" and "In a Sentimental Mood," raising the possibility that this is an album about love in its various forms and stages. That's "solo" in all senses of the word: McKay accompanies herself on the album, not only playing piano, her main instrument, but also ukulele, harmonica, celeste and even a bit of harp and cello. The track comes from McKay's forthcoming solo album, Sister Orchid. Could she be singing to a sense memory, or a ghost? Every possibility seems plausible. But McKay brings an odd bittersweetness, and maybe a whiff of sublimated tragedy, to her delivery. The song is invariably performed at a ballad tempo like this one. "The Nearness of You" is a veritable jazz standard composed 80 years ago by Hoagy Carmichael, and recorded since by everybody from Harry James to Norah Jones. And this much remains true on her new version of "The Nearness of You," performed alone at the piano. The bottom line for McKay, it would seem, is that there's always another level, a deeper layer. (Other subjects of her wry inquiry have included the environmentalist Rachel Carson and the comedienne Joan Rivers.) After all, this is someone who recorded an album in glowing tribute to the ingénue Doris Day, and later built a poignant cabaret show around the transgender jazz pianist Billy Tipton. The least conflicted love song in her repertoire might be the one she wrote, ages ago, about walking her dog.īut she isn't an outright skeptic, either. A singer-songwriter drawn to the inherent tensions between surface and substance, she has earned her reputation for unruly drolleries. Nellie McKay isn't the type to offer an unthinking inducement to romance. Sister Orchid was conceived in solitude, executed in darkness - it comes from a place of quiet, a world of low lights and cool drinks. Typical order times are located within the product description.Ĭonjuring the image of a lonely all night truck stop along highway 1 on the California coast, all but lost in the fog that comes creeping along the shoreline.this album speaks of the night, the outsider, the plaintive wail of those lost at sea. It is not guaranteed.Ī Special Order item is an item that we do not stock but can order from the manufacturer. When an item is Out Of Stock and we have an estimated date when our stock should arrive, we list that date on our website in the part's description. We do not have a specific date when it will be coming.Īwaiting repress titles are in the process of being repressed by the label. The Preorder can be released anywhere between weeks, months or years from its initial announcement.Īn Out Of Stock item is an item that we normally have available to ship but we are temporarily out of. Other Preorders are set to release 'TBA.' This means that release date is yet 'To Be Announced'. If a projected release date is known, we will include this in the description in red. Typically the label will set a projected release date (that is subject to change).
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