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''My Weekly Reader'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Nellie McKay, consisting of covers of hits from the 1960s. The album entered the
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Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart, and garnered positive reviews upon its release.


Background and release

''"My Weekly Reader'' is Nellie McKay's sixth album, and second cover album, following her Doris Day tribute album " Normal as Blueberry Pie." The record consists entirely of covers of hits from the 1960s, including songs by
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and Moby Grape. McKay enlisted Dweezil Zappa,
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
's son, to play guitar on her cover of his father's "
Hungry Freaks, Daddy ''Freak Out!'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa ...
;" she also enlisted
Bela Fleck Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal * Bela, Janakpur, ...
to play banjo. Geoff Emerick, who had produced McKay's debut album, "
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. Release The album was released on February 10, 2004, by Columbia R ...
," was enlisted to co-produce the album with McKay, as well. The album was released physically and digitally on March 24, 2015. To promote the album, McKay performed at
54 Below 54 Below is a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as Patt ...
in New York City.


Critical reception

''My Weekly Reader'' was met with mostly positive reviews from critics. On review aggregation website
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the album holds a score of 68, indicating "generally favorable reviews." In a positive review,
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
' Steve Horowitz awarded the album 8 stars (out of a possible 10), commenting that the album "kicks serious butt," and praising McKay's minimal changes to most of the compositions. Horowitz also praised the album's nostalgia, commenting that "McKay understands the complexity of the past and reveals her empathy for a more hopeful time when love and peace were fresh thoughts rather than a debased slogan." ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
s review, written by Will Hermes, was similarly positive, calling McKay a "renegade songwriter with an ultraflexible Great American Songbook sensibility," also feeling that "her musical smarts add the context."
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
's review, penned by Ken Tucker, was positive towards the album as well, commenting that "there's a pleasing tension between the content of the lyric and the lovely purity of her vocals," and praising her modernization of some of the material. Some critics had more mixed feelings regarding the album. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing for
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, felt that while McKay sometimes "achieves a delicate balance between '60s reverence and a sly modern wink, a blurring of eras that plays to her strengths," she had ultimately made "odd" song selections that he felt were poorly-modernized; Erlwine awarded the album 3 stars. ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
s Marc Hirsch was also critical of the album, calling the production "flat and dull" and expressing mixed feelings over McKay's minimal changes to the songs.


Track listing


Personnel

Adapted from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Musicians * Béla Fleck — banjo * Bob Glaub — electric bass * Nellie McKay — bells, clarinet, congas, cymbals, harmonica, keyboards, maracas, marimbas, organ, piano, tambourine, ukelele, all vocals * Cary Park — banjo, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar * David Raven — drums * Dweezil Zappa — guitar (on "
Hungry Freaks, Daddy ''Freak Out!'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa ...
") Production * Craig Parker Adams — assistant engineer * Greg Calbi — mastering * Geoff Emerick — engineering, mixing, production * Spencer Guerra — mixing * Nellie McKay — production Design * David Alan Kogut — art direction, photography


Charts


References

{{Authority control Nellie McKay albums 2015 albums 429 Records albums Covers albums Albums produced by Geoff Emerick