My Weekly Reader

Personnel: Nellie McKay (vocals, ukulele, harmonica, concertina, clarinet, saxophone, piano, organ, keyboards, marimba, congas, cymbals, maracas, shaker, tambourine, triangle, bells, wind chime, unknown instrument); Cary Park (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, steel guitar, banjo); Bob Glaub (electric bass); David Raven (drums).
Audio Mixer: Geoff Emerick.
Recording information: Winslow Court Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
Photographer: David Alan Kogut.
Last time Nellie McKay took a stroll through the past, she doffed her hat at Doris Day, an obvious tribute for a singer as besotted with the stage as Ms. McKay. My Weekly Reader, the album that functions as the sequel to 2010's all-original Home Sweet Mobile Home, is a surprise as it shines a spotlight directly on some of the shadowy corners of the '60s. Despite opening with a cover of the Kinks' "Sunny Afternoon" and a leisurely reading of the Beatles' "If I Fell," McKay doesn't spend much time with the familiar. She gravitates toward folky introspection and songs that allow her to strut, two kinds of vintage styles that suit her well, but My Weekly Reader also shows her fondness for weirdo social satire, a quirk that at first glance seem like an odd fit for the singer. Upon second glance, Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention's "Hungry Freaks, Daddy" and Moby Grape's "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" seem odd, yet the ambition that fuels the covers is admirable. Where My Weekly Reader shines is on the quieter moments, which range from the loveliness of Crosby, Stills & Nash's "Wooden Ships," the nostalgic gleam of Gerry & the Pacemakers' "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," and the spookiness of Richard & Mimi Fariña's "Bold Marauder." Here, McKay achieves a delicate balance between '60s reverence and a sly modern wink, a blurring of eras that plays to her strengths. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine