- Audio CD (19 May 2003)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Enhanced
- Label: Polydor Group
- ASIN: B00009L841
- Other Editions: Audio CD | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 64,723 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product details |
Track Listings
| 1. Intro |
| 2. Tell him |
| 3. Bluesin' it |
| 4. Sadder day |
| 5. Thinking of you |
| 6. How long |
| 7. Rising tide |
| 8. Loving you |
| 9. Take me over |
| 10. Five days of faith |
| 11. Thadius star |
| 12. Echo |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
In a time of hi-gloss, ghetto fabulous divas, the self-titled debut from Bronx born singer McKay is a rarity: a bona fide soul album. Made of scuffed beats, bluesy pianos and McKay's life-worn vocals--more passion and honesty than wailing acrobatics--it's the antithesis of latter day R&B's super slick values; a rootsy and potent vision of New York City life. Ironically, her street soul's grit and low-slung hip-hop grind come by way of Bristol and Portishead's Geoff Barrow. An unlikely but inspired partnership--Barrow's trademark taste in seedy cinematic strings and crackling vinyl echoing the vintage 1960s spirit of her gospel-edged pleading. Critically, though, this isn't Portishead with McKay as a Beth Gibbons substitute. Barrow is adept enough to relocate his murky world to NYC's urban crawl, providing sexy downtempo struts for McKay's feistily purred seductions ("Bluesin' It", "Thinking of You", "Loving You"), menacing drags for her heartbreak ("Sadder Day", "Tell Him") and grimy break beats to add desperation to her tales of social injustice ("Rising Tide", "Echo", "Folk Song"). The result is Alicia Keys with a sinister twitch and a lifetime of living to draw from, and an enthralling debut. --Dan Gennoe
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I thought that McKay would just be another substandard pretender to the Jill Scott throne of neo-soul - the proclamation of love for the album from Jo Whiley didn't do her any favours either (Whiley tends to be a bit hit and miss). But when the upbeat, solid beats of Thinking of You filled my ears at my local shop, I thought I'd give it a try, and praise be that I did.
McKay's voice is part the boom and integrity of Jill Scott, part gravelly quirkiness of Erykah Badu, part earnest soul of Mary J, all with a Brooklyn attitude. It somehow manages to hold its own personality and beauty without sounding too distinctive (or easy to describe). But it's the material that really cuts the mustard; produced with the help of those amazing and talented Portishead blokes, it stands head and shoulders above the standard r&b fare masquerading as the Next Big Thing in soul we are usually fed. Bluesin It is a catchy, sexy ditty taking us back to the old skool; Tell Him (the current single) verges on sweeping soul epic but probably isn't the strongest track on the album; feel good, feet-moving tune Take Me Over samples the reggae track Double Barrell.
If you like r&b and soul but want to steer clear of the MOR cheesefest, give this a go. If you're hungry for Portishead but are no longer a depressed student, it's also worth a listen.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Ms. McKay appears to have been around for some time having first come to my notice with the acid-jazz band the Brooklyn Funk Essentials, she has also worked with the likes of Talib Kweli and was recently a guitarist with Kelis's band. However, this is a different sounding album than one could have expected from her former work being far more diverse in style and content. All of the heavyweight paper's as well as Jo Whiley have got behind this one. While Jo Whiley isn't going to inspire me to run out and buy anything I can honestly say that this is definitely a must have album.
Portishead's Geoff Barrow lends a hand with the production and it is on tracks such as "How Long" and "Tell Him" that the Portishead influences can definitely be heard. A definite fusion of the modern and the old soul can be heard on this album and it is to her credit that she pulls it off successfully.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The style of the album is quite difficult to describe, but comes across as having a lot of soul influences. What does come across loud and clear is the strength and power of Mckay's voice - simply superb. If you like female vocalists with a lot of soul and a strong baseline to every song, this album won't dissappoint. I would rank this along with other really strong female vocalists such as Alicia Keayes, Dido, and Norah Jones - good album!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
underated talent
I've had this album for several years and was one of my personal favourites during my time at university.. Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2008 by B. Patel
Serendipitous buy
I bought this album on the strength of the track 'Take Me Over' which was played on XFM (London radio station) quite a while back. Read more
Published on 18 Dec 2005 by Mrs. L. C. Harrison-D'Arcy
mckay and barrow strike gold
Mckay's debut album is just superb. At a time when the majority of r'n'b artists are just interested in the 'bling' side of the genre and not the music at all, it's good to see an... Read more
Published on 14 Oct 2004 by "cwa21"
60's soul with a modern twist
Brilliant album which has hints of a throwback to the Motown sound of the 60's. The partnership between McKay and Geoff Barrow from Portishead brings a very mature sound and a... Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2004 by "cwa21"
This album rocks
this is smooth as they come great vocals backed by the chilled beats found previously on portishead records, this is portishead but without quite so much spookyness and a lot of... Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2003
Star Time!!!
Summer is here and u shud b bumpin this CD in ur cars, homes or like me headphones at work. Miss McKay has that ol' skool vibe. Read more
Published on 18 July 2003 by M. Morgan
Glad I bought this one!
This album is excellent. Almost every song has an excellent tune with good baselines giving it a more funky/darker feel compared to most artists in the RnB/Soul catergory. Read more
Published on 16 July 2003
So Fresh and so Cool!!!
This is definetly the finest Cool groove CD of the year, ready for summer! Stephanie Mckay has got skills. Read more
Published on 29 May 2003 by M. Morgan
Produced by Geoff Barrow, but don't expect Portishead
It is perhaps an injustice to McKay that this album has been much hyped because the producer is Geoff Barrow of Portishead. Read more
Published on 26 May 2003
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