Pretty Little Head
Studio album by
Nellie McKay
ReleasedOctober 31, 2006
Recorded2005
GenreSinger-Songwriter, Pop, Rock
LabelHungry Mouse, SpinArt Records, Rykodisc Records (2006-2007)
Sony Records (2008-)
ProducerRobin Pappas/Nellie McKay
Nellie McKay chronology
Get Away from Me
(2004) 		Pretty Little Head
(2006) 		Obligatory Villagers
(2007)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Being There Magazine[3]
Pitchfork Media7.4/10[4]
Rolling Stone[5]
SpinB+[6]

Pretty Little Head is the second album by singer Nellie McKay. It was released October 31, 2006, on Nellie's own Hungry Mouse label. It features duets with Cyndi Lauper ("Beecharmer") and k.d. lang ("We Had It Right"). Other songs include "Columbia Is Bleeding", "Cupcake" ("...about gay marriage..."), and "The Big One" ("...about a tenant's rights activist...").

Pretty Little Head was originally set to be released October 18, 2005. The release date was subsequently delayed until December 27, 2005 and finally January 3, 2006.

However, McKay announced on December 19, 2005, that she had left Columbia/Sony Records after a dispute over the length of the upcoming album.[7] Just over two weeks following this announcement, a New York Times article surfaced stating McKay said she had been dropped by Columbia Records.[8]

The album was being marketed and manufactured on the SpinArt Records label until the label's bankruptcy in 2007. Pretty Little Head is now being distributed by Sony in its original, 23-track 2-CD version, effectively bringing the album back to Columbia.

Track listing

Columbia's version

  1. "Cupcake" (4:44)
  2. "Pink Chandelier" (1:38)
  3. "There You Are in Me" (2:46)
  4. "The Big One" (4:02)
  5. "G.E.S." (1:42)
  6. "I Will Be There" (2:55)
  7. "The Down Low" (3:36)
  8. "Long & Lazy River" (3:47)
  9. "Beecharmer" featuring Cyndi Lauper (4:02)
  10. "Real Life" (2:49)
  11. "I Am Nothing" (1:47)
  12. "we had it right" featuring k.d. lang (2:20)
  13. "Columbia Is Bleeding" (3:41)
  14. "GLADD" (3:06)
  15. "Happy Flower" (2:27)
  16. "Tipperary" (2:56)
Columbia's version

spinArt/Hungry Mouse version

Disc One

  1. "Cupcake" (4:44)
  2. "Pink Chandelier" (1:38)
  3. "There You Are in Me" (2:46)
  4. "Yodel" (1:36)
  5. "The Big One" (4:02)
  6. "G.E.S." (1:42)
  7. "I Will Be There" (2:55)
  8. "The Down Low" (3:36)
  9. "Long & Lazy River" (3:47)
  10. "I Am Nothing" (1:47)
  11. "Beecharmer" featuring Cyndi Lauper (4:02)
  12. "Swept Away" (1:53)

Disc Two

  1. "Real Life" (2:49)
  2. "Tipperary" (2:56)
  3. "Gladd" (3:06)
  4. "Food" (3:00)
  5. "We Had It Right" featuring k.d. lang (2:20)
  6. "Columbia Is Bleeding" (3:41)
  7. "Lali Est Paresseux" (2:33)
  8. "Happy Flower" (2:27)
  9. "Mama & Me" (4:11)
  10. "Pounce" (0:56)
  11. "Old Enough" (1:45)

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
Billboard Heatseeker Chart 10
Billboard Independent Album Chart 24

References

  1. ^ "Pretty Little Head by Nellie McKay". MetaCritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  2. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r856447
  3. ^ "Being There". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
  4. ^ "Nellie McKay: Pretty Little Head". Pitchfork.
  5. ^ Rollingstone
  6. ^ "SPIN". January 2006.
  7. ^ "Singer McKay Leaves Sony in Album Dispute". Los Angeles Times. 20 December 2005.
  8. ^ Light, Alan (3 January 2006). "Songwriter Says Columbia Dropped Her in Fight over Album". The New York Times.
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