Album Review: Steve Martin – The Crow: New Songs For The Five-String Banjo

Aside from being one of the greatest comedic actors of our generation, an author, renowned art collector, and a playwright, Steve Martin is also a helluva banjo player with over four decades of experience under his belt. During his time as a teenage picker, he began a lifelong friendship with John McEuen, who would later see stardom as a member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and who produced this project.

Martin’s music has appeared on some of his comedy records throughout the years; however, The Crow is Martin’s first full-length album, one that he said was “forty-five years in the making.” It’s worth the wait.

The meat of The Crow is its instrumentals, which make up eleven of the album’s fifteen tracks. Though Martin is primarily a Scruggs-style picker, he throws in “Clawhammer Medley” for good measure, proving that he is an able frailer as well. A few of the album’s songs are from Martin’s 1981 comedy album The Steve Martin Brothers, and the title track is from a song he recorded for Tony Trischka’s Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular, but he’s recorded new versions for The Crow. All of the re-recorded tracks sound better than their earlier incarnations, due in part to McEuen’s production, which should be commended for turning a collection of songs recorded in four cities on two continents into a polished whole.

In general, bluegrass instrumentals tend to be forgettable and/or indistinguishable from one another. Many times, they are a vehicle for showing off just how fast a band can play. What separates the songs of The Crow from other bluegrass and bluegrass-influenced instrumental tracks is Martin’s ear for melody. Each song is a separate entity, recognizable from the opening notes, and the quality of the song is never sacrificed in favor of overly-fancy, overly-fast picking.

On The Crow, Martin doesn’t sing much. Listening to “Late for School,” the song he performed to mixed reviews on the January 31 episode of Saturday Night Live, it’s easy to understand why: he’s a great picker, but not much of a singer, as those who have seen the classic “King Tut” sketch may recall. Regardless, “Late for School” is a fun, fantastic romp reminiscent of Dr. Seuss, or Shel Silverstein’s children’s poetry, and Steve Martin is probably one of the few semi-decent singers around who is also able to pull off the necessary comedic timing. It may be a goofy kids’ song, but it’s sure to hit home for those adults who’ve experienced the panicked rush that comes after oversleeping only to realize…it’s the weekend.

Luckily, Martin seems aware of his vocal limitations. Thus, in lieu of singing, he employs a stable of immensely talented guest stars. Vince Gill and Dolly Parton are together again for “Pretty Flowers,” a sweet and melodic ode to mature love, and probably the only bluegrass song in which a couple walks to the river and yet the woman is still alive at the end of the song. This alone would make “Pretty Flowers” a standout song, but Martin’s lyrics make it one for the ages; there’s not a woman alive who wouldn’t swoon at Gill’s delivery of “If I told you, you were lovely/If I put my arm around you/If I touched you on the shoulder/Would you rest your head on mine.” Bluegrass veteran Tim O’Brien tackles rootsy “Daddy Played the Banjo” and Irish folksinger Mary Black sings on the Celtic-influenced “Calico Train;” both are above average vocal performances, but pale in comparison to Gill’s and Parton’s absolutely gorgeous duet. Earl Scruggs, Tony Trischka, and Pete Wernick don’t sing, but lay down some facemelting banjo riffs alongside their longtime buddy Steve.

We’re barely into 2009, and already The Crow is a frontrunner for bluegrass album of the year. People may buy it simply due to the novelty factor of Martin’s fame, but those who actually listen to it are in for a pleasant surprise. Let’s just hope Steve doesn’t wait another forty-five years before releasing his next one.