DrFaustus's Full Review: The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo by S...
There's an unspoken arrangement when it comes to actors who'd like to put out an album of music. They'll dabble around with whatever genre is the latest disposable flash in the pan, we'll opt not to buy it, they'll go on acting, and six months later we'll have conveniently forgotten about the whole escapade. We agree to keep watching their movies and television shows, as long as they agree not to whine that their album didn't rocket them to musical superstardom.
Some, like Eddie Murphy's unfortunate foray into dance pop in the mid eighties, are an absolute embarrassment, but the majority, like Kevin Bacon's band with his brother or Bruce Willis's band The Accelerators fall in the level of "acceptable." Forgettable, but acceptable, with nothing really unique to make them stand out from the crowd. That's just part of the package deal with our arrangement about actors's albums.
But Steve Martin just had to come along and break our pact with his The Crow, an album that's not only different from everything else out there in the mainstream, but also expertly played (thanks in no small part to the guest musicians that Martin brings along for the album, although Martin's no musical slouch to begin with).
Anyone familiar with Martin's old stand up routines from the seventies won't be too surprised to learn that The Crow is a showcase for the banjo - the instrument often found it's way into his routines. They'll also remember the arrow-through-the-head prop he often used to wear as he played, so it's only natural to assume we'll get to hear something wacky and wild on his new album. Such an assumption is also completely wrong, since The Crow, with one notable exception, is an mixture of folk standards arranged by Martin himself and original tunes that Martin has written to mimic the style of the old masters.
For the most part, this is an instrumental album. There are plenty of rapid, playful songs like Pitkin County Turnaround and Wally on the Run that send the banjo notes flying around with fiddles and mandolin zipping around in the background. There are the slow, languid numbers like Words Unspoken and Blue River Waltz that would fit perfectly as the big romantic moment at a back country barn dance. And plenty of songs fall somewhere in between - the jazzy, syncopated Banana Banjo that sounds like something off of a Bela Fleck album, the warm and sunny mid-tempo Tin Roof, the wistful, pensive Saga of the Old West, the Irish folk of Freddie's Lilt, and so many more. They all put the twangy warmth, the steely drone, and the harmonic grandeur of banjo folk music on full display.
As for the handful of songs with lyrics, they're mostly a showcase for the guest musicians, reinforcing the folk music roots of the album. Daddy Played the Banjo brings in bluegrass singer Tim O'Brien to sing an old poem that Martin wrote about father-son relationships as banjo virtuoso Earl Scruggs sits in to help round out the arrangement. Later on, country stars Vince Gill and Dally Parton stop by to duet on Pretty Flowers, a courtly sounding waltz that could easily pass for a lost nineteenth-century Appalachian folk tune.
Martin's lone vocal contribution to the album, Late for School, also happens to be only real moment of goofy silliness on the album. Over a backdrop of spirited banjo picking, fiddle fills, and the occasional sound effect, Martin sings the story of a young boy waking up, appropriately enough, late for school and the amazing adventures he goes through as he rushes off to his classes. It's not the surreal kind of humor heard back in his stand-up days, but rather a sweet, silly humor that could easily fit into a charming children's picture book. Martin's unmistakable voice and the vocal gymnastics he stretches himself through make it a truly memorable tune and a standout track for the album, even if it does break from the serious folk aspirations from the rest of the songs.
To round things out, The Crow features extensive liner notes, not just details of Martins personal history with the banjo and his love of the instrument, but also detailed accounts of the inspirations for each of the songs and the various banjo playing techniques he uses for each of them. Banjo players in particular will delight in the depths of Martin's descriptions, but anyone who enjoys music will be able to relish in the giddy joy that Martin puts into those notes.
The idea of a Steve Martin album sets up certain expectations amongst those familiar with the comedian, and those expectations don't necessarily pan out. Anyone hoping for something wild and crazy won't find it here. And listeners who aren't already well versed in the world of banjo pickin' folk music will certainly miss out on the subtle little intricacies of the music that Martin pours into these songs, and may even find most of the instrumental tunes to sound more than a little interchangeable. Nevertheless, few people these days serve up unexpected charm like Martin does on this album, and listening to anyone play with the level of passion that Martin has is always a treat, regardless off the genre.
The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo is the first full-length bluegrass album from actor/comedian/musician Steve Martin. After playing on the Gr...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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