Track Listing

1. Coctail Show
2. Comedy Store, Hollywood
3. Sally Goodin'
4. Saga Of The Old West
5. John Henry
6. Saga (resprise)
7. Pitkin County Turn Around
8. Hoedown At Alice's
9. Freddie's Lilt, Parts 1 & 2
10. Waterbound
11. Banana Banjo

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #81752 in Music
• Brand: Martin
• Released on: 2006-06-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .19 pounds

Album Description
Steve Martin is the highly successful comedian and actor, with many credits, He issued four excellent comedy albums for Warner Brothers in the late 1970's, one which has never been issued on CD anywhere in the world until now! The Steve Martin Brothers is a unique production, side one of the album contained comedy material from his live shows. Sde two was all bluegrass music, Steve play ganjo along with his cronies John McEuen & Vassar Clements.

Customer Reviews

Best (Only!) Comedy/Bluegrass Album Ever
Twenty-five years after this was first released in 1981, THE STEVE MARTIN BROTHERS is still the best half comedy/half bluegrass album ever recorded. Okay, it's also the only one. And truth to tell, it hasn't aged well. The comedy routines are from a Las Vegas show at the Riviera (best bit--"What I Believe") and a Hollywood performance at The Comedy Store (best bit--"Love God").

The only real reason to buy this album is for the traditional bluegrass music. Martin obviously has a sincere appreciation for the genre and works with first-class musicians like John McEuen (of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), fiddler Vassar Clements and bassist Roy "Junior" Huskey. Some of the the tunes are traditional ("Sally Goodin'," "John Henry" and "Waterbound," the latter is the only vocal), but the rest of the tracks are Martin originals.

Bottom line? Two stars for the comedy; four stars for the music. This one is for completists only.

Two sides of Steve, whether you like it or not
"The Steve Martin Brothers" confused and frightened a lot of people upon its release in 1981. Those who'd bought his previous comedy albums didn't get what they'd expected. Martin tried to chart out some new comedy territory, didn't rely on his typical catch phrases and routines, and what was with all the banjo tunes on side 2? Sales were weak, and Martin never released another album.

Truthfully though, as a stand-up comic, Steve Martin was finished by this point. He retired his live act around this time to concentrate on movies and writing, and these recordings represent some of his last performances as a stand-up comedian. Though Martin tries to freshen up his act with new characters and styles, even calling on outside comedy writers like Jack Handey to help, what's here is definitely "B" material. He sounds tired and burned out, and definitely ready for a change. Still, there are a few laughs left to be had, and one routine, "What I Believe" has become an SNL classic.

As for side 2, the main reason for the banjo music is that Martin had run out of comedy material and needed something to fill out the album. Martin is an accomplished banjo player, as he's demonstrated many times in his act, and the the music here is well done (apart from an ill-advised vocal attempt at "Waterbound."). But banjo music isn't why people bought Steve Martin albums, and thus it likely got little play among fans.

It's nice to have "The Steve Martin Brothers" finally make its CD debut, if only to complete his catalogue on digital. But it's certainly not the place to start.

Very Happy
I purchased this cd for my friend who had the original album and wanted a cd for her car. No surprise, she loved it ! She especially wanted the side 2 {banjo music} In fact that is why she wanted this particular cd. I was very happy with the gift I chose for her. Thanks !!!!