RSSSteve Martin & Edie Brickell [extended]
- Let's Get Small [Warner Bros., 1977] B
- Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars [Geffen, 1988] B-
- So Familiar [Rounder, 2015] *
See Also:
Consumer Guide Reviews:
Steve Martin: Let's Get Small [Warner Bros., 1977]
Martin's style of tastelessness is refreshing--you know he'd do a blue routine or a moron joke if he could come up with one that was funny. But it's not true that he's unsullied by topicality; his definitively post-hip humor is as bound to time and place as Mort Sahl's, less "pure" than Bill Cosby's or Jerry Lewis's (not to mention Buster Keaton's). And having listened to this record shortly after making his acquaintance in concert, I find that most of it doesn't wear especially well. Pardon me. B
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians: Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars [Geffen, 1988]
Her Suzanne Vega voice is jazzed up with glowing slips and slides that recall Jo Mama's long-forgotten Abigale Haness. Her well-named boys are nuevo-hippies with chops, also like Jo Mama, a braver band they probably never heard of. Her lyrics are escapist as a matter of conviction--"Don't let me get too deep," she implores, as if she could if she tried. I await the Jo Mama CD. B-
So Familiar [Rounder, 2015]
Hobbyists with serious chops, resumes, and things to do put their love and skill sets into the best songs they can come up with ("So Familiar," "Won't Go Back") *