For those that still think of Steve Martin as simply a goofy guy, a carryover from his early guise as King Tut, or the kooky character who boasted about the arrow through his head and announced his presence with his signature shout out, “Excuse ME!,” it’s long past time to accept the fact that today’s Steve Martin may still be a funny man (his tours with Martin Short prove the point!), but also a masterful musician. That’s evidenced not only by his skills on the banjo — which are occasionally informed by his still wacky sense of humor — but also by the string of serious albums he’s released since 2009, mostly as collaborations with other artists, including Steep Canyon Rangers and Edie Brickell, with whom he created a popular Broadway musical titled Bright Star.
Those are indeed impressive accomplishments, and indeed, at age 80, Martin could certainly afford to rest on his laurels. However, to his credit, his ambition endures, and there’s no better evidence of that fact than Safe Sensible And Sane, his new album with bluegrass superstar Alison Brown. Co-produced by Brown and her husband and Compass Records co-founder Garry West, the initial indication of the duo’s serious intent is found in the list of notables that contribute — Jackson Browne, Tim O’Brien, Della Mae, Aoife O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz, Jason Mraz, the Indigo Girls, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Trey Hensley, Todd Phillips, Becky Buller, Molly Tuttle, Andrea Zonn, Vince Gill, McGoldrick/McCusker/Doyle, and a score of others. To their credit, Martin and Brown don’t allow themselves to be overshadowed in the process, given that the pair wrote all the songs, performed them on dueling banjos, and took the lead in terms of putting their playing at the fore. So too, Martin is a surprisingly adequate vocalist and the songs that find him singing lead — New Cluck Old Hen and Bluegrass Radio in particular — provide the wit and whimsy that create a perfect fit.
Bluegrass Radio is especially clever, a play on what it takes to climb the charts. This particular publication is even name-dropped in the lyric (“Don’t you walk away Renee/I’m number one on Bluegrass Today“).
Mostly though, the album takes a serious tone, as the title Safe Sensible And Sane otherwise implies. The instrumentals that open and close the set — Friend Of Mine and Let’s Get Out Of Here — vary from rousing to reserved, while hints of Celtic music and reggae make an appearance as well. Other entries lean towards a more mellow, meandering sound, be it the down-home designs of 5 Days Out, 2 Days Back, Michael, and Dear Time.
Girl, Have Money When You’re Old, featuring the Indigo Girls, makes for the most infectious entry overall.
While Martin might not ever escape his image as an irrepressible funnyman, Safe Sensible And Sane is all its title implies, while both accessible and engaging as well.
