"Funny Comedy Gags": Steve Martin

Posted by: steve | From: September 14, 2005

Let's just cut this one off at the pass. Steve Martin is not a band per se, BUT Steve Martin made some of the greatest albums of the 1970s, has won Grammys for comedy albums and for his banjo playing on bluegrass recordings. Steve Martin in his stand up days was more rock'n'roll than Oasis. Martin has since gone on to have a mostly brilliant film career, been a frequent contributor to the New Yorker, written acclaimed plays and novels, but this is not what we are concerned. ALBUMS. Must talk about ALBUMS to make this relevant to this blog.

Martin was raised in Southern California. He got his start as a performer at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm doing magic, comedy, playing banjo, juggling, balloon animals, and lassoing. He broke into the "industry" via his girlfriend who was a dancer on The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour and got him a job as a writer on the show. Martin dropped out of college where he was studying philosophy(specifically logic, cause and effect, and chaos which greatly influenced his comedy material). Martin had great success as a writer including winning a few Emmys. He started doing more standup, working comedy clubs but also opened for music groups like Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Martin became a frequent guest on The Tonight Show and hosted Saturday Night Live 8 times in the first 5 seasons.

Martin released his first album, Let's Get Small, in 1977 and it is a classic comedy album that triumphs over some of the main problems with the entire comedy album concept. It is somehow funny again and again as to where most comedy albums are really only enjoyable for a listen or two. Martin's irreverant non sequiter comedy combined with his shrewd ability to rip on stand up comedy standards made him a truly unique voice in the comedy world. He mixed cool counter culture references (read: drugs) with odd sight gags (which are inexplicable funny without the visuals) and would randomly break out into bizarre hilarious banjo virtuosity. Let's Get Small was recorded live at The Boarding House in San Francisco, and it totally translates onto the album that it was an electric atmosphere and an incredibly cool place to be.

By the late 70s Martin was doing comedy tours in stadiums. He was totally like Andrew "Dice" Clay, but awesome. His second album, A Wild and Crazy Guy, was released a year after his first album and was a huge commercial hit. It hit no. 2 on the Billboard chart. It's a combination of material recorded at smaller clubs and also in mega arena venues and it's an interesting contrast between the two. The stuff in the smaller clubs being much more intellectual and the arena stuff being simpler and goofier. These first two albums are just filled to the brim with Martin's almost overwhelming amount of energy, which is powerful and all over the place. This undeniable energy combined with Martin's very likable self deprecating style makes the Steve Martin of these first two albums maybe the funniest human of all time.

Martin released two more comedy albums, 79's Comedy Is Not Pretty, which is a bit more subdued, but still a good record even though it is a bit of a step back after the first two, and 80's The Steve Martin Brothers which is only comedy on side one and just straight banjo bluegrass jams on side two. This last album is not very funny, unfortunately. There were some very interesting aspects to these albums like the re-appearance of some previously used bits but with different punchlines, that were sometimes more funnier than the original version, but mostly it sounded like old Steve was just going through the motions of the the wild and crazy rambling man. Martin was still a huge huge draw, but wisely decided to officially retire from stand up comedy in 1980.

Dude, OK, I know it's not music, and I know that after some of my recent entries here it might seem like I'm just avoiding writing about something serious, but comedy is serious, people. I believe the same struggles exist in making a great comedy album, or live act for that matter, as exist when making a music record, or live act. The comedy album is mostly a lost art, but it should not be forgotten. Steve Martin says stuff like "electric dog polisher," and also "excuuuuse me," clearly comedy gold, clearly The Greatest Band of All Time.

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