So Familiar [LP]

by Steve Martin, Edie Brickell

Overview

Steve Martin picked up his banjo again in 2009, recording his first-ever all-instrumental album with his Steep Canyon Rangers, and then he wound up devoting the better part of the next half decade to the instrument he loved since a teenager. Never shy on-stage, he nevertheless wasn't a natural frontperson, so once he ran through two albums with the Rangers, he joined forces with Edie Brickell, an unexpected but natural fit. Bluegrass may not have been in Brickell's vocabulary per se but she's an old versatile folkie comfortable with an array of Americana, something proven out by her new millennial group the Gaddabouts. When Brickell teamed with Martin, they found a common folk-pop ground assisted by producer Peter Asher on 2013's Love Has Come for You, and its 2015 sequel So Familiar is indeed a sequel: it offers more of the same, more of the tasteful dance numbers and romanticism heard on the first. This is hardly a bad thing. Martin and Brickell have an easy, natural chemistry, with Edie helping to focus Steve's nimble, graceful playing while the banjoist returns the favor by loosening up the singer, so she doesn't seem as precious as she sometimes did with the New Bohemians. While the duo sometimes sneaks a glance toward yesterday -- "Another Round" rambles forward like a square dance and "Way Back in the Day" makes its nostalgia plain -- this is unapologetically well-tailored contemporary music, drawing upon the traditions of Kentucky and Laurel Canyon to create something gentle, pretty, and substantive, something that is as enchanting as it was the first time around. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	10/30/2015
Label:	Rounder
UPC:	0888072381988
Rank:	64880

Tracks

1. So Familiar
2. Always Will
3. Way Back in the Day
4. Won't Go Back
5. I'm by Your Side
6. I Had a Vision
7. I Have You
8. Another Round
9. Mine All Mine
10. Heart of the Dreamer
11. My Baby
12. Heartbreaker

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Steve Martin   Primary Artist
Edie Brickell   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Steep Canyon Rangers   Banjo
Bela Fleck   Baritone
Leland Sklar   Bass
Peter Asher   Ukulele,Clapping,Percussion,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Resonator),Vocals (Background),Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
Nathaniel Kunkel   Banjo,Percussion
Mike Guggino   Mandolin,Vocals (Background)
Nicky Sanders   Fiddle
Chris Bleth   Clarinet,Penny Whistle
Mike Einziger   Guitar (Electric)
Geoff Zanelli   String Conductor
Ann Marie Simpson   Violin,String Conductor
Victoria Asher   Clapping,Vocals (Background)
Graham Sharp   Banjo,Vocals (Background)
Rob Berman   Piano,Celeste,Accordion,Harmonium,Fender Rhodes
Charles Humphrey III   Double Bass
Woody Platt   Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Steve Aho   Banjo,Cajon,Drums,Piano,Congas,Marimba,Clapping,Percussion,Vibraphone,Vocals (Background)
Jeff Alan Ross   Guitar,Keyboards,Wurlitzer,Sax (Baritone),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Baritone),Guitar (Electric)
Mike Ashworth   Percussion
Cindy Wu   Violin
Rachel Kim   Violin
Abby Khalek   Violin
Koyo Kim   Viola
Vardan Gasparyan   Celli
Isaiah Gage   Celli

Technical Credits

Steve Martin   Composer
Edie Brickell   Composer
Peter Asher   Producer
Nathaniel Kunkel   Mixing,Mastering,Vocal Engineer,Drum Engineering,Percussion Engineer
Danny Clinch   Photography
Chris Bleth   Engineer
Geoff Zanelli   String Arrangements,Orchestra Contractor,Orchestral Arrangements
Julian Dreyer   Engineer
Rich Tosi   Assistant
Ann Marie Simpson   String Arrangements,Orchestra Contractor,Orchestral Arrangements
Ivy Skoff   Production Assistant
Wesley Seidman   Assistant
Rachel Gutek   Package Design
Bil Lane   Assistant
Clay Miller   Assistant
Matthew O'Driscoll   Assistant