Rating: 4/5
Review:
Good but not brilliant
This is a good bluegrass album although to me it doesn't quite have the quality of Edie Brickell and Steve Martin's previous album, Love Has Come For You.
Most people are aware by now that Steve Martin may be most famous as a comedy actor, but he's a genuine, high-class bluegrass banjo player, too. His skill has been clear on previous albums and is evident here, too, with some very fine picking. Edie Brickell is a terrific singer and has a perfect voice and delivery for this material, I think: very slightly husky but absolutely clear and with the skill and experience to put a song over very well indeed. The Steep Canyon Rangers are invariably excellent and provide tight, solid backing here.
My reservations lie chiefly in the material, which I think is just a little…well…bland, I suppose. Previous work has had real, rootsy feel and a very distinct character. This album is good, but the material sounds rather similar to quite a lot of other stuff around at the moment, with little in the way of real distinctness. This isn't helped by a slightly generic feel to the production which further nudges this back toward the middle of the road.
I don't want to be too critical – this is an album of decent music played by very good musicians, but I don't think I'll be playing this as often as Love Will Come For you or the live album. For me, So Familiar is good but not brilliant.
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