Product Description
Renaissance man Steve Martin returns to his musical passion – bluegrass – with a new album of all original songs, backed by the Steep Canyon Rangers. Rare Bird Alert is the follow up to 2009′s GRAMMY® Award-winning The Crow and features precise picking, delightful melodies, and well constructed lyrics , the hallmarks of Martin’s musical pursuits. Special guests, Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks lend their vocal talents, respectively, to “Best Love” and “You”. This deluxe version comes with collectible Rare Bird Trading Cards.

Rare Bird Alert

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An introductory drum roll drops out and is replaced by a single suspended electric guitar, which is then paralleled by a snare, filled in with the bass, and–crash!–”Cherub Rock,” the opening track, is enveloped in an explosion of metal guitar. So the journey begins. This album is pre-experimentation vintage Pumpkins. Produced by Butch Vig (Garbage, Sonic Youth, Nirvana’s Nevermind), Siamese Dream is first about guitars. Lots and lots of guitars. A very close second is Jimmy Chamberlain’s unquestionably excellent power drumming. Throughout each song, Billy Corgan delivers angsty lyrics in his signature breathy whine. “Disarm” is a nice intermission halfway though the album. As the title of the song suggests, it throws the listener into a different mood with its full string arrangements and radiant orchestral chimes. But then it is back to the aural masochism–a pain that rarely sounds so sweet. –Beth Bessmer

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