Comic plays it straight

Later this month the comic will release a 15-track album The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo

It was recorded in Dublin, Hollywood, Nashville and New Jersey and features guest appearances from the likes of Dolly Parton and Earl Scruggs.

Martin – who is about to star in Pink Panther 2 – wrote all the songs on the album, and will be appearing on Saturday Night Live on January 31 to promote it.

He said: ‘I have loved the banjo my whole life. The songs on this record represent the influence of a dozen players and a thousand tunes, and I thank them all.

‘But it's the banjo itself I thank most for generating nostalgia for experiences I never had, joy I was yet to experience, and melancholy that was yet to come.’

Martin used to play the instrument during his stand-up days, and in 2001 worked on Scruggs’s album Foggy Mountain Breakdown.

The album will be released on January 27, and will be available on Amazon only for the first 90 days.

He has previously won Grammy awards for his comedy albums Wild And Crazy Guy and Let's Get Small in 197 and 1977 respectively.

Here he is playing with Scruggs:

Published: 13 Jan 2009