Steve In A Box: The Warner Years (1977-1981) (4LP)

Steve Martin skyrocketed from stand-up comedian to national sensation in the late 70s, redefining comedy for a new generation. STEVE IN A BOX: THE WARNER YEARS (1977-1981) captures Martin’s meteoric rise across four albums, showcasing his absurdist humor, surreal routines, and banjo skills.

The set includes four albums: Let’s Get Small (1977), A Wild And Crazy Guy (1978), Comedy Is Not Pretty! (1979), and The Steve Martin Brothers (1981).

Comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff charts Martin’s journey from small clubs to packed arenas in the set’s liner notes. He also explains how Martin’s self-aware humor was a fresh departure from the political satire of the time. “Rather than deconstruct politics like his contemporaries had been doing, Martin deconstructed showbiz itself. It was comedy at the expense of comedy.”

Martin’s breakthrough came in 1977 with LET’S GET SMALL, an album that remarkably captured his visual, physical comedy through audio. “The uninitiated heard clanks and spaces that brought forth laughs, and this minus turned into a plus as the transitions seemed more surreal than they already were,” Martin says. The album was a Top 10 hit and certified platinum.

His second album, A WILD AND CRAZY GUY (1978), peaked at #2 and was certified double platinum. The album introduced the hit “King Tut,” which reached the Top 20 on the singles chart. The popularity of the album’s titular ‘wild and crazy guy’ was amplified by Martin’s recurring appearances on Saturday Night Live alongside Dan Aykroyd as the Festrunk Brothers. Their catchphrase, “We are two wild and crazy guys!” became a cultural phenomenon. 

In 1979, when he released his gold-certified third album, COMEDY IS NOT PRETTY!, Martin was performing to stadium-sized crowds – an unprecedented feat for a stand-up. As comedian Steve Allen remarked, “For the first time in the history of comedy, the crowd was reacting like a rock music audience...as if he were The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.”

The set concludes with THE STEVE MARTIN BROTHERS, which marked a shift in his career. This album featured not just Martin’s stand-up material but also an entire side of bluegrass banjo performances, hinting at his transition from stand-up to music and film.