Let's Get Small

Let's Get Small (1977) is an album by American comedian Steve Martin. It includes "Excuse Me", a comedy bit whose title went on to become a national catchphrase. The album went platinum and peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Pop Albums Chart.

Let's Get Small
Live album by Steve Martin
Released	1977
Recorded	1977
Venue	The Boarding House, San Francisco, California
Genre	Comedy
Length	38:10
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	William E. McEuen
Steve Martin chronology
Let's Get Small (1977) A Wild and Crazy Guy (1978)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Village Voice	B[2]

It was recorded at The Boarding House in San Francisco, California.^{[citation needed]}

This album won the Grammy Award in 1978 for Best Comedy Album.^[3]

Some of Martin's bits were dependent on visual demonstration, such as when he dances as a Vegas pop singer on the track "Las Vegas" (presumably recognizing this in the context of recording the album, Martin's shoes are audible and quite loud as he performs the dance on this track) and also during the "Let's Get Small" track where he discusses getting small while driving — here he mimed driving a car while being so short as to barely reach the bottom of the steering wheel.^{[citation needed]} Martin had debuted this particular bit in a February 26, 1977 appearance on the show Saturday Night Live.^[4]

The album cover shows Martin wearing balloon animals, bunny ears, Groucho Marx glasses, and a fake arrow through his head; these were all staples of his live act.^{[citation needed]} He made balloon animals on some of his Saturday Night Live appearances as well as his guest appearance on The Muppet Show, while the fake arrow through the head was spoofed by Dinah Shore for a guest appearance by Martin on her talk show.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

1. "Ramblin' Man/Theme from Ramblin' Man" – 2:14
2. "Vegas" – 5:45
3. "Let's Get Small" – 13:34
4. "Smoking" – 2:10
5. "One Way to Leave Your Lover" – 1:33
6. "Mad at My Mother" – 1:22
7. "Excuse Me" – 2:32
8. "Grandmother's Song" – 3:33
9. "Funny Comedy Gags" – 3:05
10. "Closing" – 2:02

"Grandmother's Song" was released as a 7" vinyl single. A very short excerpt of "Let's Get Small" is the single's B-side.^[5][6]

Production

• Norman Seeff – photography

Legacy

The phrase "well, excuuuuuuse me" has entered the vernacular due to a bit featured on this album. ^[7] The bit was cited as an inspiration for The Legend of Zelda character Link, who uses "Well, excuse me, Princess!" as a catchphrase in the 1989 cartoon.^[8]

References

1. Let's Get Small at AllMusic
2. Christgau, Robert (October 3, 1977). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
3. Awards Nominations & Winners | GRAMMY.com
4. SNL Transcripts: Steve Martin: 02/26/77: Steve Martin's Monologue
5. "Steve Martin (2) - Grandmother's Song / Let's Get Small at Discogs". Discogs.
6. "45cat - Steve Martin - Grandmother's Song / Let's Get Small - Warner Bros. - USA - WBS 8503".
7. Kapsis, Robert E., ed. (2014). Conversations with Steve Martin. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781626743229. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
8. Carpenter, Nicole (11 January 2023). "'Excuuuuse me, Princess!': An oral history of The Legend of Zelda cartoon". Polygon. Retrieved 17 September 2024.