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Post by jk on Feb 27, 2020 18:10:16 GMT -5
This is what I wrote in December 2010 after a third hearing:
A Postcard from California is a very warm, intimate record, more so than I'd expected. It is full of felicitous touches and dabs of instrumental colour--the guitar on the first track, the baritone sax on "Honkin'", some great vocal harmonies around the place, Brian in there sounding happy on "Drivin'", the "downhomey" take on "Rhonda"... "DFTS" is a timeless gem and "San Simeon" is gorgeous. Unlike the pastel shades of the album's cover, the music itself is rich and colourful. The few non-musical sounds are used to great effect. All the "old" tracks sound good in their new guise, not better but different... and good. "Honkin'" sounded lewd on Love You but gets just the right tongue-in-cheek treatment this time round. Alan is in great voice, as are Steve Miller and Crosby and Young (and Glen C). The whole atmosphere is joyous. The only track I still have to come to terms with is the album's closer. Is it just too intimate for my liking? Great chords though and again, those deft instrumental touches. I shall be playing Postcard again very soon and who knows?--maybe that final track will click with me eventually.
That final track has since clicked after a recent [May 2019] listen. Mission accomplished!
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Post by Awesoman on Feb 10, 2021 9:21:45 GMT -5
While perhaps not essential listening overall, the album is darn better than it has any reason to be. "Don't Fight The Sea" is a must-listen as a Beach Boys psuedo-reunion. I especially like all the guest appearances on the album. Neil Young is perfect for the "California Saga" cover and Steve Miller provides a bluesy reading of "Help Me, Rhonda". Also nice to hear America on "Drivin'" and "San Simeon". The title track is just okay, if a little bland and the closer "And I Always Will" doesn't really work with Al's "gee-whiz" voice. (Although Jardine proved he really could nail a ballad later on with "From There To Back Again"; possibly one of his best vocals ever.)
A worthwhile purchase for any Beach Boys fan.
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Post by jk on Oct 18, 2022 8:29:38 GMT -5
"Jardine added his own personal touch to And I Always Will but laughingly said that he cannot claim credit for the original composition by musical genius Frederic Chopin from the 19th century." [ Source] Possibly old news, but I've identified the work in question. It's Chopin's Etude no. 3 in E major (op. 10 no. 3), known as "Tristesse": Check out Al's vocals: I see the track's authorship is uncredited on Wikipedia, I don't know about anywhere else...
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Post by carllove on Oct 18, 2022 9:05:55 GMT -5
Well Apple Music says “Written by Al Jardine”. No mention of Chopin.
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Post by jk on Oct 18, 2022 16:34:49 GMT -5
Well Apple Music says “Written by Al Jardine”. No mention of Chopin. H'mm. OK -- thanks. I'd like to know what it says on the actual album. I'll look around... No mention of Chopin here either. It might have been more tactful of Al to have kept that information to himself.
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Post by Awesoman on Oct 19, 2022 8:25:23 GMT -5
Technically it is Fair Use to utilize classical music without giving credit to their original composers since those pieces (unless I'm mistaken) are in public domain and hold no copyright claims. That's how Al got away with "Lady Lynda".
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Post by jk on Oct 19, 2022 8:41:36 GMT -5
Technically it is Fair Use to utilize classical music without giving credit to their original composers since those pieces (unless I'm mistaken) are in public domain and hold no copyright claims. That's how Al got away with "Lady Lynda". I see it comes into the public domain 70 years after the composer's death. Still, I regard it as more a question of respect. The other side of the coin is Brian's attribution of "Boogie Woodie" to "Rimsky-Korsakov, arr. B. Wilson"! I mean, what? I should imagine it was the swing of the pendulum after Chuck Berry's people kicked up a fuss about "Surfin' U.S.A."...
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