Al Jardine vs The Beach Boys

[GoogaMooga]

Finished playing these new arrivals, and I actually think Al's album is better than the latest BB effort, despite containing some rerecordings of old songs. Why? It sounds more like a well rounded BB effort, than TWGMTR, which is very Wilsonesque. APFC also contains the Red Cross charity single "Don't Fight the Sea", featuring The Beach Boys incl. Carl Wilson!

So, which do you think is better?

[The Shift]

God has the edge in my book, though Postcards is a bloody good effort all round.

For a BBs album to sound like a true BBs album, it has to have a good dose of BW input.

[GoogaMooga]

I like Mike's song on That's Why God Made the Radio. He's come up with a few winners in the past few years. But not Santa's Goin to Kokomo, I don't know what he was thinking there.

[buddhahat]

Poll it brother! ('Add Poll' at bottom)

[pixletwin]

I think Postcards is a good effort from Al too, but ultimately it comes off sounding too samey and pseudo-80's-sounding-like-the-60's (ala California Dreamin') for my tastes. TWGMTR for me.

[Ziggy Stardust]

I think that if you mix up the album with TWGMTR then you have something really solid.

[Wah Wah Wah Ooooo]

I think TWGMTR is far better overall than APFC, though I like both very much.  Al's record has "California Feelin'" which I love, and I do really enjoy the version of "California Dreamin" on there with Glen Campbell and Dave Crosby.  But, the stronger cuts of TGMTR (1-3, 9-12) are some of the best Beach Boys music in years, which trumps the really nice moments on Al's thing.

[GoogaMooga]

Both are very strong efforts and if they end it here, I don't mind too much. On the two albums, "Don't fight the sea" is the closest thing to a classic hit, I think.

[GoogaMooga]

I have now added a poll. Please vote!

[Ziggy Stardust]

Both are very strong efforts and if they end it here, I don't mind too much. On the two albums, "Don't fight the sea" is the closest thing to a classic hit, I think.

I like the song but you can still feel the strong 80's vibe (mostly because of the production work), tho Waves Of Love sounds timeless and really solid, could have been a great lead single for TWGMTR.

[buddhahat]

I think that if you mix up the album with TWGMTR then you have something really solid.

Yep - swap the middle songs for Don't Fight The Sea, California Feeling and Looking Down The Coast and you'd have a classic.

I enjoy Al's album quite a bit but I don't think it's quite up to TWGMTR standard in terms of original songs, and BB vocals.

[Emdeeh]

I've put both albums together on a iTunes playlist, so I'm not going to pick one over the other. 

[Sheriff John Stone]

Regarding Al's album, I listened to individual songs as they would surface here and there, and I wasn't impressed. They all reminded me of other songs. But, I wanted to wait for the completed album before making a final assessment. I finally bought the autographed CD at a recent BB concert, and, upon listening to it, I had to turn it off. I couldn't make it through.

Yeah, Al can still sing, but....I was so turned off by the inferior cover songs (none even approach the originals) and songs that are so simplistic and derivative. I wasn't impressed by all of his guest vocalists; I felt sad for him that he felt he needed to "display" them in the first place. I guess ultimately I was disappointed that, for a major recording artist, and any member of a group like The Beach Boys should be considered one, that for his first and only solo effort in how many years of recording, that he couldn't come up with something better than this. I'm sorry if that's harsh but it's just an opinion.

P.S.  I did include "Don't Fight The Sea" and "Waves Of Love" on my ultimate TWGMTR compilation CD.

[Justin]

I'm not sure why I always forget that "Postcard" is Al's first solo album.  If you were to tell me it was his third or fourth , or maybe one that he put together after a loooong drought since his last solo output I would've believed that.  It's a good enough album, but as a first outing after decades of trying to put your first solo album together and this is the very best we could do?  Hmmm...I dunno about that!

[Lonely Summer]

Al's album is good, very enjoyable, and kind of makes up for his muted presence on TWGMTR. Nice to hear Carl's voice, too. I had low expectations going in, based on what I'd read here and elsewhere about it, so it was a pleasant surprise.

[Wirestone]

The sound on Al's album is great. Production is natural, voices on target. It hits all the right notes of what a latter-day BBs album should sound like (and I wish more BW albums sounded something like this).

But the material is bleh. The constant guest appearances are gimmicky. Al is seemingly unable to write a song that's not a thinly disguised version of another song (or that swipes big parts from BB tunes). And that ultimately makes the album pleasant enough, but profoundly inessential.

[PhilSpectre]

Personally, I made up my own compilation BB's album out of Al's Postcard album (minus the new version of Help Me Rhonda, which I dislike) and the bonus tracks from BW's That Lucky Old Sun, plus various other odd recentish non-album BW tracks Inc. Listen to Me and Walking Down the Path of Life) and a couple of Mike's recentish solo numbers that are floating around.

It makes for a nice companion piece to TLOS (as both TLOS and APFC are at heart nostalgic Californian travelogues) as well as a second recent BB's album, with a different feel and style to TWGMTR, which I also love.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Personally, I made up my own compilation BB's album out of Al's Postcard album (minus the new version of Help Me Rhonda, which I dislike) and the bonus tracks from BW's That Lucky Old Sun, plus various other odd recentish non-album BW tracks Inc. Listen to Me and Walking Down the Path of Life) and a couple of Mike's recentish solo numbers that are floating around.

It makes for a nice companion piece to TLOS (as both TLOS and APFC are at heart nostalgic Californian travelogues) as well as a second recent BB's album, with a different feel and style to TWGMTR, which I also love.

I'm interested in seeing the tracklist for that comp.

[PhilSpectre]

Personally, I made up my own compilation BB's album out of Al's Postcard album (minus the new version of Help Me Rhonda, which I dislike) and the bonus tracks from BW's That Lucky Old Sun, plus various other odd recentish non-album BW tracks Inc. Listen to Me and Walking Down the Path of Life) and a couple of Mike's recentish solo numbers that are floating around.

It makes for a nice companion piece to TLOS (as both TLOS and APFC are at heart nostalgic Californian travelogues) as well as a second recent BB's album, with a different feel and style to TWGMTR, which I also love.

I'm interested in seeing the tracklist for that comp.

Ok, here goes - 

The Beach Boys - A Postcard From California

1. A Postcard From California (Al)
2. Anything For You (Mike)
3. Live Let Live (Brian - the non-TLOS version)

    Al's California Suite
4. California Feeling (Al)
5. Looking Down the Coast (Al)
6. Don't Fight the Sea (The Beach Boys)
7. Tide Pool Interlude (Al)
8. Campfire Scene (Al)
9. A California Saga (Al)
10. San Simeon (Al)
11. Drivin (Al, Brian, David Marks)
12. Honkin' Down the Highway (Al, Brian, Matt & Adam Jardine)

13. Listen To Me (Brian remembers Buddy Holly)
14. Pisces Brother (Mike's tribute to George Harrison and the India sojourn in 1968)
15. And I Always Will (Al's tribute to his wife)
16. Waves of Love (The Beach Boys)

    Brian's Path of Life Suite
17. Just Like Me and You (Brian)
18. Oh Mi Amor (Brian)
19. Message Man (Brian with Danny Hutton; man, I love this song  )
20. Good Kind of Love (Brian with Carole King)
21. I'm Into Something Good (Brian with Carole King)
22. Heaven (Brian's recording of Carl's classic song)
23. Walking Down the Path of Life/ Love and Mercy (Brian returns to Love and Mercy, the first track on his first solo album,     
      rounding off his solo career for now before rejoining the Beach Boys  )

All the Boys are on there somewhere (except Dennis, obviously and Bruce I think), and it's nice to have Al heavily featured on a BB's 'album'. Brian has the last say with his Path of Life 'suite'). The last 'suite' might be a little contrived, but the 'album' as a whole flows nicely imo.

[Nicko1234]

Both albums are really a mixed bag...

The standout tracks on Al`s CD for me are Don`t Fight the Sea, And I Always Will and California Feelin`. A few of the others like the title track, Lookin` Down the Coast, Drivin` and San Simeon are solid as well but I wish that the latter wasn`t so blatantly ripped off from Don`t Worry Baby. However some of the covers are pointless (Help me Rhonda in particular) and the poem shouldn`t have been included.

TWGMTR is badly let down by the production and it`s too calculatedly nostalgic but it`s still a solid album and the songwriting is superior. Beaches in Mind and Bill and Sue are the only 2 really substandard songs.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Personally, I made up my own compilation BB's album out of Al's Postcard album (minus the new version of Help Me Rhonda, which I dislike) and the bonus tracks from BW's That Lucky Old Sun, plus various other odd recentish non-album BW tracks Inc. Listen to Me and Walking Down the Path of Life) and a couple of Mike's recentish solo numbers that are floating around.

It makes for a nice companion piece to TLOS (as both TLOS and APFC are at heart nostalgic Californian travelogues) as well as a second recent BB's album, with a different feel and style to TWGMTR, which I also love.

I'm interested in seeing the tracklist for that comp.

Ok, here goes - 

The Beach Boys - A Postcard From California

1. A Postcard From California (Al)
2. Anything For You (Mike)
3. Live Let Live (Brian - the non-TLOS version)

    Al's California Suite
4. California Feeling (Al)
5. Looking Down the Coast (Al)
6. Don't Fight the Sea (The Beach Boys)
7. Tide Pool Interlude (Al)
8. Campfire Scene (Al)
9. A California Saga (Al)
10. San Simeon (Al)
11. Drivin (Al, Brian, David Marks)
12. Honkin' Down the Highway (Al, Brian, Matt & Adam Jardine)

13. Listen To Me (Brian remembers Buddy Holly)
14. Pisces Brother (Mike's tribute to George Harrison and the India sojourn in 1968)
15. And I Always Will (Al's tribute to his wife)
16. Waves of Love (The Beach Boys)

    Brian's Path of Life Suite
17. Just Like Me and You (Brian)
18. Oh Mi Amor (Brian)
19. Message Man (Brian with Danny Hutton; man, I love this song  )
20. Good Kind of Love (Brian with Carole King)
21. I'm Into Something Good (Brian with Carole King)
22. Heaven (Brian's recording of Carl's classic song)
23. Walking Down the Path of Life/ Love and Mercy (Brian returns to Love and Mercy, the first track on his first solo album,     
      rounding off his solo career for now before rejoining the Beach Boys  )

All the Boys are on there somewhere (except Dennis, obviously and Bruce I think), and it's nice to have Al heavily featured on a BB's 'album'. Brian has the last say with his Path of Life 'suite'). The last 'suite' might be a little contrived, but the 'album' as a whole flows nicely imo.

Nice comp! You're right, it is a cool companion to TWGMTR. Any room left on the CD to insert an old Dennis or Bruce track, or would that compromise the effect you were going for?

[mabewa]

I think TWGMTR is far better overall than APFC, though I like both very much.  Al's record has "California Feelin'" which I love, and I do really enjoy the version of "California Dreamin" on there with Glen Campbell and Dave Crosby.  But, the stronger cuts of TGMTR (1-3, 9-12) are some of the best Beach Boys music in years, which trumps the really nice moments on Al's thing.

This.

[Exapno Mapcase]

My comp:

1. That Lucky Old Sun
2. Morning Beat
3. Live Let Live
4. TLOS reprise
5. Midnight's Another Day
6. TLOS reprise
7. Tide Pool Interlude
8. Looking Down The Coast
8. California Feeling
9. California Dreaming
10. Strange World
10. Piano Variations on Thoughts Of You
11. Think About The Days
12. From There To Back Again
13. Pacific Coast Highway
14. Summer's Gone

[send me a picture and i'll tell you]

Postcard rolls up & smokes both Carl solo albums, as well as Beckley/Lamm/Wilson.  RIP Carl, but just sayin'.

[PhilSpectre]

Personally, I made up my own compilation BB's album out of Al's Postcard album (minus the new version of Help Me Rhonda, which I dislike) and the bonus tracks from BW's That Lucky Old Sun, plus various other odd recentish non-album BW tracks Inc. Listen to Me and Walking Down the Path of Life) and a couple of Mike's recentish solo numbers that are floating around.

It makes for a nice companion piece to TLOS (as both TLOS and APFC are at heart nostalgic Californian travelogues) as well as a second recent BB's album, with a different feel and style to TWGMTR, which I also love.

I'm interested in seeing the tracklist for that comp.

Ok, here goes - 

The Beach Boys - A Postcard From California

1. A Postcard From California (Al)
2. Anything For You (Mike)
3. Live Let Live (Brian - the non-TLOS version)

    Al's California Suite
4. California Feeling (Al)
5. Looking Down the Coast (Al)
6. Don't Fight the Sea (The Beach Boys)
7. Tide Pool Interlude (Al)
8. Campfire Scene (Al)
9. A California Saga (Al)
10. San Simeon (Al)
11. Drivin (Al, Brian, David Marks)
12. Honkin' Down the Highway (Al, Brian, Matt & Adam Jardine)

13. Listen To Me (Brian remembers Buddy Holly)
14. Pisces Brother (Mike's tribute to George Harrison and the India sojourn in 1968)
15. And I Always Will (Al's tribute to his wife)
16. Waves of Love (The Beach Boys)

    Brian's Path of Life Suite
17. Just Like Me and You (Brian)
18. Oh Mi Amor (Brian)
19. Message Man (Brian with Danny Hutton; man, I love this song  )
20. Good Kind of Love (Brian with Carole King)
21. I'm Into Something Good (Brian with Carole King)
22. Heaven (Brian's recording of Carl's classic song)
23. Walking Down the Path of Life/ Love and Mercy (Brian returns to Love and Mercy, the first track on his first solo album,     
      rounding off his solo career for now before rejoining the Beach Boys  )

All the Boys are on there somewhere (except Dennis, obviously and Bruce I think), and it's nice to have Al heavily featured on a BB's 'album'. Brian has the last say with his Path of Life 'suite'). The last 'suite' might be a little contrived, but the 'album' as a whole flows nicely imo.

Nice comp! You're right, it is a cool companion to TWGMTR. Any room left on the CD to insert an old Dennis or Bruce track, or would that compromise the effect you were going for?

Thanks. Yeah, I was aiming for a 'modern' BBs album that could have been released between 2010-2012 but before TWGMTR, so sadly no Dennis material would make it, outside of Brian's solo version of Forever, which is nice. That could be added, acting as a companion piece to his version of Carl's Heaven.

As for Bruce, to my knowledge, he's not recorded anything new outside of TWGMTR for many years. Had something modern and of quality spotlighting Bruce been available, I would probably have slotted it in there somewhere.

I find this comp really beefs up the Al material from Postcard (which I think is a decent album, stronger than the solo albums of Carl and Mike), as it's surrounded by other strong material from Brian. Message Man in particular is such a great track, it's quirky, clever and joyous and yet it almost chokes me up with how moving the overall effect is. His covers of 'Listen to Me' and 'I'm Into Something Good' are also very nice imo.

Also, I think Mike's Pisces Brother is underrated and quite moving . For me, it's his most sensitive vocal for many a year, it's a Mike ballad which is a rarity and it sounds like he means what he's saying in the track, which I guess was inspired by the passing of George Harrison in 2001. Mike actually broke out of his 'fun in the sun' safety zone for that one, showing a little of the artistry he is occasionally capable of.