The Smiley Smile Message Board

Discuss, review and rate A Postcard From California, released June 2010 (as a download)

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It's very pleasant.  It has the same sort of aesthetic as Al's contributions to LA.  Unlike some of Brian's solo work, and all BB albums after "Love You" it's listenable all the way through; it induces no cringes.  But Brian's work is always innovative; his music is interesting even when unsuccessful.  This, on the contrary, is not a particularly interesting record; Al remains the stolid, talented, good-natured square.  But the songs do make me smile.  Thank you Al for another serving of enjoyable Beach Boysish music.

There's something so god damned affirming about the end of California Feelin'. Al's never been my favorite BB but I just want to pat him on the back after that and say "thanks pal"

Okay, I'm listening now for the first time ever. I'll write this track by track as I listen:

01) A Postcard From California: I am forgetting this one as I listen to it. Not because I want to but just because there is really nothing there to grip me.

02) California Feelin': Dull. Better than Brian's '02 version though.

03) Looking Down The Coast: Was never a bad song to begin with. What is with all of the remakes here???

04) Don't Forget The Sea: Very easily the best track so far. Nice to hear all of the BBs too!

05) Tide Pool Interlude: Man this cd is making me very sleepy!

06) Campfire Scene: Yawn...

07) A California Saga: I never actually ever cared for this song. And it should be titled "California Saga: California". I like CSNY though so I'll back off.

08) Help Me Rhonda: Nice! I really think this is a cool remake. At the very end in the right channel I noticed somebody laugh and say "what a bunch of crap!". Anybody know whose voice it was?

09) San Simeon: Pedestrian but very Beach Boy-ish I suppose. Pleasant I guess.

10) Drivin': Is this really supposed to be rock music? Nice to hear Al & Bri together. Still a little bit "white" though if you know what I mean. To be honest though I can see myself playing this song again sometime. "BP, you're killin' me, man!".

11) Honkin' Down The Highway: Why? What's wrong with the faster/quirkier version from late 1976? It's basically the same arrangement just played a bit slower. Al, do you ever write new material at all? Always cool to hear Brian revisit stuff from Love You for sure!

12) And I Always Will: First time ever hearing this song. It's pretty and melancholy and very, very, very sleepy. Yawn.

Overall verdict:  It's nice to have an actual solo cd by Al Jardine. It's tastefully done with a large cast of famous people but it really doesn't touch BWRG as far as making a deep impact. I hope that I wasn't too harsh in my criticism but I was just making points as I listened (with headphones) and who knows? Maybe the damn thing might grow on me..... I'll give it an optimistic 4.

Finally heard this. I didn't expect Al Jardine to release something earth-shattering and this is very pleasant throughout, even though I feel slightly too young for this album. "Looking Down the Coast" could have used a little less gimmickry but it's still one of my favourite songs penned by Jardine. "Don't Fight the Sea" is very fine, would've been the standout track on Still Cruisin' (besides "Somewhere Near Japan" that is). Not a big fan of the new "California Saga" and I think the original 1972 recording is very hard to beat anyway. "San Simeon" is nice and so is "Drivin'". Thought the ending of "Honkin' Down the Highway" was pretty funny. "And I Always Will" sounds rather forgettable, though.

A very pleasant album. There is a lack of originality in terms of melodies and song choice but I can listen to it all the way through, which is something I can't do with any Brian solo album bar Smile.
The Alec Baldwin thing ruins what could have been a very nice instrumental.

This reads more like a 2/5 than a 4/5

I give it a 3. Its nice to listen to but kinda disappointing considering the time it took to release. Also can Al not try write a few new songs? he is a rich guy in his sixties, he surely has plenty of time.

Favourite tracks - Looking down the coast, don't fight the sea, Campfire Scene (all these songs are nearly 40 years old)

Least Favourite - And I Always Will, A Postcard From California

Hm. Listening to this now. Like the new version of California Feelin' - the tune suits a cheesy anthemic arrangement. But yes, it's all pretty polite and gutless. But thats Al for you.

Did someone else mention the similarity between Lookin' Down the Coast and Walkin' The Line?

Oh god, i forgot about Baldwin! What was he thinking?

Hypehat couldn't have said it better: this album is polite and gutless.

Ok, I really like the production on this album (cheesy at times, but overall it is really nice). The audio quality is really good.

1) The title song is nice, but unfortunately it sounds too much like Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett. It is catchy though and I play it often.

2) California Feelin - FAR superior version to Brian's. Chill harmonies and simple orchestration make it my second favorite track on the album.

3) Lookin Down The Coast - I like the classic guitar in it. To me, it's a very dark song, but fits nicely on the album.

4) Don't Fight The Sea - I still don't get the hype about this song - Besides the fact that Carl Wilson sings on it - I really don't find this song to be that great. One of my least favorite on the album. The vocals are good, but I find no musical merit in the melodies or harmonies. Generations from now, when scholars are pouring over the genius of The Beach Boys, Don't Fight The Sea won't even cross their radars.

5) Tide Pool Interlude - Alec Baldwin narrates this track, seemingly standing atop the Red October describing what he sees as he passes by California.

6) The Campfire Scene - meh, it paints a good picture of a campsite - not much else.

7) A California Saga - Fit perfectly on Holland and fits perfectly here. But at this point I'd have liked to have heard more originals.
 
8 ) Help Me Rhonda - Sorry Al, but this version really made me hate the harmonica. Your voice is spectacular in it though! You sound like you're 20 years old on this track!

9) San Simeon - I really wish more songs like this were on the album - this is my favorite from the album, and has a definite place in my 'favorites' playist in itunes. The harmonies and melody are beautiful. The production on this song is very well done too.

10) Drivin' - good. the swipe at BP was unnecessary (no matter how right he is) and doesn't add much to the song. Brian has come a LONG way since his IJWMFTT album!

11) Honkin Down The Highway - LOVE it. I love that he covered a more unknown song - Barbara Ann, for instance, would have been a disaster...whereas a Love You cover is welcome in my book.

12) And I Always Will - a very nice closer to the album. If Brian is allowed to sing his heart out on Pet Sounds, why isn't Al allowed to 45 years later? It's a nice song.

I need to remember that this album is a painting of the California coast...which is not something I can fully relate to. I honestly can't wait to take a drive down the California coastline on a sunny (or rainy) day listening to this. Overall, it is a nice album. Besides POB, BW88, and SMiLE, it has the best production I've heard from a Beach Boy solo album...there is a nice variety of instruments too. Al's voice sounds amazing. And the guest appearances were very fitting, imo.

4/5

This is what I wrote at the other board I post on, in December after a third hearing. I've played it many times since:


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.

Word.

It has grown on me immensely since 2010. Al rocks.

New promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8vx2njD_EU

The new version with bonus tracks is on Spotify, btw http://open.spotify.com/album/3LJJ1Mejz8lYm8dxZdeXao

Apart from Don't Fight the Sea, there wasn't much I found that great on this album.  The Beach Boys remakes don't surpass the originals though to be honest, I've always found the California Saga to be sort of boring.  I found the guest artists to be more of a gimmick than anything.  I like Alec Baldwin as much as the next guy but having him on this album was just baffling.  Throughout his spoken word, I couldn't help but laugh and think of Jack Donaghy.  But even greats like Crosby, Stills, and Young (couldn't get Graham Nash?) didn't really add much.  Steve Miller on Help Me Rhonda was fun to listen to but forgettable and obviously does not surpass the original.  As for the "originals," there was nothing I really thought stood out, they all kind of sounded like Jimmy Buffett and Al's vocals were uninspired.  And I think Brian did a much better job on California Feelin' when he did it on the Beach Boys Classics album.  

Overall, it was a pleasant listen but ultimately forgettable with the exception of Don't Fight the Sea which I think is excellent.  To me, re-recording songs already recorded by the Beach Boys was sort of lazy and a showed a lack of material on Al's part, playing out more like a Beach Boys tribute album rather than a full-fledged solo album.  I give it a 2.

Inoffensive fluff, not a new idea or track to be found.

2 generous stars

This has really grown on me with the re-release and extra tracks. You basically have to see it as half originals, half remakes.

Al's originals are largely derivative. But the production is really warm and tasteful and just ... nice, for want of a better word.

The addition of "California Dreamin'" into the body of the album is amazingly great. The track is killer, and it's a perfect bookend to "California Feelin'." Each only feature a couple of instruments, and the real story is in the vocals.

The "Honkin'" remake answers a great question about Love You -- what would it sound like without synths? And the answer is delightfully similar, yet much looser and more rocking at the same time. Great backing vocals from Brian on this.

It's easy to badmouth Al. But I would say this stands pretty well alongside Brian's covers records and Mike's mid-2000s album. They're all relatively low-key, warmly produced, and joyous to hear.

I'm with Wirestone. A year or two or 10 ago I was giving a lot of thought to the way we seem to go out of our way as listeners to find and focus on what keeps things from being brilliant. I wrote something along the lines of how that's an unhealthy way to approach music--hurting only yourself, really--and that there is nothing at all wrong with enjoying the "pretty good." This album is pretty good. While I don't go out of my way to play it straight through, I find myself pleased whenever a tune pops up. There are things I'd prefer to have been done differently, sure. But hey, it's not so bad an album.

Finally got my copy - gotta say it's great, Nice one, Al!  :pirate

Really exceeded my expectations; which were based on on-line 30 second grabs from a million years ago.

But, now in it's finally completed form, it's something Al can definitely hang his hat on and be proud of.

Yeah, there are some corny bits, and a few lazy or wobbly bits (vocally, lyrically) and some dated bits, but the tracks are beautifully recorded (sounds fat on my ole rig (NAD 7020e)), and this CD will get more of a work out than some other BB solo albums in my collection.

How does it compare with the download only version that came out last year?

All the talk of the new album, and especially Al's great vocal on From There To Back Again, has made me seek this out for the first time - what a pleasant surprise it's turned out to be!

I've always had a soft spot for some of Al's compositions such as California Saga and Looking Down The Coast, and have toyed with sequencing a kind of California suite out of those , and California Feelin. Well gosh darn, that's exactly what Al's done here, but the concept endures for an entire album. Plus there are beach sound effects and whacked out spoken interludes from the likes of Alec Baldwin which strikes me as the sort of crazy sh*t Brian would do. I'm also a big Neil Young fan, so extra points there. Weird, but not at all unpleasant, to hear him singing California Saga.

Not to mention it kicks off with a Rhinestone Cowboy re-write. When I first heard it I thought "Cheeky f**ker, Al!" Then I realised the other guy singing on it was The Rhinestone Cowboy himself! Not sure how long this album will endure, but for sheer pleasant surprise value I'm going to give it 3 1/2, rounded up to 4, stars.

Oh, I get it....this is Al's way of doing Brian's GIOMH album...bunch of remakes of older used and un-used songs with celebrities to boost sales. ::)

I've said a little bit on another thread how much I appreciate tracks 2-7 as a theme/concept. But I really don't enjoy California Dreamin, I don't understand why it's on there. I feel like the title song & the last track are the only new thoughts and they go along great together but unfortunately, one's at the end, the other's at the beginning so they're kind of forgettable tracks. How old are these songs? (not the remakes) but San Simeon, Drivin, title track, and always will, campfire scene, and tide pool?

A nice, laid-back album. Al has a great voice and he still sounds like he's in his 20s. I just wished he didn't use all those special guests, though I didn't mind Brian and the other Boys. Don't Fight the Sea is the best track on it. Other notable ones are Looking Down the Coast, Drivin', and Honkin' Down the Highway. The bonus tracks are worth looking into too. Makes me want to visit California!

Sadly, I see myself listening to this album than the Beach Boys new album. :-\

Al is a fantastic singer, hasn't lost a bit, and his voice has more of a rock edge than Mike's "snot-nosed kid" sound or Bruce's soft tonality.

I can't fathom why Al was given so few leads over the history of the Beach Boys. Other than the "ice cream carts" part of ASMTYD... (and HMR, Cotton Fields etc.).

I guess I can see why California Dreamin' is possibly on here, tryin to follow up on the theme of the state...but actually, I wouldn't have minded another remake to Santa Ana Winds...here, I think his spoken introduction would have been welcome....it goes along with the rest of the album...or simply remake the original with no intro ("On my porch, thinkin' about the torch.....")

I still enjoy Brian's California Feelin' over Al's. Lookin' Down the Coast (didn't Brian do the opening line on that originally? It'd have been cool if he did that intro again...but I feel like this version of LDTC is lighter and not as dark as the original. I think PT Cruiser shoulda been added as a bonus track.......being that he's changed/added songs about 20 times since its release.  :lol

surprised there isn't another version of Loop de Loop on here.  ;)

I listened to this album about twice a day when it first came out and really haven't listened to it since.

and I think that about says it all.

It gets old after a while?

hahaha - that actually made me laugh out loud!!!

This is a great little album. I think it's the best that you'd expect from Alan. Lookin down the coast is absolutely fantastic. Three and a half stars, but I'll round up to four.

 (Man - I hope he doesn't read this board - he's about a gazillion times more talented than me - my comments are just made in the context of the rest of the Beach Boys output!!)

Yeah, even though it recycled a lot from Hey Little Cobra and I think sons Jan and Dean material (can't remember, have heard it in some time!)
Isn't it sad that Alan could release his own album and mike can't even get a legit record deal? (Perhaps due to his resume albums)

I meant that as one thought, isn't it sad that al can get a record deal but mike can't?

The hey little cobra link from what I remember is the beginning lyrics: "PT PT PT Cruiser don't you know you really look fine."

The don't you know you really look fine part sounds like the lyric: "don't you know you're gonna shut em down."

which sounds a lot like  "buddy gonna shut you down"  :P

Why did Al even make this album? I mean the album is mostly covers...

Comon', Jonesy - Al states his intentions in the liner notes ("I hope you like my work.  It reflects the way I see the world through the eyes of those who have lived here, and through the voices of those who have influenced me along the way").

And, what's wrong with covers - Brian delivered 2 albums full in recent times, and the BB's have a history of leaning on other material, sometimes well (Devoted to You), sometimes no so well (most of 15 Big Ones & Crocodile Rock)

Al is a big one for borrowing, OR, reworking a theme and presenting his own take - all of the covers are pretty well handled, especially California Dreamin' (who'd have thought a track with Stamos could be so evocative)

Speaking of the BB leaning on covers, I remember early on as an avid but inmatture fan, I used to sigh and get slightly annoyed when I saw covers listed on their albums. I just used to think it was the artist being lazy and not doing original material and trying to get away and win fans over with a popular song. But now, 14 years down the road, I have a special place in my heart for the BB covers, from Louie Louie to Summertimw Blues to I'm so Young to I can hear music to Cotton Fields to Palisades Park to Peggy Sue to Just once in my Life to I was made to love her to then I kissed her to Goodnight Irene to California Dreaming to Hungry Heart to Lightening Strikes to Why do fools fall in love to Duke of Earl to Miserlou to Blueberry Hill to Be my Baby to Talk to Me to Shortenin Bread to Rockin all over the world to calendar Girl to sloop John b to hushabye to Ruby Baby to Bluebirds over the Mountain to There's not other like my baby.


 You get the idea.…

I just think it's redundant that Al is rerecording songs he already wrote or performed with The Beach Boys (Help Me Rhonda, California Saga, California Dreamin', etc). My problem isn't that the songs are not original. If he is (probably) going to make only one solo album, why not give us something other than retreads?

I don't mind the idea of covering at all. In fact, many of my favorite Beach Boys songs are covers.

One of the much better BB's solo albums.
"Don't Fight The Sea" is easily my favourite song on this album.
3 out of 5.

Good call, I was just thinking about how cool Don't fight the Sea is…I believe it was written in the late 80s but wasn't recorded until Still Cruisin or so…anyways, it's one of those 80s songs that sounds like it came from the 70s (as it did) and vice versa.

This  IMHO Is a really nice LP  listenable all the way thru..  Yes there are too many remakes and you know he has songs stockpiled away so why not use them.  ?  I do like the fact that finally songs that were booted years ago finally get a release..  Al still has a great voice and his personality comes out in his music.  I really like this LP I give it a 4.

Don't fight the sea is a classic! It's a shame that I can't seem to find this album anywhere... I guess I could order it from ebay, but it's missing entirely in Finland and almost completely in Europe too... Such a shame, 'cause what I've heard it's a great album.

4/5.

Don't fight the sea should have been on Made in California, I don't see it as a solo song.

Well, I was just trying to get every aspect of their career in my post through what covers they've done, and boy have they done a lot over the years! BTW, the only Duke of Earl you'll find, I think, is a bunch of live versions Mike has done over the years with his band. I saw him do it in 2001...12 years later, I was surprised it wasn't on the setlist when I saw him last August!

I think And I Always Be might be the lamest song of all time

I finally broke down and bought this album.

I'll say its worth the price of admission just for Don't Fight the Sea. 

The rest of the album is pleasant, but not too memorable.  The remakes were a little unnecessary, particularly Help Me Rhonda and California Dreaming.  Although the remake of California Saga: California isn't bad. 

I gave the album a 3/5, because it's a middle of the road type album.  Not bad, but not particular good either.  It's too bad Al couldn't find a better vehicle for his voice. 

Well, I too finally broke down and picked this up... (as well as Carl's two solo albums).  Don't know why I held out... hmm.  Anyway...

Gotta say, I really like it.  I love the natural hi-fi sound quality... I really love it actually.  And I like the chill relaxed vibe.  The cool Help Me Rhonda.  Fantastic!  Yes... Al does a lot of covers... I get it.  But that's fine, that's who he is.  People need to stop comparing him to his bandmate -- what was that guys name again, Beethoven?  Bach?  Oh, wait... Brian Wilson! That's it...

This album has turned out to be such a pleasant surprise.  The arrangements/sound/production and overall pace and style is something I wish the Beach Boys next album (there will be another right?) takes notice of.  This is what a new Beach Boy album should "sound" like.

And furthermore, while we can't compare Carl and Dennis' voice, Al's has certainly aged the best.  It's not even close for me.  Brian sounds like a COMPLETELY different person now.  Al sounds about the same as he always did.  And it's a GREAT voice.  Ageless and so versatile.

Having Brian and the others voices on here is icing on the cake.  Honkin' Down the Highway!!!!!!  And I gotta say this is one of the nicest versions of California Dreamin'. 

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Hell yes!!  Thanks Al!

Of course the Professor agrees with the bag about this album in 100% details. I have listened to it with at least two different girlfriends while driving to all the places mentioned and discussed in it. If you put that album on and drive up the 101 and make note of each place and each song as it pertains to each new location, you will really feel a profound and beautiful sense of connection to the Beach Boys, - al, and to California. David marks is on one song and of course brian is on a few and all the other guests are just wonderful.


quote author=Bean Bag link=topic=8963.msg541803#msg541803 date=1443732498]
Well, I too finally broke down and picked this up... (as well as Carl's two solo albums).  Don't know why I held out... hmm.  Anyway...

Gotta say, I really like it.  I love the natural hi-fi sound quality... I really love it actually.  And I like the chill relaxed vibe.  The cool Help Me Rhonda.  Fantastic!  Yes... Al does a lot of covers... I get it.  But that's fine, that's who he is.  People need to stop comparing him to his bandmate -- what was that guys name again, Beethoven?  Bach?  Oh, wait... Brian Wilson! That's it...

This album has turned out to be such a pleasant surprise.  The arrangements/sound/production and overall pace and style is something I wish the Beach Boys next album (there will be another right?) takes notice of.  This is what a new Beach Boy album should "sound" like.

And furthermore, while we can't compare Carl and Dennis' voice, Al's has certainly aged the best.  It's not even close for me.  Brian sounds like a COMPLETELY different person now.  Al sounds about the same as he always did.  And it's a GREAT voice.  Ageless and so versatile.

Having Brian and the others voices on here is icing on the cake.  Honkin' Down the Highway!!!!!!  And I gotta say this is one of the nicest versions of California Dreamin'. 

(http://www.beachboysbritain.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Bitter-End22.jpg)

Hell yes!!  Thanks Al!
[/quote]

I listened it the album a few weeks ago for the first time in awhile. 

I posted two years ago that it's an overall good listen, but not much very memorable.  Drivin is nice.  I'd love to hear what The Beach Boys would've done with Waves of Love, as Al tried to pitch it for TWGMTR.  I could do with less BB remakes, but they're not bad, just inferior to their originals. 

I'm less curious about Waves of Love, just because I don't think it's that good a song. Maybe if they'd rewritten it, keeping the obvious benefits of Carl's vocals wherever they could, but come up with a stronger song overall. Sadly I just don't think the part Carl sang was that good a part, or that excitingly sung.

Agree 100% about the remakes. It's one thing to rerecord and release songs that may have been booted but weren't ever on real releases, as Brian has done on occasion over the years (or I guess as Al did with Wave of Love). But things like Rhonda or California Saga are just entirely unnecessary to me.

Doing remakes seems to be an odd, and somewhat bewildering, habit among the surviving Beach Boys going back 20 odd years now.   I can kinda see them trying to maybe improve on a song (ie. extending the Man With All the Boys), or doing more obscure songs that may have been overlooked the first time around.  But, there's no reason for stuff like Little Saint Nick - BW '05, Help Me Rhonda '12, or Do It Again (pick any of the three recent ones).

No, thank you: I'd rather pretend some didn't exist.

Same here.  I don't even much for for the 2012 BB version too much.  Why release that when you're about to release 12 originals?   

Totally agree with that. Frankly I'm not even that big a fan of the song to begin with. I mean, it's fine. I don't hate it. But I could have done without any of them. I get the idea of getting together to kick the tires and see where things stood, but you don't have to release it. (Though yes, obviously the song subject matter and title made it an obvious marketing hook.)

Getting back on the topic of Al Jardine material. 

If Al decides to do another solo album one day, (I think I posted in another thread) I'd like to see him work with Jeff Lynne.  They could do some originals together.  No BB covers.  And it would be a nice album. 

That's fair enough.   I just think they kind of break up the flow of the album a light, similar to how the two BB remakes break up Brian's Imagination album.

While I'm not much of a Jeff Lynne fan, I do think he'd need somebody who could provide material and a sense of production urgency. Realistically, Al doesn't write a whole lot, and he tinkers too long.

Ideally I'd like that collaborator (or one of those collaborators) to be Brian, because he's given Al so much fantastic content over the years. But he's not exactly overly productive these days, either.

I really liked that version Al did with Richard Barone of "If I Had a Hammer." I don't know much of anything about Barone, but I wonder if he or someone else could spur Al's interest in folk music and do harmony-heavy stuff in that vein, which might also keep Al from the production tinkering by keeping things simpler.

I'd love to see Al work with Jeff Lynne. But I don't think Al could afford him, and no indie label that signs Al would pay for Lynne.

The C50 2012 version of DIA had a very specific purpose. It essentially *wasn't* released in any widespread fashion. It was posted as a video on YouTube, and also tacked onto that "Zinepak" thing they sold at Walmart. But it wasn't even sold as a download on iTunes or Amazon, etc.

It was used as a promotional tool for the reunion project. And the session itself from back around May of 2011 was undertaken as a dry run for the reunion to simply make sure the four guys could get through a session without any major acrimony. I would imagine they picked the song because of the obvious reunion theming, and because the four of them and their touring guys could sing and play the song in their sleep.

It think most fans were most interested in the track due to the novelty of seeing the guys together again. That being said, it's still far better than Mike's PBS remake and a million times better than his 2017 version.

In many cases (and especially Al's album and Brian's X-Mas album), the choice to remake old familiar songs is probably at least partly about garnering interest from prospective labels, and/or please the label that's signed you.

I don't think anyone was surprised by Brian doing the most famous BB X-mas song on his solo X-Mas album. One could even argue that because most of the album is "covers" of classic X-mas songs, he was covering the BB tunes as "classics" rather than simply covering himself.

As for Al, I know that all along he wanted a major label for his album, or at least *some* sort of actual label. I would imagine that was part of the motivation of putting a few familiar songs titles on there, especially Rhonda. Ultimately, while he did initially just put it out himself in 2010, he did get a label to distribute it in 2012. I'm sure they were happy to have "Rhonda" on there.

I'd also argue unlike Mike's typical self-covers (and some of Brian's), Al's re-recordings on his album are at least relatively different arrangements. "Rhonda" is done in a bluesy arrangement, "Cal Saga" is done somewhat more stripped back, and "California Dreamin'" is probably the best of the re-arranged numbers.

I also think Al just wanted to have guest stars, and cover versions helped to facilitate some of those.

Yeah, I get that.  And it is better than the 16 & 17 versions.  

Another interesting thing about "Postcards" is that during the one day of sessions that Al had Brian in (June 10th, 2007 to be precise), he evidently had Brian add vocals to a ton of stuff, and a lot of it didn't make it onto the album. There's a promotional video for the making of the album that shows Brian singing lead lines on the title track "A Postcard from California", and I believe it was mentioned that he added vocals to "And I Always Will" as well.

Yeah, if anything it would have to be a passion project for Jeff.  But, since ELO seems to be slowly becoming an active band again, its probably all a pipe dream.  

I actually quite like the Imagination album.  I'd probably rank it in the middle of BW's solo albums. 

Or for Al, because certainly he does have the funds to hire Jeff ... it's just whether he'd be comfortable putting his own money into something that wouldn't be profitable.

Yeah, he's pretty busy (relatively) these days. Plus, for all his reputation as a famous "producer", he really hasn't ever been an industry "producer" guy the way others have. He pretty much has only produced friends, or people he's a fan of, or himself, or groups he's involved with, and then on rare occasions has produced outside artists usually at the behest of a record label or other intermediary (e.g. Brian).

He produced Regina Spektor several years back, but she was on a major label, sought Lynne out (hilariously not aware of his history as a major artist and only seeking him out because she liked how Petty's "Highway Companion" sounded), and her label could afford him.

Exactly. Considering he has never tried to launch something like a clubs tour, it doesn't appear he's interested in putting his own money into a music project and losing money or, at best, breaking even.

It's tough, because he probably needs an outside producer to motivate things and move things along, because even with a pro studio literally at his own home, he hasn't found whatever it is he needs to produce more music.

He could always join Ringo's All Star Band at some point.

If he's going to be in a traveling oldies act, he may as well stay where he is, where at least he's featured throughout the shows rather than 2-3 songs.

I meant to say if Brian retires or takes an extended break. 

Like HJ said, an Al Jardine tour would be pretty unlikely, so I think if he's not with Brian any longer, the Ringo gig would be a good fit (some goes for Bruce if Mike ever hangs up his baseball cap). 

When did any of the guys do a song about Kevin Spacey?

It did today. (Still a bit on the intimate side though.)  Now I love the entire album. ::)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzfI3Yr3uNg