A Postcard from California is the debut solo studio album by American musician Al Jardine, co-founder of the Beach Boys. It was released on June 19, 2010, through Fontana Records.
For the album, Jardine collaborated with many prominent musicians including several Beach Boys members (Brian Wilson, Mike Love, David Marks, Bruce Johnston; Carl Wilson appears posthumously, via archival recordings edited into the album). Other guest musicians include Glen Campbell, America, Steve Miller, Flea, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young.
A Postcard from California contains several previously unreleased songs by the Beach Boys, including "Don't Fight the Sea", "Lookin' Down the Coast", "California Feelin'", and "And I Always Will." "Don't Fight the Sea" includes parts of a Beach Boys' recording (from the L.A. (Light Album) and Still Cruisin' sessions), while "Lookin' Down the Coast", "California Feelin'", and "And I Always Will" are re-recordings (the first two of these three from the L.A. (Light Album) sessions and the latter from the sessions for the band's self-titled album). "Tidepool Interlude" features a spoken word piece written by former Beach Boys collaborator Stephen Kalinich and performed by actor Alec Baldwin.
Jardine added "Waves of Love" as one of the bonus tracks on his 2012 reissue of the album. Intentionally or not, the digital and CD versions of the 2012 reissue contained entirely different versions of the song. The CD included a more laid-back, live soundcheck-sounding version, with Carl Wilson's lead buried among other voices, while the digital version contained a much more "produced" and punchy version in a different key and with Carl's lead brought to the fore. There is a third version of "Waves of Love" on the Japanese version. As of August 2022, the album is again available on digital streaming services, after having been unavailable for some time.
Track listing
Personnel Musicians Al Jardine – lead vocals, guitars (tracks 1, 3, 7, 9, 12, 14), backing vocals (tracks 2, 4, 7, 9, 10), keyboards (track 4), banjo (tracks 6, 7), bass (tracks 6, 9, 15), piano (track 7), handclaps (track 8), 12-string guitar (track 15), harmonica (track 15)
Additional musicians
Technical Scott Slaughter & Barry Phillips – string arrangements (track 13) Damien Rasmussen, Jeff Peters, Richard Bryant, Stevie Heger – engineers Jeff Peters – mixing Alan De Moss, Beau Floch, Chris Constable, Nels Jensen – mixing assistants Joe Gastwirt – mastering Drew Jardine, Lee Dempsey, Mary Ann Jardine, Rachael Short, Robbie Jardine, Tim Brown, Trisha Campo – photography Al Jardine – sleeve notes Kenta Hagiwara – liner notes Mark London – art direction, package design Alan Arellano – additional cover art
References
External links Allmusic.com