Summer’s here and the time is right for some classic rock. Or more accurately, new music from artists that at one time made classic rock and pop music. Cynics might look at these people as once-vital artists who now have to cash in on past glory in order to keep the utilities on. But I prefer to keep a warm spot on my heart for these folks, who are all too happy to remind us why we loved them in the first place.
Al Jardine is the only member of the original Beach Boys who wasn’t a blood relative of Brian Wilson. Even so, Jardine’s new A Postcard from California manages to evoke the spirit of the Beach Boys more successfully than the recent work of even the Sandbox Genius (that would be Brian, who’s about to release an album of George Gershwin covers). And by evoking the spirit of the Boys, I mean not only that sublime surf-and-hot-rods sound but also the goofy social commentary and cracked sense of humor that characterized a lot of the Beach Boys’ later work. At 68 years old, Jardine’s voice is just as perfect as it was when he sang “Help Me Rhonda” in 1965.
Now Jardine isn’t the most prolific songwriter so he covers a handful of old Beach Boys tunes that won’t make you forget the originals – despite the presence of guest performers like Neil Young, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America, Steve Miller and Norton Buffalo, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Brian Wilson his own self. One of those oldies is “Don’t Fight the Sea,” which is actually an unreleased Beach Boys track that features harmonies by the late Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Brian Wilson and Mike Love (Carl and Bruce cut their parts in the 1980s, Brian and Mike recorded their parts more recently). This environmentally conscious song, like the others on this album, take on a new urgency with the current disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Brian Wilson turns up again on “Drivin’,” a duet that features self-serving vocal backgrounds from America … some of that weird humor here. Another highlight is Jardine’s revisiting of his “California Saga” epic, this time with harmony help from Crosby, Stills and Young and with a spoken-word piece from Alec Baldwin (!).
Listening to A Postcard From California over the Fourth of July weekend, the album managed to grow on me. You have to be in a certain place to enjoy this kind of Grandpa Rock – being an AARP member and qualifying for senior discounts doesn’t hurt – but if Al Jardine can take me back to another time and another place even for a fleeting moment, I’d sign on for that trip any time.
Track samples from A Postcard From California at Al Jardine’s website
YouTube: “Help Me Rhonda” (with Steve Miller, Norton Buffalo and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers)
30 Days Out 