California – Postcard From London

California – Postcard From London – Album Review

Into the jangle-verse we go once more…

“Fellow Travellers (California Version)” almost sounds like the melody of an old church hymn brought into the Classic Rock realm…in fact, I feel like if we scoured the lot of what they make people stand up for to sing along with every Sunday, you’d probably discover a few pieces in common.  It works well enough though…I like that it’s got a genuine feel of an opening tune, like you’re about to be in for an experience & such…no harm in starting an album with something like that, right?  Les and Loretta are singing it well and I like the mix on the two vocalists combined at the start here.  Big drum sounds that stand out…good message at the core of it all…no substantial objections from me here.  All said & done, it’s one of the record’s most balanced tunes, and I would have been pretty happy with Postcard From London if it had remained with this kind of mix & performance from its two main characters in Loretta and Les.  Spoiler alert – it doesn’t…but as an opening track/gateway in, this is a decent start for sure.

“Jangleholic (California Version)” is one of those tunes with a title you’ll remember.  I’ve reviewed so much of Les Fradkin’s music at this point, I’m well into the repeats.  Of course this is the ‘California Version’ and whatnot…but I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether that’s going to be the difference maker, or if Les simply wanted to again revisit a song he really enjoys.  It’s not a bad tune.  Does it need as much of the spotlight as it has received throughout the years?  Again, that’s for you to decide.  It’s got a smart way of chronicling an aspect of music and its history, and I appreciate that.  Let’s be real here – the reason as to why it reappears, is because it’s basically Fradkin’s personal anthem.  Even that’s kind of neat in a sense, because he’s recalling many of the things that inspired him to become the musician he became, but it’s without question his own soundtrack…you get to know who the man behind the music is on this track perhaps better than you will on any other.  I don’t mind it though, it’s a catchy cut.

As for “Good Vibrations,” the song you know from the ol’ Beach Boys catalog…it’s hard to say that things don’t go a little off the rails from what we know as an album into the karaoke realm with this recording.  When you’re taking on a tune from one of the best-known bands to have ever recorded harmonies in the history of music, obviously that’s a huge challenge that most would shy away from.  Loretta and Les run straight towards the danger, and probably take the sharp end of the sword here as a result.  It’s not ever going to be a bad song, because the writing is as sound as it is…but they’re missing the mark of their intentions here, and I suspect they know that a little bit.  I don’t really think this project exists for any other reason other than Loretta and Les to have some fun together if I’m being honest with you – it’s not furthering the story of California.  Les does an okay job with the vocals on “Good Vibrations,” but still sounds somewhat lethargic or just shy of the enthusiastic spark this song requires, and truthfully, as nice as she seems, Loretta is even further away when it comes to the tones they’re looking for.  To be fair to both Les and Loretta, this is by no means an easy song to sing for anyone that would attempt it – but at the same time, if you’re not quite living up to the vision you had for the sound, abandon the ship.

I’ll be clear with you upfront…there aren’t going to be too many versions, if any, that will ever rival the original when it comes to “Brown Eyed Girl” for myself personally.  That being said, I really don’t mind what California has got goin’ on here…it’s quaint, it’s welcoming, it’s hitting all the main aspects of the melody with the right energy that it needs to, and I appreciate that.  Loretta finds herself a bit of redemption here after the last cover song on the record, and does a good job in the background.  Yeah – I’m inclined to give this a positive thumbs up…it’s a bulletproof song, and I’d reckon this performance is further proof of that.  Come to think of it, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard a bad version of “Brown Eyed Girl,” and hopefully I never do.  I’m all good with what California has put together here, and I felt like they ended up with a decent version of Van Morrison’s timeless tune that they could both be proud of.

As I understand it, “The Mighty Quinn” is a song written by Bob Dylan, then later made famous by Manfred Mann…and it looks like there are other high profile names that have attempted a version or two of this song as well throughout the years.  Not a track that’s been on my radar to tell you the truth – this one has somehow escaped my upbringing.  I was never a big Dylan fan to begin with (cue the hate mail!).  I didn’t know this song before, and I felt like this ended up being one of the strongest tracks on the album after I had a good listen to Postcard From London throughout the week.  Loretta does a good job in the backing vocals, and the song itself is played with a stellar amount of decisive confidence that is tremendously appealing to me.  The only thing I’m not as sure about is whether or not “The Mighty Quinn” has as much of a place in today’s world as it might have back then, but it’s a solid cut overall.

“Have I The Right? (California Version)” sounds alright.  I mean…the chorus kinda goes to some strange places, but I like the beginning and the verses in this cut at the very least.  It’s kind of got this pepped-up vibe to it that can be like a speedy version of something like “God Only Knows” at times, but Les comes from that era, so I’m sure the comparison comes through the music in a fairly honest way.  I’ve got no major objections here…I think the verses undeniably steal the show for me personally…the chorus has the vocals reaching for the rafters and getting a bit too much edge in the mix for my taste, but they do sound like they’re having fun.  Yeah…I think aside from the sound of Les’ vocals, I’m fairly into this track – it’s nothing that a remix couldn’t solve I’m sure…he sounds fine at the core of his actual performance.

Did we know we were essentially signing up for a cover-album with Postcard From London?  I didn’t get that memo.  They take on The Ivy League’s “Funny How Love Can Be” as their next offering…you’ll notice that the theme of love is pretty much at the center of everything that California is doing, because Les and Loretta are madly in love themselves and they kinda want you to know that based on the songs, the recordings, and the album covers and whatnot.  I ain’t gonna be the guy to hate on love – sing your songs, enjoy your time, do what you do.  I think everyone has their own sweet spot when it comes to how they sing, and Fradkin’s a little outside of that in this particular song for me and how I personally hear his voice, but he’s done pretty well with material that’s so high up in his register.  As to whether or not this song has enough to it to make me wanna come back for another spin…I dunno…it’s not really my thing I guess.  I can understand its appeal to a degree, but I’d equally understand if you didn’t feel it.

“I Need You (California Version)” is another alright tune…comes through a little brighter in the mix, but I’d probably tell you it’s also one of Les’ better performances on the microphone for the most part.  I will say this though…it was usually right about this point in the record as I listened throughout the week where I felt like we reached the maximum amount of songs that would make for a quality experience without diluting the sound or stretching it too thin – and there are still fourteen other songs to go.  So there’s that.  I really like the vocal melody he’s got in the pre-chorus of this song…it’d be another spot that I’d cite as a genuine highlight that could very well propel this track to being one of the songs I liked most on the record at the end of the day.  The strengths of it are truly strong…and the rest comes out well enough that I won’t complain…what’s good about “I Need You (California Version)” is really great.

“I Could Make It Last Forever” was another track that provides the evidence that the balance in the mix from song to song varies a little more than it should.  Like, both “Funny How Love Can Be” and “I Could Make It Last Forever” are way quieter than “I Need You (California Version)” in the middle, which is like, tough on the listening end of the experience, because you’re constantly guarding the volume knob and ready to twist it in either direction as you listen…and that’s never fun to do.  “I Could Make It Last Forever” is another song we’ve reviewed from California in the past already, and you can read about that by clicking here…but rest assured, Les is attempting to make this moment last forever in more ways than one with it resurfacing here on another album again.  Still a decent tune though…I do genuinely like this cut.

“Come To Me (Remastered)” – that’s what the label on it says…but my ears are like, really?  If this is a remastered version, one can only imagine the original reel-to-reel recording was covered in seven inches of dust before Les blew it off to give it another go.  Umm…hmm…I mean…despite a fairly flat and strict sound that doesn’t quite allow the dynamics of this track to breathe in the way that they should, the song and performance are actually pretty commendable.  I originally reviewed this song when I was commenting on California Loves You and I had similar remarks regarding the quality of the recording.  So like…we can only help as critics so much if someone’s not willing to take our advice or try to see if they can understand our perspective, you know?  “Come To Me” has all the hallmarks of a timeless hit song, and Les is clearly ready to jump back into the studio any time he’s still breathing…so…I mean…do it again brother-man, from the ground up…one more time with feeling, as they say.  I’m needling him to an extent – all the right feeling is there where it should be…but there’s no question this needs – nay, DESERVES – to get polished up like it should have been long ago, or completely redone altogether.

“Willin” is another song we’ve reviewed here in the past…separately as a single if my memory recalls correctly, but it might have been in a couple of ways for all I remember.  I do remember that at the core of it all, California’s got a solid song here…the hooks are good, the performance is fine, the sentiment is sweet, and the musicianship is stellar, with the exception of the drums.  I’m not even saying the drums are not played well…sure…they’re played well enough – how about that?  But the way they interfere and take over this song and its mix in such an unnecessary way feels completely like an unforced error, and I’ve never really understood how to square with that.  They’re just too much, in a song that’s not at all calling out for the sound they possess or being involved as much as they are…it’s really perplexing to me.  We all hear things differently to an extent I suppose.  I don’t know why how got so attached to the sound of the drums in this song…seems way flat to me like the echo of fireworks…and yeah, overly busy – but if you can get your ears beyond that, I do still think there’s a special song at the core of “Willin.”

I can’t be the only one reading these titles with a bit of a wry smile, right?  All these California versions?  I mean…they’re coming from old Les Fradkin songs, and they’re being reimagined for his band California, where he does about 99% of the work.  Soooooooooo…still basically solo songs then?  An added layer of backing vocals from Loretta, or the occasional assist from another musician?  You see what I mean, right?  This is very much a Les-based project, and I highly suspect that’s the way that it always has been.  If you just wanna recycle or revisit the past, there’s no shame in that…just be more open & honest about it I guess.  I’m happy that a song like “Under The Covers (California Version)” gets another spin…heck, I might even just as stoked about it as Les himself is – it’s a great song, full stop.  And keep in mind, I’m not going back through the entire catalog to haul out the previous versions and do a direct side-by-side comparison, so take the things I’m saying with the proverbial grain of salt.  I don’t know that so much has changed that it NEEDED to be featured again on a twenty-two track album, but I do enjoy this song.  I might even go as far as to say this might be up there in my top three tracks by California to be truthful.

“Come Fly To Fall In Love” is one of those rare exceptions where I don’t hate the use of ‘fly’ in the lyrics, because it’s literal here, and not metaphorical like it is in every other song under the sun, of which I usually receive two or more a week that don’t really say what they’re trying to say.  In this instance, Les is directly referencing travel, so hey, it makes sense to me…and I’m cool with it.  Other than that, the performance seems to be solidly in line…I might still question the tone of the drums and feel like it’s still a bit too busy on the drums for my liking as well, but clearly Fradkin loves to hit them skins…so be it.  It ain’t a bad tune by any stretch of the imagination though…all the other aspects of the instrumentation are impressive and sound great to listen to, and I love the mellow breakdown/solo on the way into the second minute.  The backing vocals from Loretta might even be her own most significant highlight too.

“Island” is an excellent representation of what ‘island vibes’ sound like, and it comes from the California Loves You album that I reviewed back in 2023 at some point.  So let’s see here…with a little time and distance…what do I think about this?  I’m still largely allergic to ‘island vibes’ and such…it’s just not a sound that I tend to really respond to.  I do really like the main hooks of the chorus in this track though – in fact, I might even be willing to tell you it’s one of the strongest I know of within Fradkin’s music in any corner of his catalog.  It’s just so hard to do island vibes into an authentic way that doesn’t sound like it’s cheesy or designed to be mall music…but I’d probably tell you that “Island” manages to not entirely be that.  It’s a very stylistic tune that’s bound to resonate more with some than others, and that’s just how the cookie crumbles sometimes.  At the end of the day, it’s played well and that’s all you can really do as an artist or band…the rest of what happens in the court of public opinion is well beyond your control.

As “You Belong To Me” started up, I couldn’t help but feel like I was about to watch an early 90s sitcom – it has that kind of feel to it.  I think…I think I’m pretty much indifferent about this track when it comes right down to it, but I also think I would have advocated for this one to get another round in the studio.  The chorus comes out great, which is really what’s carrying this song at the end of the day and I’m sure becomes the main reason as to why it has been included on this album.  That being said, we’re choosing to ignore some glaring spots in the lead vocals that drift too far from the mark in the verses, and those are problems someone with the tenure and talent that Les has could have easily solved.  As to why he didn’t…that’s the part that I don’t quite understand…we’ve both got ears…they both hear what’s on the mark and what’s not in the same way…so it’s a little bizarre that some of this song slipped through the cracks like it has.  Les has a heck of a lot more professional experience than I’ll ever have, but I suppose a track like “You Belong To Me” proves even the most experienced among us can still be fooled at times, or that we’re all willing to settle at times when perhaps we shouldn’t.  For the most part, “You Belong To Me” is solidly intact, and I guess that’s what makes its few quirks actually end up being more frustrating.

Way, way back around the eighth track of this lineup, I mentioned how it was already becoming a little too much, and here we are another eight songs later, and I was right about all that.  It is too much.  If you’re enjoying it all, then no worries – there’s no such thing as too much of a good thing, right?  If you’re at all on the fence about this track or that one, then it becomes a different form of listening and a bit taxing on the other side of the speakers, because we’re always on guard, knowing there’s potential for something we’re not gonna dig as much…but overall, as I’ve said a million times on these pages of ours, any record over twelve songs is bound to reveal some cracks in the armor, which this one already has several times by this point.  Les has many talents – but being objective is not likely to be listed among them.  He’s got Postcard From London stuffed to the gills, with plenty of repeats like “Perfect World,” and I’m just not entirely sure I understand the logic behind it.  Good songs, yes, usually.  Great ones…more rarely.  Stuff that needs to end up on several records or have several versions of it?  I think we’d be having a totally different conversation.  I’m a look-forward type of dude…and Les clearly prefers to look back at this point of his career.  As long as he’s happy, that’s really all that’s ever going to matter.

Then we start drifting into the Xmas-based tunes for a moment or two, which are never going to be my thing for the most part.  I think the only real redeeming factor about “Christmas Vacation” is the fact that it doesn’t actually sound like a typical Christmas tune, which gives it the advantage over the rest from my perspective.  Having said that, it replaces the usual yuletide stuff with a more island-based vibe at its core, and I’ve already explained how I feel about that style of music too…so I’m kind of trading one thing I don’t like for another to an extent in that regard.  What’s amazing to me is that “Christmas Vacation” somewhat defies the odds of expectations and assumptions…on paper, this shouldn’t be a song that I’d like at all, yet I’d be the first to tell you it’s really not a bad tune at all.  If there’s one thing I don’t do in these reviews, it’s lie to ya…so there you have it…I really kinda like “Christmas Vacation.”

As for “A Christmas Gone Too Soon,” I felt like I grew to like this one with repetition.  It is one seriously melancholic vibe, and I do actually appreciate that in kind of an anti-Christmas Christmas tune kind of way…but yeah…it’s still not gonna be a song that I feel like I’m going to rant and rave about either.  The performance is solid, but it’s the majority of the material that comes out feeling a little on the thin side.  Lyrically, it’s pretty good in my opinion, and that’s likely the song’s main strength.  As to whether or not there are enough hooks or reasons to return to it…I think that’s where the real debate to be had exists.  It’s hard to assess a track like this to be honest with you.  Is it the kind of track you’re going to want to play around the Christmas tree on the 25^th of December?  Hell no.  Is there a time of year where you’re going to want to play Christmas-themed songs outside of that?  Also no.  So like…where IS the space for a song like this one, you know what I mean?  You’re not going to jam in this in the July summer heat.  It’s not a typical happy-happy Christmas song for the holiday season…it essentially belongs on the island of misfit toys songs.  I’m a guy that appreciates melancholy vibes, songs, and sounds…so believe it or not, I actually dig this tune when it comes right down to it, but I do question how others would be receiving it.

Dig the guitar and bass on the way into “As Eagles Fly In The Night (California Version)” and the depth you’ll hear in the mix, which sounds much more modernized than any other song on the record.  And that’s probably where my list of positives ends.  Don’t get me wrong, the performance is fine…the song comes together as best it can…the solo around the 1:50 mark is actually fantastic to listen to…but this is a prime example of a song that most folks would feel they got their fill of it in one shot.  Lots of great songs end up in that category when it comes right down to it, so there’s no reason to hate on it that much…it just kinda is what it is.  This would be what you call the ‘deep cut’ of the record, and I’d say there’s a chance it could grow on us more over the course of time, but by comparison to the rest of what’s on Postcard From London, I’d bet that “As Eagles Fly In The Night (California Version)” doesn’t quite have enough appeal or spark to its content that’ll get people excited in their first couple spins.

“Jesus Can Save (California Version)” – I have no stake in this claim.  If Jesus is your thing, I’ve got no issues with that, just the same as I’d hope you’d have no issues with it not being mine.  I’ve talked about being raised in a religious environment many times throughout the years, and there’s an element of religion in music that I really enjoy talking about…but it’s a much more ambiguous version than this is.  When it’s this directly Jesus-y…I’m definitely out.  This is a song that’s appealing to those that believe in the faith-based community, and if that’s you, then right on – turn it UP and enjoy.  It’s not for me.  I’m not all that interested in the sound of the song…I’m not engaged with the lyricism at all…it’s just not for those outside of Christian faith, simple as that.  When you broaden things out, you give listeners a chance to get into what you’re singing or writing about, but when you go this directly into ANY topic, be it Jesus or otherwise, you’re pigeonholing the potential audience and kind of have to accept that result.

“All You Need Is Love” is fine…no major glaring issues here.  Loretta has been relegated to the background for the vast majority of Postcard From London, but you get to hear her a bit more clearly on this cover of the legendary Beatles tune, and she holds her own.  Look…”All You Need Is Love” is one of those songs that occupies an extremely weird place in our hearts that gives it this inevitable push/pull relationship with listeners.  On the one hand, the song is timeless and the message is eternal – so how could we not want more of that, right?  On the other hand, how many millions of times have we ALL heard this song at this point – whatever ‘this point’ in your life might be?  So it’s hard to advocate for its inclusion onto a twenty-two song record that’s already too long…but it’s also hard to push it away as well.  I dunno…I feel like this came out well for California, so in the end I’m cool with it being included in this lineup of songs, but don’t go thinking that applies to the rest of you out there with the music you make…we’ve all had plenty of exposure to “All You Need Is Love” and I think we can really put a pin in it.

As far as “The End (California Version)” is concerned…the final track on this new album…I guess it’s cool with me.  It’s only about two-minutes in length and passes by quickly, but it also livens-things up in the right way at the finish line…kind of in a way that you’ll end up wishing occurred earlier on in the set.  Jim Dessey lights up the guitar in a real highlight moment, and that’s probably my favorite part of “The End (California Version)” overall.  It’s fun…and probably best to not take this last cut too seriously, so just go with it.  I kind of dig the looseness to it, and I like how the Rock element is more pronounced – “The End (California Version)” might still be somewhat of a throwaway tune to a degree, but it’s undeniably entertaining, vibrant & exciting…and that’s a good note to go out on, ain’t it?  Solid finale, in my opinion.

Find out more about the music of Les Fradkin from his official website at:  https://lesfradkin.com

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