Beach Boys’ Al Jardine on Fleet Foxes: “They’re Awesome!”
At last month’s Songwriter’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the Beach Boys’ Al Jardine let Rolling Stone in on his latest obsession: Seattle’s Fleet Foxes.”They’re awesome,” he told RS. “They kind of have the Beach Boys vibe, too — very beautiful harmonies. They’re just taking the world by storm, and without any singles.”
Jardine met the Foxes when they came to his studio in Big Sur, California, where he says the group plans to do some recording work of their own, and adds the band has offered to sing on Jardine’s own upcoming A Postcard from California. Last fall, Fleet Foxes singer Robin Pecknold told Pitchfork of the meeting, saying Jardine was “was amazing. A really sweet guy,” and drummer Josh Tillman reported the band was given a sneak peek at a then-unheard track Jardine recorded with Neil Young, David Crosby and Stephen Stills.
The track seems to be, “A California Saga,” which will also appear on Jardine’s upcoming Postcard, and Jardine calls it a personal favorite. “It has truth and it has value. Neil Young and Crosby and Stills help give it integrity,” he says. No word yet on which track the Foxes may appear on, but Jardine says he hopes Postcard — also featuring appearanes by Brian Wilson and Beach Boys friend John Stamos — will have a labor day release.
Though Jardine admitted his focus on the new album kept him away from hearing as much new music as he’d like, there’s one other current act that’s caught his ear: Jason Mraz. Jardine says he likes the style of Mraz (who was presented with the Hal David Starlight Award for “making a significant impact on the music industry via his original songs” at the ceremony): “He’s very lyrically present and musically accounted for.”