Album Archives: Postcards From The Edge

Somehow Postcards From The Edge was a bit more to the point, but it also has faults.  First of which the Lotus guitar that I had been using was falling apart and during a fit a rage, I destroyed it in a huff after trying to record Love Scene Number 5 and  the bridge neck fell out.   So, I ended up getting the old K Mart guitar out of retirement and for something different added acoustic guitar strings to it.  It actually gave it a very distinct sound, as if I was playing a acoustic through a amp.

Postcards started up around October of 1987 and concluded December 1987, however dates are not provided.  Guess work would have been around the second week of December when things wrapped up.   Brian Mullahan came back on board to produce this while Terry Bainbridge simply mined the recording machine.  We used regular tape instead of the metal kind that made Tales Of The Red Caboose a chore to listen to.  Ken Miller replaced Larry Maier on bass.

I'm really not sure about how the songs came about, but most were written between breaks at work  Basically the usual love songs about nobody that I could get and of course We Never Danced, another barb at Miss Janice.  I think I wrote her a letter of sorts but I don't think she even read it, or else her dad threw it away.  By then she was living the Texas dream.  Glass Mountain was about my frustration of not getting on as a permanent employee at the place I was working out and another song, The Odd Angry Shot was even more pointed.  Driving At Night came into play as I drove home on the backroads of Highway 1 and going through Martelle and a phone booth outside the gas station which provided a backdrop to the song.   But alas, the recording was not as good as it should have been.  Probably would have been better to play the acoustic guitar on that song.  Train Around The Bend actually goes back to The Red Caboose days,  the lyrics added later, Mullahan adding a line or two.   Think About Love, was another attempt to impress somebody, Paula Bakey I believe was the object of affections but she had a plus sized friend that I asked to dance and she said no, she was there to drink.   Made a good line in the song.  I'm Always Bleeding also dates back a few months, it's a blues rejection song of sorts.

Musically the album was better, I think the controlled chaos was more in check than the all out assault that was Tales Of The Red Caboose but once again, the low fi elements and recordings made it sound like a bad bootleg album.  It's a shame really, I think some of my best drumming ever on this album.  The Marching Band Snare Drum would be retired after this album.  If we had a four track, this would be rated higher in the all time best albums.  The Cassette version  Brian Mullahan added snippets of Bloopers, taped mess ups that Kermit Schafer was famous for, but there was  Colgate Dental Cream Commercial spot that was before Love Scene Number 5 that sounded like a good idea at the time.  The CD version, the Bloopers and false starts were removed.  But I included the 1987 live version of All Over Now from a midnight show that came from the Iowa Memorial Union.   And added a bonus cut The Red Telegraph since it got left off the original tape version.  I think it's a very underrated song.

Alas Postcards From The Edge, was the last album to feature my old Zickos drum set.  By that time, I was beginning to get bored of playing drums and was in need of cash so I sold the set off and a few cymbals at bargain basement prices and I have been kicking myself ever since.  The Zickos have always had a loud sound that even cut through the tape hiss but I think it was falling apart.  I would never find another drumset like that although I keep trying.   I would eventually settle upon a new Yamaha four piece set that would shape the music for the next 15 years.  In terms of Low Fi, Postcards From The Edge was a better followup to Wapsi Dreaming.  A lot of sweat and tears went into the recording and this may have been the best album that had my bash and crash playing for all to hear.  Later on, leftovers from the past five albums would find themselves on Collecting Beer Cans For Fun And Profit (QMR-24421-1988 Out Of Print).  Postcards turned out be very listenable and very very punk sounding, despite the way it sounded.  I can't figure that one out.

Tracklist (CD Version)

Another Strange Adventure 5:14
Electric Change 3:00
Going In With My Eyes Open  3:24
Highway Of Love  4:43
The Red Telegraph (Bonus Track)(Smith/Orbit/Parman) 3:38
Love Scene Number 5  4:15
Glass Mountain (R.Smith)  2:45
I'm Always Bleeding (R.Smith)  6:20
Thought For Today (J.Orbit)  :45

Ten Seconds To Love/
Dark Corner Of The Room (R.Smith)  3:47
Shattered Smile  5:22
Train Around The Bend (Smith/Orbit/Mullahan) 3:10
Think About Love (Smith/Miller/Bainbridge) 2:30
Dust In My Tea (R.Smith)  3:11
We Never Danced  (R.Smith)  4:25
Driving At Night  6:16
All Over Now (CD Bonus Track) (Smith/Orbit/Strobie)  4:50

All songs written by Rodney Smith/Jack Orbit except where noted
Lyrics by Smith.  (C) Townedger Music Emporium 1988

Recorded at Maier Studios, Marion IA  Nov-Dec 1987
Recorded by Terry Bainbridge, assisted by Ned Jackson, Gary Tallible and R. Smith
Album produced by Brian Mullahan with Rodney Smith

Rodney Smith-Guitar, vocals and drums
Jack Orbit-Guitar and vocals
Ken Miller-Bass
Brian Mullahan-Special Effects
Mark McClelland-Bass on Think About Love

Released as Maier Records OMR-24417  Jan. 10, 1988