"Postcard" is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, that was written, and sung by the band's bassist

John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician who was the bassist for the rock band The Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band's only member ...

. It appears on the Who's

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' Odds & Sods''. Released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, in the United States, it reached the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' charts on 23 November 1974, peaking at No. 64. It was the first song written by Entwistle that was released as the A-side of a Who single. John Entwistle said about the album:

"We thought we'd just have a go at some of these bootlegs. They release really bad bootlegs of these songs all the time. I've heard three of them which were made in the States and they're really bad quality. They obviously will last only about three plays before the acetate disintegrates. We thought it was about time we released a bootleg of our own. I tried to arrange it like a parallel sort of Who career -- what singles we might have released and what
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
tracks we might have released."

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

said about the song:

"'Postcard is a John Entwistle song about touring on the road. He describes in luscious detail the joys and delights of such romantic venues as Australia (pause to fight off temporary attack of nausea), America (pause to count the money) and, of course, that country of the mysterious and doubting customs official, Germany (pause, whether they like it or not, for ' God Save The Queen'). Listen out for the field sound effects ACTUALLY RECORDED IN THE COUNTRIES WE TOURED. 'Postcard' was originally recorded in my house for a maxi single. They were EPs that only cost as much as a
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
. Ours unfortunately never got released. I engineered this one with one hand on the controls and the other on the guitar. That's why I only play one chord throughout the whole song."

''The Who FAQ'' author Mike Segretto describes it as "a fun travelogue of the Who's roadwork, penned with the droll wit we've come to expect from John Entwistle." The lyrics tell the various countries the band had visited on tour. Chris Charlesworth describes the song as having an "up tempo rock

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described it as a "commercially oriented cut" with a "good, fun storyline." ''

'' said that "the disk goes back to 1971 but the Kings of English rock are as relevant on this disk as if it were cut last week." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said that this "melodic rocker is now stamped for '75 glory." "Postcard" was originally recorded for potential release on a maxi single in 1970, but that version only ended up being released in Japan. For the version released on ''Odds & Sods'', Entwistle remixed the song and recorded a new

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

part.

References

{{Authority control The Who songs Songs written by John Entwistle Track Records singles Polydor Records singles 1974 songs 1974 singles