Loud Music

We have just passed the 25th anniversary of the death of Dennis Wilson. He drowned after diving from a boat at Marina Del Rey in California. He was 39 years old.

He was the drummer, an underused vocalist, and a founding member of the legendary Beach Boys. He was also the only one of the group members who could actually surf.

1977 found Dennis Wilson the first Beach Boy to issue a solo album. Pacific Ocean Blue was released to critical acclaim and good sales. It would prove to be his only solo effort as substance abuse plus a rocky and at times explosive relationship with Christine McVie conspired against his releasing a second album despite the fact that many tracks had been recorded.

Pacific Ocean Blue has been out of print since a CD release in the early 1990’s. My old vinyl copy has been feeling the years so it was nice to see this Legacy reissue commemorating its 30th anniversary. Not only is the entire original album included but there are four bonus tracks as well. The real gem is a second disc which contains 17 songs from the Bambu sessions. These tracks are finally seeing their official light of day for the first time and are essential for any collector of Beach Boys material.

“River Song” leads off the first disc in almost Beach Boys fashion. Harmonies cascade as Dennis Wilson’s voice floats above the mix. The keyboards, in this case played by Dennis, under pin the sound on this track and most of the album.

Perhaps the best song is “Thoughts Of You” which features a gentle introduction of just Dennis singing at the keyboards. It morphs into an almost sonic vocal sound before returning to the simple sound of its beginning.

“Farewell My Friend” was written as a tribute to Otto Hinsche, the father in law of Carl Wilson, who died in his presence. The song was played at Wilson’s own funeral.

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