Pacific Ocean Blue. Dennis Wilson

In the Brian Wilson documentary 'Long Promised Road' I recently watched on TV, there is one interesting item I would like to highlight here. It's on his younger brother Dennis's only solo album, 'Pacific Ocean Blue'. Brian tells the interviewer while they are driving through L.A. that he had never heard the album. He had heard songs and was in the studio while Dennis was working on it, but never listened to the album as a whole. When they are back at Wilson's home he asks the interviewer to put the album on and they listen to it together. It made me want to listen to the album once again, and here's the result.

Dennis Wilson died in 1983 when he drowned in the L.A. marina, most likely very drunk or worse. By that time his rock and roll lifestyle had caught up with him big time, destroying his voice, a process that can already be heard on this album, private life and his health.

What becomes clear in the documentary, but can be read in any The Beach Boys biography, is the negative influence of the father, Murry, on Brian's mental health, but most likely also on Dennis. He was always sort of seen as the best looking Beach Boy, attracting all the attention of the girls, the happy-go-lucky one. 'Long Promised Road' is about Brian but hints at the dark side of Dennis as well.

Now that album. I had never heard of it, as far as I know as memories are fallible. What I do remember is reading about the re-issue in 2008 in 'Oor'. It was hailed as something like a lost classic album. I went to The Pirate Bay, a legal act in my country at that time and downloaded the extended album containing 33 songs. I think I listened twice and that was about it. I did not hear any brilliance, just somewhat mediocre songs, a bit tougher in a few instances than the band itself produced in the 70s and where I had stopped paying attention to at the time.

Because of the documentary I decided to not only give some The Beach Boys albums a new chance, with surprising results, but also Dennis Wilson's album. And with a surprising result as well. I will not claim that Pacific Ocean Blue is a long lost classic album, but certainly that it is a good album.

Let's start with Dennis Wilson's voice. Yes, it has a rough edge, but that suits most of the songs on the album quite well. The fact that he could work with people from the extended The Beach Boys family, including some from the closer circle as well, means he was working on familiar turf. Recording took place over a number of years, most likely in between the touring and band work but all in the Beach Boys' own Brothers studio in Santa Monica. That Dennis Wilson was more than a background vocalist and live drummer for The Beach Boys is shown by the credits he gets on the album. "Lead and backing vocals, piano, Hammond organ, ARP synthesizer, Moog bass, Minimoog, Clavinet, Fender Rhodes, drums, percussion, bass harmonica, tuba on "Dreamer", violin on "Time", lap steel guitar on "Farewell My Friend", viola and cello on "Tug of Love", arrangements". The sheer musicality and how serious he must have taken his music over the year shows from all these efforts. Rock and roll life style or not.

Wilson wrote two songs with his brother Carl and one with Mike Love. Most songs were written with his friend Gregg Jakobson, now 86 years old and two with his then wife Karen Lamm-Wilson (née Park). All this results in very different songs. From rock and roll based rockers, to very dreamy songs in the vein of The Beach Boys' 70s album. The overall mood is a mellow one and in line with the better music made in the second half of the 70s, like Steely Dan, CSN, The Beach Boys themselves. Not that the music becomes this intricately complicated, but certainly has that vibe.

The album starts with the uplifting piano part of 'River Song'. The vocal harmonies are of Beach Boys quality, like the arrangement is. If there is a critique possible, it is that the verse made me think of Manfred Mann's Earth Band, until I realised it is Manfred Mann / Bob Dylan's 'Mighty Quinn' that shines through the verse of 'River Song'. The song takes more that enough turns to become original, including a whole choir. From there we go into some honky tonk rock and roll with 'What's Wrong', with horns and all, followed by a slow ballad called 'Moonshine'. Another richly arranged song. Three songs, all very different and showing Dennis Wilson's talent. This continues all throughout the album. 'Thoughts Of You' is a song that really stands out, from small to big and back.

Being second fiddle behind someone like Brian Wilson and outshone by the angelic vocal quality of your little brother may have been frustrating for Dennis, who had the looks and the body of a surfer dude. His profession was being a musician, but finding your writing space in this specific band, that also held others who (co-)wrote songs may have been too hard for him. With Pacific Ocean Blue Dennis Wilson has proven to the world that he was a talented writer and musician in his own right. Had he conquered his demons, who knows what would have happened. That was not to be and that in itself is very sad.

On the re-issue in 2008 outtakes and another recording session were added bringing his solo oeuvre to 33 songs. If you haven't heard the album and like 1970s pop/rock music in general, you should listen to Pacific Ocean Blue. I picked up on it, better late than never.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght