Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue appreciation*

Bought the re-issue when it came out on nothing more than reviews and it became one of my all time favorites.

 

My all-time favourite album...

And...

... thanks for the plug on my PDF project !!

 

Wow, didn't realise you posted here. Hope it's ok that I posted the direct link to download.
You did a really good job on that site, great to have it re-available and more accessible.

Reading pdfs is fiddly right now - not on my main computer, but got them downloaded for future use.

Probably a big ask but you had a bonus off topic interview with Dennis from an Australian Surfer mag on your site
- tried searching the pdf text & can't find it. Any chance you can reupload it if you still have it?

(was a positive one with Dennis talking about his boat, love of the sea surfing etc. at one point he gives a bodyguard one of his gold records).

eta: posts off a facebook fangroup quoting/commenting on the website
"short but very positive piece - Dennis enthusing about surfing/kneeboarding/roller skating, an act of generosity to his bodyguard, references to his ideas/plans of living on his boat ("the beloved Harmony") and having a studio in Hawaii... And they get his affinity/need for the freedom of the Sea (- there's two quotes there that are a bit of a real unfunny aneurysm as tv tropes puts it.)"

from the article/intro
"During their infamous 1978 tour of Australia Dennis gave some of his valuable surfing time over to the journalists of Surfing World. This page contains much of what appeared in the Volume 27 Issue #1 edition.
It's perhaps one of the warmest articles written on Dennis during that intensely creative period of his short life."

"My past experiences with security men of that size has always left me thinking of them as mindless apes. Mario was different. A family man who did his job well, with kindness and understanding. Dennis was so appreciative of Mario's dedication that on being presented gold and platinum albums, he immediately gave a gold to Mario. The bodyguards's reaction was: "It's the most incredible thing that's ever happened to me. I'll hang it in my living room and remember this moment for the rest of my life". Dennis later commented: "He's been so good to me. It's best to give these things away, you always get them back that way - what could I do with it anyway? Maybe melt it down and make rings. Ha Ha!!" A quick pace across the room and Patti Mostyn's promotional skills are rewards with a gold."

 

Probably still the best Beach Boys solo album.

 

Thanks ! Of course it's OK to post !! The more who find out about it the better. Still on the look out for updates so keep an eye on the FB page.
As for the Surfer Magazine article... I THINK I've still got that somewhere. Will have to have a search around. Sold a lot of my collection a couple of years back, ironically to Trisha Campo at Brother HQ, but don't think that one went...
Will post it on the FB page if I find it

 

Thanks.

 

Found and posted !
www.facebook.com/beachboysalbumsleeves

 

Picked this up recently...



Darryl

 

Thanks for posting this and you did a great job in writing and researching the album sleeve books.

 

I've just watched "Two Lane Black-top" again and all the while I kept thinking how odd it was that the mechanic guy in the film made "Pacific Ocean Blue" six years later. Great film and great album.

 

Great album. Especially the epic ballads.

 

That bit at the end that reads like a fantasy of him being saved by playing rock and roll and his Dad supporting him, as a kid who'd "just goof off" at school and "couldn't spell or add".

Thanks so much for posting the whole thing.

 

I love this album.

 

This album makes me want to cry in parts. You really get the sense of a man who has partied hard, played the field, got burned, is living near the edge and death is lurking around the corner. In spite of this, it soars in parts so high that the contrast with the lows in mood make it one of the most emotional roller coaster rides in recorded history. Probably the best solo album by a Beach Boy, it is a lasting testament to one of the most original voices in popular music. I often recommend this album to friends, who, without fail, are impressed and stunned by the quality of the songwriting and performances.

 

I really miss Dennis. I had the chance a couple of times to hang out with him, and he lived a fast life. He probably crammed more into his 39 years than most people do in 80. Had he lived, I would like to think he would have seen the hard life he was leading, that he would have put some of his energy into music and gotten clean and sober.

 

"What's Wrong" sticks out like a sore thumb. I'm going to have to remove it from the playlist. Sorry Dennis.

Now the album flows beautifully from front to back. Man, I love Pacific Ocean Blue, with the exception of the aforementioned track.

 

Guys, were "Only With You" and "Tug of Love" recorded during the POB sessions?

Does Dennis' version of "Only With You" date all the way back to the Holland sessions?

 

FWIW, the remastered version of PACIFIC OCEAN BLUE was re-released as a single CD in a jewel case in the U.K. ... I got a copy from Amazon.co.uk ...

 

"Only With You" was recorded in September 1976 and, yes, "Tug Of Love" was recorded during the POB sessions.

 

Thank you. I just replaced "What's Wrong" with "Tug of Love".

 

Ha! I already created a copy without that song. Its pedestrian white boogie does indeed stick out like a sore thumb!

 

It's not THAT bad

I don't mind it but I'm sure you guys version improves the flow. I love this album. My favorite record from the year of my birth!

 

I'll admit that I shamefully ignored it upon its original release.

When the deluxe reissue came out, I grabbed it within days of release. Didn't think I'd come to the conclusion that you have come to, but I have. "Lucky Old Son" - a late career masterpiece by Brian runs neck & neck with it, in my opinion.

Not sure if the "deluxe" w outtakes, unreleased stuff, etc..is the reason or not? But "Pacific Ocean Blue" (surprisingly to me) ranks at the top - along w the previously mentioned Brian album....of the solo BB recordings.

 

Whenever POB plays I'm instantly transported here...

 

Here's a cynical thought- given the cover, with a bearded Wilson face and WILSON in enormous type, with DENNIS just above it, would this have been an attempt by CBS/Caribou to lure the unsuspecting buyer into thinking this was actually an album by Brian?

Was the Brian Is Back hype machine still in full swing at the time of release?

It's just a random thought, but I had the album cover propped up and from a distance thought it looked a bit like Brian... And the text layout is just peculiar.