Pacific Ocean Blue

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Pacific Ocean Blue
Studio album by Dennis Wilson
Released August 22, 1977
Recorded September 1976 to
March 1977 (except start of "River Song" (Autumn 1970) and "Pacific Ocean Blues" and "Rainbows" (late 1975)
Genre Rock/Pop
Length 37:15 (original)
113:37 (2008 deluxe reissue)
Label Caribou
Producer Dennis Wilson and
Gregg Jakobson
Singles from Pacific Ocean Blue
  1. "River Song"
    Released: 1977
  2. "You and I"
    Released: 1977
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic link
Bloomberg L.P. link
PopMatters link
Pitchfork Media 8.5/10 (reissue) link
The Onion AV Club A- link
Robert Christgau link
Uncut link
Rolling Stone link
Spin [1]

Pacific Ocean Blue is Dennis Wilson's only solo album, released in 1977. It was the first solo album released by a member of the Beach Boys,[2] and when released, was both warmly received critically,[3] and noted for outselling the Beach Boys' contemporary efforts.[4]

Background and recording

After several attempts, starting in 1970, to realize his own project, some of which made it to the finished album, Wilson recorded the bulk of Pacific Ocean Blue in the months spanning the fall of 1976 to the following spring, at the Beach Boys' own Brother Studios. At the time of recording, Dennis' hard living had begun affecting his looks and more importantly his singing voice, which now delivered grainy and rough, yet still deeply soulful, vocals.[3][5]

Recalling the time Wilson spent working on the album, co-producer Gregg Jakobson said, "This was when he fully accepted himself as an artist. Brian had shown him chords on the piano, but as he'd become more proficient the music that came forth was not derivative of that. Having his own studio helped tremendously. With a little encouragement, and the right tools, Dennis took off."[6]

Release and legacy

Released in August 1977, Pacific Ocean Blue received glowing reviews for its depth and emotion.[3] It has allegedly been praised by his older brother Brian Wilson, but in a 2008 interview with Pitchfork Media, Brian denied knowing that Dennis had recorded an album at all.[7][8] The album also performed encouragingly in the U.S. charts peaking at #96 for a 12 week chart stay, and eventually went on to sell almost 300,000 copies.[9]

Despite Wilson's pledge to record an even superior follow-up, entitled Bambu, his continuing decline into substance abuse and personal problems ensured that the album remained unfinished at the time of Wilson's drowning death in December 1983.[8][10]

Thus, this album, alongside his pioneering work with the Beach Boys, remains a focal point of Dennis Wilson's legacy,[10] being referred to as a "lost classic."[2][11][12][13] The album has appeared on several "Best-of" lists[14] including Robert Dimery's "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die,"[15] and Mojo's "Lost Albums You Must Own"[16] and "70 of the Greatest Albums of the 70s" lists.[17] In 2005, it was ranked #18 in GQ's "The 100 Coolest Albums in the World Right Now!" list.[18]

Reissue

Issued by Caribou/CBS Records on CD in 1991, Pacific Ocean Blue went out of print within a year [3] due to ongoing disagreements over copyright ownership; the album was virtually unavailable for more than fifteen years. Copies of the extremely rare 1991 CD sold for over $200.[12][19]

Legacy Recordings released a special 30th anniversary, 2-disc edition of Pacific Ocean Blue on June 17, 2008.[20] It includes material from the Bambu sessions.[7][13] A limited edition 180-gram vinyl multi-LP box set was also released on the Sundazed label.[12][21]

Notable on the reissue is the inclusion of the song "Holy Man", recorded for Pacific Ocean Blue in 1977, in two versions. Wilson had completed work on the instrumental backing track but abandoned the song before recording the vocal. For the reissue Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters was recruited to record a vocal version in Wilson's style.

Despite missing the UK Album Chart on its original 1977 release, the expanded reissue of Pacific Ocean Blue entered the UK album chart at #16, also reaching #5 on the Norway album chart. In addition, the package managed to attain a high of #8 on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Albums chart.

Track listing

All songs written by Dennis Wilson and Gregg Jakobson, except where noted.

Side one
  1. "River Song" (Dennis Wilson/Carl Wilson) - 3:44
  2. "What's Wrong" (D. Wilson/Gregg Jakobson/Michael Horn) - 2:22
  3. "Moonshine" - 2:27
  4. "Friday Night" - 3:09
  5. "Dreamer" - 4:22
  6. "Thoughts of You" (D. Wilson/Jim Dutch) - 3:02
Side two
  1. "Time" (D. Wilson/Karen Lamm-Wilson) - 3:31
  2. "You and I" (D. Wilson/Lamm-Wilson/Jakobson) - 3:25
  3. "Pacific Ocean Blues" (D. Wilson/Mike Love) - 2:39
  4. "Farewell My Friend" (D. Wilson) - 2:26
  5. "Rainbows" (D. Wilson/C. Wilson/Steve Kalinich) - 2:55
  6. "End of the Show" - 2:55

30th Anniversary Edition

Disc One

  1. "River Song" - 3:44
  2. "What's Wrong" - 2:23
  3. "Moonshine" - 2:27
  4. "Friday Night" - 3:10
  5. "Dreamer" - 4:23
  6. "Thoughts of You" - 3:04
  7. "Time" - 3:32
  8. "You and I" - 3:25
  9. "Pacific Ocean Blues" - 2:37
  10. "Farewell My Friend" - 2:26
  11. "Rainbows" - 2:48
  12. "End of the Show" - 2:57
  13. "Tug of Love" (Dennis Wilson/Gregg Jakobson) - 3:44
  14. "Only with You" (D. Wilson/Mike Love) - 3:57
  15. "Holy Man" [instrumental] (D. Wilson/Jakobson) - 4:24
  16. "Mexico" (D. Wilson) - 5:31

Disc Two: Bambu (The Caribou Sessions)

  1. "Under The Moonlight" (Carli Munoz) - 3:55
  2. "It's Not Too Late" (Carli Munoz) - 4:22
  3. "School Girl" (Dennis Wilson/Gregg Jakobson) - 2:31
  4. "Love Remember Me" (D. Wilson/Jakobson/Steve Kalinich) - 4:04
  5. "Love Surrounds Me" (D. Wilson/Geoffrey Cushing-Murray) - 3:40
  6. "Wild Situation" (D. Wilson/Jakobson) - 2:41
  7. "Common" (D. Wilson) - 3:34
  8. "Are You Real" (D. Wilson/Jakobson) - 3:38
  9. "He's a Bum" (D. Wilson/Jakobson) - 2:50
  10. "Cocktails" (D. Wilson/Jakobson/John Hanlon) - 3:00
  11. "I Love You" (D. Wilson/Jakobson) - 2:02
  12. "Constant Companion" (Munoz/Rags Baker) - 3:22
  13. "Time for Bed" (D. Wilson/Jakobson) - 3:07
  14. "Album Tag Song" (D. Wilson) - 3:45
  15. "All Alone" (Munoz) - 3:44
  16. "Piano Variations on "Thoughts of You"" (D. Wilson) - 3:03
  17. "Holy Man (Taylor Hawkins Version)" (D. Wilson/Jakobson/Taylor Hawkins) - 4:25

Personnel

  • Dennis Wilson — Vocals, Drums, Organ, Keyboards, Piano, Strings and Arrangements, Producer
  • Carli Munoz — Piano, Keyboards, Moog synthesizer, percussion, Producer
  • Carl Wilson — Lead guitar, Vocals
  • Bruce Johnston — background Vocals
  • Hal Blaine — Drums
  • Chuck Domanico — Bass
  • Ricky Fataar — Drums
  • John Hanlon — Guitar, Engineer
  • Gregg Jakobson — Producer
  • James Jamerson — Bass
  • Earle Mankey — Guitar, Engineer
  • Dean Torrence — Background Vocals
  • Steven Moffitt — Chief Engineer
  • Michael Andreas — Horn
  • Lance Buller — Horn
  • Sterling Smith — Keyboards
  • Tommy Smith — Drums
  • Dave Hessler — Bass
  • Ed Carter — Bass, Guitar
  • Bobby Figueroa — Drums
  • Wayne Tweed — Bass
  • Manolo Badrena — Percussion
  • Janice Hubbard — Horn
  • Bill Lamb — Horn
  • Charles McCarthy — Horn
  • Stephen Moffitt — Engineer
  • Eddie Tuleja — Guitar, Vocals
  • Sid Sharp — Live strings ensemble
  • Alexander Hamilton's Double Rock Baptist Choir

References

  1. ↑ Spin June 2008, p.119
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Haggerty, Dan. "Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson's Solo Album To Be Reissued". 411mania. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Sclafani, Tony. "Sea of Heartbreak: Dennis Wilson's Majestic Solo Work". PopMatters. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  4. ↑ Mehr, Bob. "Buried Treasure". American Airlines' American Way. Retrieved 2012-05-15. 
  5. ↑ Hooper, Mark (2008-01-29). "Catch of the Day: Dennis Wilson". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  6. ↑ Edmonds, Ben. "Dennis Wilson: The Lonely Sea". Mojo, November 2002
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 url = http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/7184-brian-wilson/
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Doe, Andrew. "Pacific Ocean Blue". danaddington.com. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  9. ↑ "Pacific Ocean Blue: Album Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Abbott, Kingsley. "Songs in the Key of Sea". Mojo. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  11. ↑ "The Lonely One". London: Observer Music Monthly. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Cohen, Jonathan. "Wilson's 'Ocean' Set For Expanded Reissue". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Beach Boys Star's Classic Solo Album To Be Reissued". NME. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  14. ↑ "List of Pacific Ocean Blue Accolades". Acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  15. ↑ Dimery, Robert. "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Cassell Illustrated. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  16. ↑ "Lost Albums You Must Own". Mojo. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  17. ↑ "70 of the Greatest Albums of the 70s". Mojo. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  18. ↑ "The 100 Coolest Albums in the World Right Now!". GQ. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  19. ↑ Bowen, Rebecca. "Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's Solo Album Finds Re-release". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  20. ↑ Spring '08 LPs From Madonna, Coldplay, The Roots, Mudcrutch, Elvis Costello : Rolling Stone
  21. ↑ Mills, Fred. "Dennis Wilson�s Pacific Ocean Blue Reissued w/Unreleased Bambu". Harp Magazine. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 

External links

Dennis Wilson
Albums
Singles
Related articles
The Beach Boys
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