Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue

Great news -- "He's A Bum" seems like a great song, but the quality on the bootlegs is so nth-generation, it's nearly unlistenable.

is the "LADY/Fallin' In Love" single gonna be on the POB reissue?? i only recently heard it, it's so beautiful.

That's from the 1971 Landlocked sessions so probably not.

What happened to the reissue? Was it released on May 13 and nobody reviewed or mentioned it?

I saw it mentioned in a handful of places.

I think pfork gave it a 10

lol. I just saw that it's release is June 17. I guess they changed it.

now all we need is buckingham nicks

You may get it.

i don't like this album.

:(

searing, detailed criticism there

well, i dunno - everyone bangs on about how amazing it is, and well it just sounds like run of the mill 70s aor.

I know what you mean

i think dennis's later singing voice is my least favourite of all of them. even the supposedly gorgeous stuff on Carl & The Passions is ruined by the fact it sounds like he's lying on his deathbed smoking high-tar cigars and cheese grating his own scrotum.

it just sounds like run of the mill 70s aor

What's some top-notch 70s AOR then grozart?

Ha! I know what you're saying but it's the damage that helps make "Make It Good" and "Cuddle Up" so great.

Things like "Thoughts Of You" don't really have any parallels in '70s AoR though.

Actually if you listen to his fills on "The Girls On The Beach" he had that 100-a-day voice as far back as '63!

Just bought this on Itunes and so far I'm a bit underwhelmed. This is my first listen so I'm sure it will grow on me a bit- I must say "Thoughts of You" is stunning, especially the middle part. I'm also digging "Time." I haven't gotten to any of the Bambu stuff yet.
For whatever reason, the drummer from the Foo Fighters sings on the last track.

Maybe it's the production that's bothering me so far, I love the stripped down vibe of Dennis's tunes on Friends and 20/20 and Sunflower.

Actually, this is growing on me by the minute!

I just bought this disc and I really enjoy it (full disclosure: I have a real soft spot for that 70s West Coast rock sound, aside from The Eagles, obv.). I was hoping it would include a song called Carry Me Home, which I'm pretty sure is a Dennis Wilson song, but alas, it doesn't. It's the song where, at the end, Wilson is singing about how he "wants to go home," and it would be okay if he was "taken home." He's obviously talking about death. A really powerful, moving song. Anyway, I'm disappointed that it isn't on Pacific Ocean Blue. Anyone know this song, or know what album it appears on? Thanks.

It Won't Be Long -- from the unfinished Bambu disc -- is a stunner.

I guess Dennis Wilson reminds me of his brothers. But who he really reminds me of on Pacific Ocean Blue is Chris Bell (Big Star), on his one solo disc, I Am The Cosmos.

Sorry for multiple posts. Just totally enjoying this, and finally unwinding after a week of emergency projects.

now all we need is buckingham nicks

Probably won't get that until Lindsey is dead and can't stand in the way.

destro: they put out that dennis wilson album officially
deej: yes
destro: and remastered it so the cymbals cut like a hot razor
destro: as usual
deej: too bad
destro: i have the lossless rip of the japanese CD that sounds like it's by a wilson brother
destro: i guess they thought that when he made his music sound thick and lush and warm, it was a studio error
destro: what he REALLY meant to do was make a ride cymbal sound like a broken radiator
destro: he just lacked the skills to do so
destro: so theyve done him a favor

I was hoping it would include a song called Carry Me Home,

I love this song, but it wasn't a part of either album: P.O.B or Bambu. It was actually going to be a Beach Boys song. That's why it's not there. Apparently, if this does well, there's the possibility of a collection of outtakes and demos. That would most definitely have "Carry Me Home."

By "It Won't Be Long" I assume you mean "It's Not Too Late?"

x-post

destro: i have the lossless rip of the japanese CD that sounds like it's by a wilson brother

^^ this version is mastered better than the american cd?

thats what hes sayin yeah - but the japanese version is old, its not part of the same reissue

this guy im quoting my convo w/ is a friend of mine who does post sound as, like, his job so hes a bit aspie about it but i also find hes right.

he said its possible the vinyl pressing of the reissue was mastered differently, although sometimes its just the same job pressed to vinyl.

have not heard the re-issue yet, but "Companion" from Bambu is an in-fucking-credible song-- just sayin'...

By "It Won't Be Long" I assume you mean "It's Not Too Late?"

Right. If not the best song I've heard this year, certainly the most moving song I've heard this year. It reminds me that as interesting as experimental music is, there's always a place for conventional, straightforward songs. It also reminds me how powerful simple lyrics can be. I love Craig Finn's lyrics, for instance, but there's just nothing like hearing Wilson -- in that raw, desperate voice -- sing "Please don't be long/No no no no, it won't be long." Just an breathtaking performance. I bought Smile, and I like it a lot (except for some cringeworthy lyrics), but after spending some time with Pacific Ocean Blue this week, I think it's heads-and-shoulders above that other "lost classic."

OTOHWTFdoiknow?nothingthat'swhat.

i hear the cymbal thing deej's friend is talking about but i wouldnt have picked up on it otherwise and i dont think it's really a distraction or anything

smile is way better than this fwiw

I'm certainly not trying to ridicule Smile. I think Brian Wilson and Dennis Wilson's songs have a core sadness about getting older. Brian's Smile-era music sounds like someone struggling to be a child again. Dennis' POB/Bambu music sounds like someone heartbroken over time lost, people lost, not being young anymore, the finality of the choices you make, and what's left for you. That's the kind of sadness I connect with, and POB/Bambu nails it.

i understand the impulse to compare this album to smile but its going after something pretty different, i think

I was hoping it would include a song called Carry Me Home ...Anyone know this song, or know what album it appears on? Thanks.

this song was never officially released afaik it exists only in demo form. I got it on some bootleg of unreleased/Bamboo stuff a few years ago. Kinda surprised it isn't on the reissue - speaking of which, can someone post a tracklisting? I'm curious if there's anything on there I don't have. Is "He's a Bum" on there? "Wild Situation"?

Max, you're right. They are both different, and both very good.

Surely an excellent album, and wonderful to finally have it available on CD.

BUT. I feel like the praise these days has become exaggerated in a few ways.

For starters, it is being marketed as "possibly the best solo album by a Wilson". Hello? "Smile", anyone??? And even if that doesn't count (largely old material), I would still say that "Brian Wilson" is better.

I have also seen it described as re-release of the year. Now 2008 has seen and will see lots of excellent re-releases, but it could be argued that this is more important than those Genesis, Cure, U2 or Bee Gees titles because it has been unavailable for so long. Yet, still, "Jesus Of Cool" was also unavailable for ages, and that album is definitely a better album than "Pacific Ocean Blue".

But don't misunderstand me. Again, this is a wonderful album.

And even if that doesn't count (largely old material), I would still say that "Brian Wilson" is better.

I confess the first s/t Brian Wilson album is a lost gem but its lows are worse than the lows on POB (of which there are few).

Shakey, that's the disc with Love And Mercy, One For The Boys, Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long and Melt Away, right?

Heresy, I guess, but I return to that album much more than I do Smile.

I remember the press going crazy for that first Brian solo album (I was reading a lot of Rolling Stone then, I guess). It was called an extension of Smile, basically picking up where he left off in the 60s. I listened to it so much in 1988, just non-stop rotation. Wonder how it would sound to me now.

the synth patches on it are alternately great and hilariously bad

its more like an extension of the sound of "Love You" than "Smile". I think the "Smile" talk was mostly due to "Rio Grande" (which recycles some "Smile" melodies/material - incidentally it also quotes Dennis' "River Song")

that "Little Children" song on it tho = ugh.

and don't forget Terence Trent D'Arby and Christopher Cross

okay I'm breaking out my cassette of this right now lolz

and don't forget Terence Trent D'Arby and Christopher Cross

What songs are they on? I may have to break out my CASSETTE of this, too. If it was released a few years earlier, I'd have to break out my 8-TRACK ot it.

Rolling Stone four star roflz

I never trust Rolling Stone reviews, unless they reinforce my preexisting beliefs. Then they're okay.

"Brian Wilson is a stunning reminder of what pop's been missing all these years." lol.

Had Rolling Stone not heard of A Flock Of F--g Seagulls by 1988?

(j/k about the Flock Of Seagulls part. Still, lol at that line from the review).

This is so going to end up top of the Metacritic table for 2008 come December. Serious bummer. But look at what it's got in its favour! He's dead! He was a Beach Boy! It was unavailable long enough to become mythologised! Beatles catalogue still not remastered!