Search - Dennis Wilson :: Pacific Ocean Blue

Excellent

Bill Your 'Free Form FM Handi Cyber | Mahwah, NJ USA | 03/14/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe if the 1960s were a Beach Boy fantasy, the 1970s were reality. And not just for the boys in the band. Coke replaced pot, sex free love. Driving up and down the same old strip was a lot harder when you had to buy gas on odd or even days, depending on your plate number. Besides, the girls were not there in the same way. Nothing was.



Not even the Pacific Ocean Blue. This album reflects that 1970s haze as well as "I Get Around" reflects those bright young faces, before Manson, before acid, before Brian's brake down, before the implosion of almost everything that early Beach Boy music made us think was true.



The irony is that this music is, structurally, not different from those old Capitol 45 the Beach Boys released way back when getting around. The songs here have that same panio-composed hidden complication that Beach Boy's songs contained but concealed so well to create their magic



But look at Dennis--bearded, exhausted, standing in front of that big ocean. His singing here is fantastically soulful, but that nicotine and cocaine voice reminds you, this is no endless day or summer night



Pacific Ocean Blue has the slower, washed out, world ware that was pandemic in 1970s rock. The production is smoother yet gritter, the rock heavier, but without that spring in its step. You can write the same way, you can surf the same sea, but once innocence is gone, nothing, nothing, nothing is ever the same"

Not what you'd have expected...

Daniel Jones | Hilo, HI United States | 02/15/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"...from any of the beach boys. this was a standout record for a few reasons

back in the day of it's release (and some people reviewing this on amazon

don't have the benefit of that perspective due to their age). 1st of all,

the beach boys had not been putting out any interesting new material for

several years by this time (the only thing they had done that charted in

recent years was a cover of chuck berry's 'rock & roll music'). secondly -

this was the era of disco...donna summer and the bee gees were topping the

charts. and this record sold nearly 300,000 copies - not an insignificant

number when you consider it was *not* a record that fit nicely in any

predictable slot...it wasn't a 'dance' record and it's songs had a depth

and serious tone that was not typical in the beach boys catalog. in spots,

"pacific ocean blue" always sounded under-produced (which i do not mind,

actually) and that may be/have been hard for some folks to relate to (the

'rock' bands really moving product at this time were like fleetwood mac

and the eagles...heavily produced bands). the tracks here from the 'bambu'

sessions are good - but will only turn people off further who find the

1st LP to have been too stark to begin with. i give it four stars because

it has interesting songs, very good performances, and was a brave record

for dennis wilson to have made at that time (3.5 stars may have been more

accurate). those who like the beach boys will want to find a place in their

heart for it, some listeners will like it because it is a unique sounding

record, but there will be listeners who either don't like the beach boys

or only like the beach boys when they write from the vantage point of

early 60's teens looking for laughs. i'd have liked to have seen where

dennis would have eventually gone on a solo career with a different

producer and more songwriting experience under his belt. i suspect he

had a record in him that was even more memorable than what you hear on

these outings. i won't suggest everyone get this collection, because it

is not for every taste...if you are curious, give it a listen to see if

it may have a home in your collection. i happen to think it's an honest

record from a guy who was not in the habit of misrepresenting himself -

and who possessed considerable musical talent."