Who could have guessed that the first of the Beach Boys to record and release a solo album would be middle brother Dennis Wilson? Pacific Ocean Blue, which arrived on Aug. 22, 1977, was a shock because Dennis was always assumed to be the least musically accomplished of the siblings.
In fact, their mother had to force brothers Carl and Brian to accept Dennis Wilson into the band at the time of the Beach Boys’ formation. As drums were the only remaining open instrument in the new band’s lineup, he secured his place in the group by beating the skins.
Dennis Wilson loved touring for the sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll lifestyle. However, he didn’t enjoy the slower pace of the recording studio nearly as much. He was absent from many of the Beach Boys studio recordings, and was often replaced by session drummers. Another reason he was an unlikely candidate for a solo album is because as James William Guercio, executive producer of Pacific Ocean Blue, said about Dennis in the liner notes: “Someone forgot to tell him he didn’t have a great singing voice.”
But this LP proved that Dennis must have paid close attention to Brian Wilson’s superbly detailed production methods on the rare days he was in the studio: Just like Brian’s songs, Pacific Ocean Blue was meticulously crafted, an excellently arranged package of 12 Dennis Wilson originals. A few of the songs feature small touches of the Beach Boys’ famous harmonies (Carl Wilson sings backup, Mike Love co-wrote a song) and, at times, Dennis Wilson also emulated Brian’s penchant for weird percussion sounds.
Mostly though, the songs on Pacific Ocean Blue have a much rougher and bluesy sound due to Wilson’s very raspy and not-always-appealing voice. His lead vocals help create a wide gap between his solo work and a typical Beach Boys track. The bottom line is if the late drummer’s voice is not your cup of tea, and that is a distinct possibility, Pacific Ocean Blue will probably not be for you. Perhaps that’s why the album only peaked at No. 96 during an eight-week run on the Billboard charts in the fall of 1977.
Decades later, after Pacific Ocean Blue had been long out of print through Guercio’s Caribou Records label, the complete LP was reissued as a two-disc set. Disc one featured the original recording, plus four previously unreleased solo tracks. Disc two contained the late Wilson’s followup, the still unfinished and then never-before-released, Bambu. The instrumental tracks are not as slick sounding because this lost LP was never completed, so Dennis Wilson’s rough vocals are a better fit. The reissue came paired with an excellent, lavishly detailed and photographed 44-page booklet.
For Beach Boys completists, Pacific Ocean Blue is an absolute must. The rest may want to sample Dennis Wilson’s compositions and lead vocals on post-Pet Sounds albums by the Beach Boys – including “Little Bird,” the B-side of the 1968 “Friends” single; “Forever” from 1970’s Sunflower; and “Steamboat” on 1973’s Holland, among others – before diving in.
