Dennis Wilson

Pacific Ocean Blue

Image of Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue
Record Label
Sony / Sundazed

About this item

Much is made of his older brother Brian's tortured genius, but Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson had his own deeply artistic statement to make - one he made with moody, heartrending beauty and fathomless, soulful introspection on his 1977 masterpiece, "Pacific Ocean Blue". Besides being the first solo album by a member of the Beach Boys, "Pacific Ocean Blue" is a lost classic of 70s West Coast rock, a richly orchestrated opus that swaths the singer-songwriter's delicate and profoundly personal observations in epic, wide-screen arrangements that easily match the drama of the celluloid blockbusters made in his Hollywood back yard. Awash in studio strings and layered, breathy melodies, the piano-sprinkled balladry of tracks like "Thoughts of You" and "End Of The Show" offer glimpses of a more tender, wounded, and never-before-seen side of this most famously free-spirited Beach Boys member; while such ecology-themed meditations as "River Song" (which boasts flashes of hard rock) and the title cut reflect other topics close to the drummer's heart. But despite the album's more serious subject matter, the Beach Boys' good-time pop is still firmly on deck with the horn-pumping R&B of "What's Wrong" and the sunshine lilt of "Rainbows". No wonder Brian Wilson himself is one of "Pacific Ocean Blue"'s biggest fans.

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