Christine wrote with Dennis

[vivfox]

I'm sure there is many a chimney excited about this little number.
however....
Taylor Hawkins, drummer for the Foo Fighters and a life-long fan of Dennis, contributes a newly-recorded vocal for the track "Holy Man" which closes out the package as the last track on the second disc.

Someone please explain this to me.

DENNIS WILSON - Pacific Ocean Blue: Legacy Edition 2-CD (Epic/Caribou/Legacy)

Dennis Wilson’s 1977 solo album, the first solo album by any Beach Boy, will return to circulation on the occasion of its 30th anniversary, and the 25th anniversary of its creator’s untimely death in 1983, at age 39. Dennis -- the Beach Boys' surfer, drummer and free spirit -- emerged from the shadow of his older brother, pop genius Brian Wilson, and shocked the industry with a sound and style unlike any other. Included on Pacific Ocean Blue: Legacy Edition is the original album in a gorgeous newly mastered form, plus the very best of Wilson's unreleased solo work, including tracks from his long lost Bambu project. Included among the collaborators on the original sessions are Beach Boys Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnson, Billy Hinsche and Ricky Fataar; background vocalists Karen Lamm-Wilson, Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America; and Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean. Taylor Hawkins, drummer for the Foo Fighters and a life-long fan of Dennis, contributes a newly-recorded vocal for the track "Holy Man" which closes out the package as the last track on the second disc. Fans who have long clamored for a proper Dennis Wilson CD release will delight in this moment, while newcomers will be amazed as they discover the musical treasure within one of rock’s true cult classics.

http://dreamchimney.com/oftheday/highly_questionable

[Gailh]

Was Dennis' album released in 77? I thought it was later than that because Christine and Dennis met when FM were recording Tusk which would have been 78/79.

Didn't Brian Wilson have a crush on Christine at that time?

Gail

PS Thanks for posting this

[macfan 57]

Pacific Ocean Blue was released in 1977. Chris & Dennis met in 1978. She isn't on Pacific Ocean Blue. In one of her ITM interviews, she mentioned that this was one of her favorite albums. This re-release will include a bonus CD, which includes tracks that Dennis had recorded for a second solo album. I had suspected Chris might possibly be on some of these extra tracks, since I had read that Chris & Dennis had worked on some music after they met. "Love Surrounds Me" with Chris on backing vocals eventually went on a Beach Boys album. This track was originally one of those tracks that Dennis worked on for that second solo album.

Someone was nice enough to transfer Pacific Ocean Blue from vinyl to audio tape for me. The quality of my tape is not very good, so I'll definitely be getting this new re-release. Pacfic Ocean Blue is a cult classic. I believe there was a very limited CD release some years ago. I think that original CD release goes for several hundred dollars on eBay.

[Gailh]

Pacific Ocean Blue was released in 1977. Chris & Dennis met in 1978. She isn't on Pacific Ocean Blue. In one of her ITM interviews, she mentioned that this was one of her favorite albums. This re-release will include a bonus CD, which includes tracks that Dennis had recorded for a second solo album. I had suspected Chris might possibly be on some of these extra tracks, since I had read that Chris & Dennis had worked on some music after they met. "Love Surrounds Me" with Chris on backing vocals eventually went on a Beach Boys album. This track was originally one of those tracks that Dennis worked on for that second solo album.

Someone was nice enough to transfer Pacific Ocean Blue from vinyl to audio tape for me. The quality of my tape is not very good, so I'll definitely be getting this new re-release. Pacfic Ocean Blue is a cult classic. I believe there was a very limited CD release some years ago. I think that original CD release goes for several hundred dollars on eBay.

thanks - that's cleared that up for me

Gail

[face of glass]

I always thought it was called Bamboo but apparently it's just been discovered that it was Bambu all along. :laugh:

"Love Surrounds Me" with Chris on backing vocals eventually went on a Beach Boys album. This track was originally one of those tracks that Dennis worked on for that second solo album.
The version of Love Surrounds Me that's on the Bamboo bootleg (and which probably will be on this new reissue) is pretty much the same as the one that the Beach Boys released, there's just some additional noisy effects on top. I certainly hope that Chris' contributions won't be limited to that track.

Great to get to actually buy this - my copy of the CD still gets played quite often.

[bucklind17]

I am so excited for this release. I don't even remember how, but somehow I ended up with a two CD set that included POB, Bamboo demos and other random Dennis penned/sung Beach Boy songs. Truly an underrated songwriter, some of his songs are among my favorites ("Rainbows", "River Song", "Only With You" which is apparently sung by Dennis on this release, not by Carl as is the version on Holland) AND he wrote my most favorite Beach Boys song "Forever" as well! It'll be interesting to hear if Christine is on any of the extra tracks on this release, I've listened to the Bamboo demos I have quite a few times, but I never really heard her (just on "Love Surrounds Me", which I love!). It'll be fun if her voice pops up in there.

[Villavic]

I think Hold me was written about Dennis. Wasn't it?

[macfan 57]

I think Hold me was written about Dennis. Wasn't it?

I think so. Mick kind of said it was in his book.

[chiliD]

It'll be interesting to hear if Christine is on any of the extra tracks on this release, I've listened to the Bamboo demos I have quite a few times, but I never really heard her (just on "Love Surrounds Me", which I love!). It'll be fun if her voice pops up in there.

A while back (talking years, now), when the original Napster was in full glory, I managed to download a LOT of the Bamboo sessions tracks. I compared "Love Surrounds Me" with the version that was officially released on The Beach Boys' Light Album. Christine's voice actually is more prominent on the Beach Boys track.

Just a little trivia point, also on the Light Album is the Carl written, Dennis sung version of "Angel Come Home" which was covered by Mick Fleetwood's Zoo.

[vivfox]

The latest news on Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue reissue

Dennis Wilson's lost classic, 'Pacific Ocean Blue', as we previously reported, is set for re-release soon... well, now we have more details like, when it's released and what the hell is on it.

Disc one has the original 12-song album plus 4 previously unreleased bonus tracks with disc two featuring 17 tracks (all previously unreleased but one) from sessions for the never completed 'Bambu' follow-up album. Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters adds a newly-recorded vocal to the last track on disc two, the previously unreleased 'Holy Man'.

Original all-star collaborators include Beach Boys Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Billy Hinsche and Ricky Fataar; background vocalists Karen Lamm-Wilson, Christine McVie of Fleeetwood Mac, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America, Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean, and more Full-color booklet includes previously-unseen photos and extensive essays by a variety of Beach Boys scholars.

“Everything that I am or will ever be is in the music. If you want to know me, just listen.” – Dennis Wilson

Lost in the surf Beach Boy Dennis Wilson’s much sought-after '77 solo LP will return to circulation on the occasion of its 30th anniversary, and the 25th anniversary of Wilson’s untimely death in 1983, at age 39. The double CD, Pacific Ocean Blue - Legacy Edition - will arrive on the shelves on June 17th on Caribou/Epic/Legacy (a division of SonyBMG). Better yet, a vinyl edition of the LP will also be released at the same time, on Sundazed.

In 1977, Dennis Wilson’s Pacific Ocean Blue became the first solo LP to be released by a member of the Beach Boys. Dennis, the band’s surfer, drummer and free spirit, emerged from the shadow of his older brother, pop genius Brian Wilson, and shocked the industry with a sound and style unlike any other. Over thirty years later Pacific Ocean Blue remains arguably the greatest solo work by a Wilson. Well, SMiLE was pretty good too...

“In all those years since Pacific Ocean Blue became a rare gem, I have been eager to make it more widely available,” says James William Guercio, producer and owner of Caribou Records, who served then and now as executive producer. “The music that caught the ear of critics and fans in 1977 has fallen from popular conscious*ness in the last two decades, and it has long been due this incredible treatment. The devotion that the Legacy Recordings crew has shown to both the official album and the huge number of unreleased tracks is a testa*ment to the strength of Dennis’ musical genius.”

Dozens of musicians and singers collaborated on the Pacific Ocean Blue and Bambu sessions, which took place at numerous studios around Los Angeles, Seattle, and Miami. In addition to Dennis Wilson on vocals, drums, percussion, keyboards, and harmonica, there were his wife Karen Lamm-Wilson; Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys on guitar and vocal backgrounds; latter day Beach Boys members Billy Hinsche and Bruce Johnston (vocal backgrounds) and Ricky Fataar (drums); Beach Boys engineer Earle Mankey (guitar); and many West Coast session greats. A host of background vocalists included Christine McVie of Fleeetwood Mac, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America, Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean, and more.

The Dry Stuff

Disc one of Pacific Ocean Blue - Legacy Edition will comprise the original 12-song LP sequence: 1. River Song • 2. What’s Wrong • 3. Moonshine • 4. Friday Night • 5. Dreamer • 6. Thoughts of You • 7. Time • 8. You and I • 9. Pacific Ocean Blue • 10. Farewell My Friend • 11. Rainbows • 12. End of the Show.

In addition, disc one will contain four previously unreleased bonus tracks: 13. Tug Of Love • 14. Only With You • 15. Holy Man (instrumental) • 16. Mexico.

Of special note, “Only With You” was never known to exist – Dennis co-wrote the song with fellow Beach Boy Mike Love, for the group’s 1973 Holland album, with Carl Wilson singing lead.

Disc two of Pacific Ocean Blue - Legacy Edition will be a godsend to Dennis Wilson and Beach Boys devotees around the world – especially those who have been aware of the Bambu album he had hoped to release as a follow-up, but never completed. The tape archive is the source for 17 bonus tracks, all previously unreleased except for one (“All Alone”), from the original Pacific Ocean Blue and Bambu sessions. Bambu has been referenced as “Bamboo” in numerous articles on Dennis and the Beach Boys, but paperwork that accompanied the sessions now reveals the artist always intended for the album to be titled Bambu.

Now titled Bambu (The Caribou Sessions), disc two comprises: 1. Under The Moonlight • 2. It’s Not Too Late • 3. School Girl • 4. Love Remember Me • 5. Love Surrounds Me • 6. Wild Situation • 7. Common • 8. Are You Real • 9. He’s A Bum • 10. Cocktails • 11. I Love You • 12. Constant Companion • 13. Time For Bed • 14. Album Tag Song • 15. All Alone (originally issued on the Capitol Records Soundtrack Endless Harmony) • 16. Piano Variations on Thoughts of You • Bonus Track: 17. Holy Man, with new vocal by Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters.

Liner notes for the reissue have been written by several Beach Boys scholars, starting with Ben Edmonds, a Mojo contrib*uting editor who has written a 2,500-word essay entitled “Love Remember Me: Dennis Wilson’s Dreams Delivered.” A second essay, “Dennis Wilson: Chronology of a Solo Artist,” has been newly-penned by Jon Stebbins (author of Dennis Wilson: The Real Beach Boy, 2000) and David Beard (editor of the Beach Boys fanzine, Endless Summer Quarterly). A final essay by David Leaf will appear as a PDF embedded on the Pacific Ocean Blue disc.

Leaf is the author of the Brian Wilson biography Beach Boys and the California Myth (1978), and the follow-up, Beach Boys: Spirit of America (1985). He has annotated nearly 30 Beach Boys-related reissue projects, including the Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of the Beach Boys (1993) and The Pet Sounds Sessions (1997) box sets, which he co-produced. Leaf is also an award-winning television producer, director and writer of more than 50 entertainment-related biographies and specials, including An-All Star Tribute To Brian Wilson (TNT, 2001); Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE (Showtime, 2004); and The U.S. vs. John Lennon (Lionsgate/VH1, 2006).

The full-color booklet in the album will feature extensive discographic information and rare photos. Among these are the images taken for the original LP package by photo*grapher and lifelong friend Dean Torrence (of Jan & Dean), thought for decades to be lost but later uncovered in the Sony Music archives. Long considered one of the Rosetta Stones of Beach Boys iconography, Dennis Wilson’s Pacific Ocean Blue has been a collectors item virtually since the day it was released. The LP edition, although it sold as well as any Beach Boys title at the end of the '70s, was out-of-print in the catalog by the early ’80s, when the group’s Caribou Records deal expired with Epic Records (distributed by CBS). The first generation CD transfer of 1991 (non-eq’d) has similarly been out-of-print for over a decade.

What more do you need to know? Go stalk!

http://www.electricroulette.com/2008/05/the-latest-news.html

[jbrownsjr]

thank u viva!

[vivfox]

Re: Dennis tracks from POB/Bambu period not on the POB reissue...?
« Reply #17 on: Today at 01:25:09 PM »

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just a thought (comment) that comes to mind awaiting for the legacy recordings....

I hope someone is planning on sending a copy to Christine McVie...

If there are more archive Dennis recordings in the future, she is one person who might be in possession of tapes that would help complete the puzzle of post-Bambu recordings...

I know that it's been quoted that she has said that the songs they were working on together were way too personal to ever be released, but she may have tapes of older songs that Dennis was still working on that may be of a less personal nature ... and as the years have gone by her stance on everything may have changed....

with Dennis by these years (79+) no longer having Brother studios to work in, some of the tapes could be anywhere... including Christine....

just a thought

Doc Smiley

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,5512.msg89321.html#msg89321

[michelej1]

This Observer article talks about how the making of Pacific Ocean Blue came about.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,4815926-111639,00.html

It only mentions Christine to suggest that FM introduced Dennis to cocaine. I hardly think that's the case.

His drinking became excessive and, through an ill-fated relationship with Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie, he entered the cocaine blizzard that was the making of Tusk and never really came out. The last time Sterling Smith saw Dennis he was drinking with a group of hobos.

[Gailh]

As it happens the BBC have done a radio programme about Bambu which was broadcast today

If anyone is interested in listening click on the link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainframe.shtml?http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio4_promo.shtml

Scroll down to Lost Albums and there you go

Gail

PS I think you need Real Player to hear it

[vivfox]

Double-disc reissue captures a Beach Boy's promise and pain

By Geoff Edgers
Globe Staff / June 17, 2008


For Beach Boys people - and you know who you are - "Pacific Ocean Blue" occupies a special place. Dennis Wilson's lone solo record was a revelation when it came out in 1977, a critical triumph for a man always overshadowed by brothers Brian and Carl. In the 1990s, as the CD reissue quickly fell out of print, "POB" became something more: a pricey collector's item selling for as much as $200 on eBay.

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Today Legacy Recordings offers a fitting restoration, which adds a second disc of tracks largely from the late musician's aborted follow-up, "Bambu." This isn't quite like finally getting "Smile," the aborted teenage symphony Brian Wilson took nearly 40 years to complete. But "Bambu" shows that Wilson, with a little encouragement and a lot less "medicine," could have completed the transformation from goofy heartthrob into accomplished composer.

Make no mistake: The Dennis Wilson story is ultimately a tragedy, of a shaggy-haired teen idol whose steady decline left him a sweaty, swollen-faced phantom. (Wilson drowned in 1983, at 39, while diving off a friend's boat in Marina del Rey.)

The double-disc reissue captures him just before the collapse, writing steadily and surrounded by a group of crack musicians that included legendary drummer Hal Blaine and longtime Beach Boy sidemen Ed Carter and Billy Hinsche.

If you have never heard Wilson's voice, it can be startling. Brian and Carl sang like angels; Dennis was Joe Cocker on unfiltered Camels. He rarely approached the microphone during the Beach Boys 1960s commercial peak. In the 1970s, as Brian's mental illness kept him out of the studio, Dennis became an important voice. He sang lead on "My Diane," "Angel Come Home," and "Mona." His songs were often the highlights of the spottiest of records.

"POB," written by Wilson with a series of collaborators, captures the many sides of the singer. He was both a restless playboy and a desperate, quiet soul. (Remember, he reportedly smashed onetime girlfriend Christine McVie's Rolls Royce over and over, but also had a heart-shaped garden built for the Fleetwood Mac singer.) Wilson mines that conflict on a series of majestic ballads like "Time," on which, at first backed only by a piano, his moaning, aching voice builds into a breathtaking, horn-and-guitar driven finale.

The album manages to co-opt elements of the Beach Boys - soaring harmonies, tack piano, orchestral arrangements - yet doesn't particularly sound as if it were recorded by the group. There's boogie-woogie ("What's Wrong"), the kind of sweeping, raw ballads that made the ladies swoon ("Farewell My Friend"), and even a choir thrown over a guitar-driven rocker ("River Song").

There are glimmers of doo-wop and classic blues, and everything filtered through Wilson's heartbroken, lonely rasp. You can feel the aching inside the singer's voice and the darkness that increasingly washed over as the sun set on what was supposed to be an endless summer.

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2008/06/17/double_disc_reissue_captures_a_beach_boys_promise_and_pain/

[michelej1]

he reportedly smashed onetime girlfriend Christine McVie's Rolls Royce over and over, but also had a heart-shaped garden built for the Fleetwood Mac singer.)

With her money.

Michele

[bucklind17]

Just picked up this wonderful package. There is a picture of Christine and Dennis working together at the piano as part of the lovely liner notes/booklet. There's also a paragraph in one of the two essays about Christine's involvement in "Love Surrounds Me". She's also mentioned as an backup vocalist, obviously. So excited to spend some time with this!

[michelej1]

There's also a paragraph in one of the two essays about Christine's involvement in "Love Surrounds Me".

Oh, that's more than I expected. Sounds good.

This OC Weekly Review from June 12 doesn't mention Chris, but it mentions Lindsey:

BYLINE: JUSTIN F. FARRAR

BODY:


A Lost Classic Resurfaces

Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue is finally reissued-but is it as good as Pet Sounds?

The late Dennis Wilson's only solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue, was perhaps the last great out-of-print record from the Beach Boys universe. It's finally being remastered and reissued, along with a second disc of tracks originally intended for Bambu, his aborted follow-up. This means that for the next several months, Rolling Stone and MOJO and a gazillion blogs lifting quotes from those venerable mags will regale us with the Story of Dennis: ladies' man, surfer dude and serviceable drummer slips out from under his big bro's massive shadow and delivers a song cycle about love, spirituality and the environment.

"Dennis deserves to have some sort of recognition," says close friend and fellow surf-rock icon Dean Torrence (of Jan & Dean), who also co-designed Pacific's layout. "Brian kind of sucked the air out of everybody. He is probably one of the most talented and prolific songwriters of our time, so it would have been hard for anybody around him to get any recognition. And Dennis did a fairly good job putting together his music, especially for somebody who had never done it before."

Dennis' first songs, Brian-inspired nursery rhymes such as "Little Bird" and "Be Still," started popping up on Beach Boys albums in the late '60s. At the time, practically nobody, outside of maybe a young Lindsey Buckingham, cared about one of pop's great acts. Flash forward just six or seven years to 1977, when Caribou released Pacific Ocean Blue to an always-attentive Buckingham and more deaf ears (some things never change), and Dennis was his own man, employing synthesizers and a black gospel choir while fusing lush, Isaac Hayes-inspired soul to ambient pop from somewhere near the dark side of the moon.

So, yeah, Dennis' evolution as a songwriter, musician and producer is indeed mind-blowing. But let's not kid ourselves. What you really want to know before dropping $35 on mid-'70s soft rock instead of gasoline is this: Will I dig Pacific Ocean Blue as much as I do Pet Sounds? The group's masterwork, Pet Sounds is the record to which all Wilson-related output is inevitably compared. So here's your answer: You will-but first you'll have to tweak your expectations. While Pacific is obviously the product of a Wilson brother (those layered harmonies don't lie), it's just as radical of a break with what came before as Pet Sounds was to its predecessors ("Fun, Fun, Fun," "I Get Around," etc.).

Beginning with the album's bombastic opener, "River Song," and following through to the end, Dennis echoes Brian's love for Phil Spector. "He had a genius brother for a teacher," explains Gregg Jakobson, who co-produced Pacific Ocean Blue, as well as wrote a good chunk of its lyrics. "There's definitely a Spector influence there, but instead of a wall of sound, it's more of a wash in the background-total and big."

The Beach Boys released a slew of classic albums, but Pacific Ocean Blue (which contains uncredited assistance from Dennis' mates) is really the only record besides Pet Sounds to fully embody that "total and big" aesthetic, as if its creator somehow cracked open his heart and allowed its contents to drip onto magnetic tape. The music is really that far removed from the methodical, detail-oriented studio work that bore it.

Yet Jakobson is right. Pet Sounds is finely cut Swarovski shimmering with sharp angles and bold lines, while Pacific ripples like a lazy, ocean-fed lagoon just before high tide. And, of course, these contrasting qualities reflect the fundamental differences in character between the two brothers. "Brian was ethereal, very much up in his head," says Jakobson. "But Dennis was on the ground. He was a real street person. He was a tough guy."

Brian is the sensitive, very eccentric Californian suburbanite. Dennis, however, urbanized himself over the years. He was a funky beach rat too in love with booze who lived borderline homeless in Santa Monica (which, according to Jakobson, isn't romanticizing his daily existence in the mid '70s). The guy didn't croon about spectral insecurities; he grunted and moaned about life's base needs, as on "Pacific Ocean Blue": "We live on the edge of a body of water/Warmed by the blood of the cold-hearted/Slaughter of the otter."

Ultimately, Dennis sounds like one of those LA characters from a Tom Waits or Warren Zevon song (good-natured, but coarse and flawed) who somehow found himself in a foreign part of the city-that is, in the Beach Boys' studio, backed by the legendary Wrecking Crew.

Then again, even if you accept Dennis as an artist in his own right, Pacific Ocean Blue still might not blow you away, as it strays far from Brian's concept of West Coast pop. But while Pacific Ocean Blue probably isn't Pet Sounds' equal, it undoubtedly is, along with such cultish albums as Fleetwood Mac's Tusk and Gene Clark's No Other, one of the most profound and distinctive musical statements to come out of 1970s California.

Not bad for a dude who was "just the drummer."

Pacific Ocean Blue is released June 17 on Epic/Caribou/Legacy.

[bucklind17]

It's more that Dennis met Christine after he wrote the song and then they ended up working together/moving in together and even created a setlist to perform as a duo then about the actual creation of the song, but it's nice regardless!

[michelej1]

It's more that Dennis met Christine after he wrote the song and then they ended up working together/moving in together and even created a setlist to perform as a duo then about the actual creation of the song, but it's nice regardless!

That's interesting about the setlist they created. I'd love to see it and imagine then doing it together. Howard Cohen wrote that Dennis' relationship with Chris was tumultuous, but musically inspiring, while Dennis was cutting Bambu. Michele

[macfan 57]

I just got an e-mail from Amazon that my copy of this album is in the mail.

By that way, there is a pretty good promo video for this album on Amazon. It's already out of stock according to their site.

http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Ocean-Blue-Dennis-Wilson/dp/B00104CIN2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1213787296&sr=1-1

[vivfox]

Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue finally is in the mainstream today. There is a nice review in Paste magazine this month and the original Rolling Stone review of this album was perfect. He was in the biggest band in the US as a teenager, he picked up the songwriting slack when his brother Brian had big problems, he flirted with the Manson family, dated Christine McVie for two years when Fleetwood Mac was the most popular band in the world, and then drowned before he was 40. At least he left us some music that makes me wonder where the Beach Boys could have gone if they were not so tied to the concert circuit which paid the bills. He remains "the hard workin' drummer -- Denny Wilson."




Email Post
Posted on 06/17/2008

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My Trusted MOGs ted baylis says:


Nice scream’n by Dennis…Cool arrangement

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My Trusted MOGs funoka says:
Very layered production on this number and the first track on this called River Song. It's really a hardcore fan record, but I still think it holds up today.

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My Trusted MOGs Lester Jonze says:
Word I just grabbed this off Itunes and am excited to listen to it.

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My Trusted MOGs Petey Lapides says:
Striking album cover.

So much is written about Brian. Maybe it's time more is written about Dennis. I like what I hear so far.

There's a touch of "trance" to this track, which I tend to be drawn to.

My Trusted MOGs Petey Lapides says:
According to the Wik, the 2008 re-release includes material recorded for the projected follow-up to Pacific Ocean Blue. Entitled Bambu, it was left uncompleted by Wilson's death.

http://mog.com/funoka/blog/168160

[michelej1]

This is an excerpt from the Guardian Observer:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,,1103842,00.html

Yet cruelly it was Dennis who would self-destruct. The efforts that went into making Pacific Ocean Blue effectively set him adrift from the band that had made him. His relationship with Karen burned out; without finances the studio and the boat soon followed. With the Beach Boys reverting to the clean-cut caricatures of 1964 Dennis went off the rails. His drinking became excessive and, through an ill-fated relationship with Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie, he entered the cocaine blizzard that was the making of Tusk and never really came out. The last time Sterling Smith saw Dennis he was drinking with a group of hobos.

'Dennis drowned before he ever hit the water,' says Stephen Kalinich. 'I think if he had had more outlets and encouragement with his creative expression he might have taken a less destructive path. That was his way out of it, but when that was blocked and he did not have the familiar tools and the studio around him, it was like a person without a country.'

Within a few years he would be excised from the band's history. It was as though Pacific Ocean Blue had never even existed. Once again he would be their no-talent drummer - the lothario who surfed. The Beach Boys continued without Dennis. They were on the way to 'Kokomo' and lucrative duets with The Fat Boys. For that journey they had no need of their soul.

[Richard B]

Just picked up this wonderful package. So excited to spend some time with this!

I agree. Great CD package...its been good to hear it again.

[aleuzzi]

This is an excerpt from the Guardian Observer:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,,1103842,00.html

Yet cruelly it was Dennis who would self-destruct. The efforts that went into making Pacific Ocean Blue effectively set him adrift from the band that had made him. His relationship with Karen burned out; without finances the studio and the boat soon followed. With the Beach Boys reverting to the clean-cut caricatures of 1964 Dennis went off the rails. His drinking became excessive and, through an ill-fated relationship with Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie, he entered the cocaine blizzard that was the making of Tusk and never really came out. The last time Sterling Smith saw Dennis he was drinking with a group of hobos.

'Dennis drowned before he ever hit the water,' says Stephen Kalinich. 'I think if he had had more outlets and encouragement with his creative expression he might have taken a less destructive path. That was his way out of it, but when that was blocked and he did not have the familiar tools and the studio around him, it was like a person without a country.'

Within a few years he would be excised from the band's history. It was as though Pacific Ocean Blue had never even existed. Once again he would be their no-talent drummer - the lothario who surfed. The Beach Boys continued without Dennis. They were on the way to 'Kokomo' and lucrative duets with The Fat Boys. For that journey they had no need of their soul.

This makes it sound as if Christine and bandmates were the bad influence on him, when perhaps the reverse is true?

[michelej1]

This makes it sound as if Christine and bandmates were the bad influence on him, when perhaps the reverse is true?

Yeah, like I'm so sure Dennis needed FM to introduce him to cocaine. He was no babe in the woods.

Michele

[aleuzzi]

Yeah, like I'm so sure Dennis needed FM to introduce him to cocaine. He was no babe in the woods.

Michele

And even if they (improbably) introduced him to cocaine, it was his decision to take it. No one was forcing him.

If someone crashed my cars and tore up my garden to put a tacky heart-shaped rose bed in, I'd kick him to the curb. No matter how good looking or skilled in bed.

[vivfox]

If someone crashed my cars and tore up my garden to put a tacky heart-shaped rose bed in, I'd kick him to the curb. No matter how good looking or skilled in bed.:lol:

Dennis was a drunk before he hooked up with Christine. I used to wonder how she could stand his breath. If someone did that to my garden I'd be very pissed just like you would. Chris looked happy about it in the picture though.

[macfan 57]

If someone crashed my cars and tore up my garden to put a tacky heart-shaped rose bed in, I'd kick him to the curb. No matter how good looking or skilled in bed.

And sending her the bill for the landscaping...:laugh:

There's an interview from around the BTM era when Chris did say that she was obsessed with Dennis at the time. That might explain it a bit.

By the way, there is a previously unseen picture of Chris & Dennis in the booklet of the new release & Chris is mentioned in the liner notes. The album itself, Pacific Ocean Blue is terrific!:thumbsup:

[DeeGeMe]

Fleetwood Mac introduced him to cocaine? Oh please! Dennis was WILD! The guy hooked up with some of the Manson girls back in the day and then graciously paid their doctors' bills for all the STD's they'd swapped! I hardly think that meeting Christine and hanging with the Mac launched him into the world of cocaine use/abuse.

[aleuzzi]

And sending her the bill for the landscaping...:laugh:

There's an interview from around the BTM era when Chris did say that she was obsessed with Dennis at the time. That might explain it a bit.

By the way, there is a previously unseen picture of Chris & Dennis in the booklet of the new release & Chris is mentioned in the liner notes. The album itself, Pacific Ocean Blue is terrific!:thumbsup:

I'm not wild about his voice, but I agree the album is strong.

[Gailh]

I hardly think that meeting Christine and hanging with the Mac launched him into the world of cocaine use/abuse.

Me neither! the bloke was insane. I still for the life of me cannot think why Christine was even with him in the first place.

Gail

[bucklind17]

Fleetwood Mac introduced him to cocaine? Oh please! Dennis was WILD! The guy hooked up with some of the Manson girls back in the day and then graciously paid their doctors' bills for all the STD's they'd swapped! I hardly think that meeting Christine and hanging with the Mac launched him into the world of cocaine use/abuse.

I believe Manson may have even lived in Dennis' home for a time, along with a few of the girls. Beyond even that, Dennis recorded music with Charles Manson. There is a Beach Boy song entitled "Never Learn Not to Love", which evolved from a song called "Cease to Exist", the latter of which was written by Dennis and Manson. From what I read, Manson was not pleased with the changes that Dennis made to the song. I'm not entirely sure if Dennis was a potential target for murder at the time of the Tate/LaBianca murders or just still somewhat on the radar of the clan having recently severed ties, but Terry Melcher, who was involved in producing Dennis and Manson's music, was a target to be murdered. Manson went to Melcher's home only to find out he no longer lived there and soon after committed the infamous Tate murders in that house.

[DeeGeMe]

Yes, for a time Wilson had the Manson clan bunking with him. He was leasing a house and he moved out and left it to a someone else to evict the Manson clan. He did introduce Manson to a number of record industry types, including Melcher, whose house Tate was leasing (Melcher and his then girlfriend Candy Bergin had moved to Malibu).

[SteveMacD]

Not that anybody cares, but somebody gave a sealed copy of this album to Robert Pollard at Heedfest (a big party for Guided by Voices fans) a couple of weeks ago. Oddly, I caught a little **** after I pointed out Chris was on the record.

[jbrownsjr]

Not that anybody cares, but somebody gave a sealed copy of this album to Robert Pollard at Heedfest (a big party for Guided by Voices fans) a couple of weeks ago. Oddly, I caught a little **** after I pointed out Chris was on the record.

Why did you catch hell Steve?

[vivfox]

By Guy Blackman
July 11, 2008


FEW would dispute that Brian Wilson is the genius of the Beach Boys. Hits such as Good Vibrations, Wouldn't It Be Nice, the Pet Sounds album and the ill-fated Smile have cemented his reputation as a madcap maestro. But for at least a decade the Beach Boys had another, far more unlikely genius in drummer Dennis, the troubled middle Wilson brother.

In the early days, Dennis was the band's sex object, an unruly blond Adonis whose drumming was so rudimentary he was replaced by session musicians on many Beach Boys hits. The only one who could actually surf, Dennis was included in the band by his brothers (and cousin Mike Love) as a link to the surf culture they claimed to represent.

But a few years later, when the Beach Boys' well of hits had dried up and Brian had retreated into a world of paranoia, confusion and hamburgers, Dennis emerged to keep the family flame burning. From the late 1960s onwards, until being derailed by drug and alcohol abuse in the late '70s, Dennis wrote some of the most luminous and beautiful music the Beach Boys ever recorded.

Tracks such as Forever, Cuddle Up and Little Bird, hidden away on little-known Beach Boys albums, are filled with a yearning majesty and emotional openness that has rarely been matched. Dennis opened his heart to reveal depths of feeling that shocked those around him.

Then, with Pacific Ocean Blue in 1977, Dennis went one step further, becoming the first Beach Boy to release a solo album. Although critically well received at the time, this flawed but often astonishing album languished as a vinyl-only collector's item for decades, but it has been reissued as a two-CD collection with a cornucopia of bonus material.

By 1977, however, Dennis' voice was no longer the pure, clear wonder of a decade earlier. Cigarettes and liquor had rendered him choked and growling, although perhaps all the more soulful for it.

Still, it's the strongest solo album any Beach Boy ever released, including everything Brian has done since. Despite the at times dated production, songs such as Dreamer and Time retain a revelatory power and directness that is pure Dennis Wilson.

Dennis later worked on a follow-up titled Bambu, but his hard-living ways got the better of him and the record was shelved (luckily, much of it turns up here as bonus tracks on the second disc). As was his older brother, Dennis was a tortured and contradictory figure, touched not by Brian's madness but an equally self-destructive appetite for drink and drugs that would eventually kill him. This impulse towards extreme experience also saw Dennis hook up with Charles Manson in the late '60s, living and recording with Manson and his family until just months before the Sharon Tate murders.

But as the '70s came to an end, his recklessness began to catch up with him � constantly fired and rehired by the Beach Boys, checking into rehab only to check out a few days later, falling in and out of relationships (including trysts with Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie, model Karen Lamm, and even bandmate Mike Love's illegitimate daughter Shawn). Fittingly, he met his end in the ocean, drowning at Los Angeles' Marina Del Rey on December 28, 1983, while diving to retrieve photos and other personal items thrown off his long-repossessed yacht Harmony.

This is the paradox and the eternal appeal of Dennis Wilson. A rock'n'roll animal who remained faithful to his four wives by only letting groupies give him oral sex, a man who smashed his fist through a glass window and so couldn't play drums for three years, Dennis was also, in front of a piano, transcendent, pure and sublime.

"He is a multifaceted jewel," McVie told People magazine in 1979, unwittingly speaking for everyone who has been touched by his extraordinary music. "Dennis has made me feel extremes of every emotion. Dennis has thrown me in the deep end, literally and figuratively."

Pacific Ocean Blue is reissued by Sony BMG on July 19.

http://www.watoday.com.au/news/music/soul-brother/2008/07/10/1215658007315.html

[Tango]

There's been a lot in the news about one of the Charles Manson murderer's, Susan Atkins, who is near death in California. In reading one of the articles, it mentioned Dennis Wilson again. It's chilling how close Dennis came to this grusome gang. One website names the two girls that Dennis met (picked up) as he drove along the road--one of them was none other than Patricia Krenwinkle, one of the prime killers in the so called Tate & LaBianca murders:

In 1967 Ella Jo Bailey and Susan Atkins were living in a commune in San Francisco. It was there that they met Manson and decided to leave the commune and join the Manson Family. During that year she travelled around the southwest with Manson, Mary Brunner, Patricia Krenwinkel and Lynne Fromme, until they moved to the Spahn Ranch in 1968.


Not much has been written about Bailey, other than it was Bailey along with Patricia Krenwinkel who were hitchhiking in Malibu, California when picked up by Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson. This meeting was the jumpstart in the Family's relationship with the famous musician.

Bailey stayed with the Family up until murder became part Manson's agenda. After the murder of Donald "Shorty" Shea Bailey left the group and later testified for the people during the Hinman murder trial.


http://crime.about.com/od/murder/ig/The-Manson-Family/ellajobailey.htm

[vivfox]

A thirty year anniversary edition of Dennis Wilson's 1977 recording Pacific Ocean Blue was recently released. The first solo recording released by a member of the Beach Boys, the record has advocates who believe it as good as any solo recordings by his more famous older brother, Brian Wilson. That's likely a minority view, but the tracks do capture the ebullient, soulful Dennis away from the Boys and grabbing a little spotlight for himself. Seemingly influenced by Brian's approach in the studio, the recordings sport a full, layered sound very much of its time, but with enduring appeal. The reissue contains lot of pictures, an essay by Ben Edmonds, and a second disc of music, Dennis's unfinished project, Bambu.

Wilson's tragically short life, tempestuous relationships (Christine McVie), bad decisions (the Manson connection), and his epic carousing have made him a symbol of rock excess for many. This sensitive reissue allows those interested in the era, the Beach Boys and Dennis himself to hear the music for themselves.
Read more:
Dumb Angel: The Life and Music of Dennis Wilson by Adam Webb

http://hbplmusic.blogspot.com/2008/07/pacific-ocean-blue.html

[jbrownsjr]

A thirty year anniversary edition of Dennis Wilson's 1977 recording Pacific Ocean Blue was recently released. The first solo recording released by a member of the Beach Boys, the record has advocates who believe it as good as any solo recordings by his more famous older brother, Brian Wilson. That's likely a minority view, but the tracks do capture the ebullient, soulful Dennis away from the Boys and grabbing a little spotlight for himself. Seemingly influenced by Brian's approach in the studio, the recordings sport a full, layered sound very much of its time, but with enduring appeal. The reissue contains lot of pictures, an essay by Ben Edmonds, and a second disc of music, Dennis's unfinished project, Bambu.

Wilson's tragically short life, tempestuous relationships (Christine McVie), bad decisions (the Manson connection), and his epic carousing have made him a symbol of rock excess for many. This sensitive reissue allows those interested in the era, the Beach Boys and Dennis himself to hear the music for themselves.
Read more:
Dumb Angel: The Life and Music of Dennis Wilson by Adam Webb

http://hbplmusic.blogspot.com/2008/07/pacific-ocean-blue.html

cool thanks!!

[David]

Christine ... McVie
Mistine ... ChrickVie

[vivfox]

Wilson's talent sings forth on 'Pacific' re-release
By Patrick Kampert | Chicago Tribune reporter
July 20, 2008

When Beach Boys fans think of the waning days of the original group, one of the painful memories is that of late drummer Dennis Wilson shambling drunkenly onstage during encores in the early '80s to croak out the Joe Cocker hit "You Are So Beautiful" (Wilson was purportedly an uncredited co-writer of the song) in a voice ravaged by self-destruction.

That's an image that close friends of the musician hope to tone down with the lovingly assembled special edition of "Pacific Ocean Blue," Wilson's re-released 1977 solo album that surprisingly debuted at No. 8 on Billboard's July 5 Internet music chart. The success has Wilson's backers mulling a second release, a retrospective of his work with the Beach Boys and other unreleased tracks.

"I think it's one of the most truthful statements by an artist," said Jon Stebbins, Wilson's biographer (the just-revised "The Real Beach Boy") who co-wrote the liner notes for "Pacific Ocean Blue." "It seems like he kind of bled onto the tape."

The music on "POB" is vaguely reminiscent of the Beach Boys—especially the stacked harmonies on "River Song" and "Rainbows"—but at times is a funky stew laden with horns ("Friday Night") and brooding piano ballads. It's alternately visceral and meditative. You'll hear very little of Wilson on the drums. He's mainly hunkered down at the keyboard looking for just the right sound. If it was a more instinctive hunt than the cerebral genius of brother Brian Wilson, it was not without touches of brilliance.

"Dennis was kind of like Brian. He used the studio like an instrument," said Gregg Jakobson, who co-produced "POB" and co-wrote many songs with Wilson.

The package also includes a second disc of Wilson's incomplete second album, "Bambu," which was mixed and readied by three friends who encouraged Wilson in his creative '70s period: producers James William Guercio and Gregg Jakobson, and engineer/producer John Hanlon, who continues to co-produce projects for Neil Young and has worked with R.E.M. as well.

One track, "Holy Man," features new vocals by the Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins. Another version of "Holy Man" with the re-formed Queen, has been released in England.

Beyond such nods at 21st Century rock, the new release was a fiercely personal project for Guercio, who played guitar for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and whose production touch helped sell millions for Chicago, the Buckinghams and Blood, Sweat & Tears.

"People didn't appreciate how far this guy could have gone," Guercio said from his Colorado office.

Wilson had asked Guercio to come aboard the Beach Boys' bandwagon in the mid-'70s to manage the group (and occasionally play bass guitar onstage). He encouraged Wilson's songwriting and has remained friends with the family even after he stepped down from managing them. Wilson's younger brother, the angelic-voiced Carl, bought a home next to Guercio's ranch in Colorado. In December 1983, Dennis Wilson was supposed to join his brother, their mom, Audree, their aunt and Guercio's family for Christmas. The family and Guercio planned to get Wilson into a rehab facility after the holidays. He called on Christmas Eve and told Guercio and his disappointed family that he wasn't coming that day but would be there by New Year's Day. He didn't make it, drowning Dec. 28 while diving for mementos at the spot where his repossessed boat once docked.

"I was in the process of an intervention," Guercio said, then paused. "I had to go over to Carl's house and tell his mom."

Carl Wilson died of brain and lung cancer in 1998. Three years ago, at the wedding of Carl's son Justyn, Guercio made the decision to bring the music of Justyn's Uncle Dennis back into the public eye.

"I felt it was important to his children and to his family," said Guercio, who bankrolled the project as well. "From that day on, it was, 'Forget business. We're going to figure this out.' "

It wasn't a simple process, said Billy Hinsche, longtime Beach Boys sideman and a Wilson in-law who sang on both "POB" and "Bambu."

"Just getting 'Pacific Ocean Blue' re-released was very complicated. [One question was] who owns it? There are four different record companies on the cover."

Hinsche formed the pop trio Dino, Desi and Billy with the sons of Dean Martin and Desi Arnaz in the mid-'60s and enjoyed some brief pop success. He was all of 13 when the group joined the Beach Boys as an opening act. Hinsche's dad, Otto, nicknamed "Pop," pulled Dennis Wilson aside before the tour and asked the drummer to look after his son on the road. Perhaps because Dennis and Carl were teens themselves when stardom engulfed them, Hinsche found an immediate kinship with the brothers. Hinsche's sister Annie eventually married Carl.

Dennis Wilson formed a close bond with Pop Hinsche, and the wrenching and touching "Farewell My Friend" on "POB" was written to mourn the passing of Pop. Earlier this year, Hinsche completed a film documentary about his close friend, "Dennis Wilson Forever," that was picked up by Sony BMG for distribution in the United Kingdom.

"One of the things I wanted to accomplish with my movie was to show the creative, tender side of Dennis," he said. "God knows we've got enough of the stories about Dennis' wild side."

If "Bambu" shows Wilson rocking harder than on "POB," it also continues to flesh out that tender side. "Piano Variations on Thoughts of You" and "It's Not Too Late" sound like pleas, showing again that Wilson was the true romantic in the family. The latter also features one of the last true collaborations with his brother Carl, who was making an effort to clean up his life even as Dennis' was becoming unmoored.

The hints are in the increasingly rough-hewn vocals that sound more gravelly than Randy Newman's and much lower than his smoother efforts on Beach Boys tunes such as "Slip On Through" and "Be Still."

"Bambu" fell apart when Dennis and Carl were forced to sell Brother Studios, where "POB" was recorded and where Dennis spent most of his waking hours. Now, to continue his music, he would have to book time at unfamiliar studios and carry all his tapes around.

"It was not the same," said Jakobson. "It was like he was a homeless guy."

Added Stebbins: "His prolific nature pretty much ended at that point. He had more time to be doing the things that probably were not that healthy, as opposed to having a studio 24/7, which kept him focused and kept him motivated."

Wilson also lived with Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie around that time, and the proliferation of drugs in the Mac circle during that "Tusk" period was no secret. Even after the couple broke up, Wilson's "downward spiral," as Jakobson called it, continued. The Beach Boys banned him from touring and cut off his paychecks as a desperate "tough love" treatment, but it didn't work. The sad ending helped to obscure a pop composer on the rise.

"It was very hard to go through some of these tracks," Guercio said. "The tragedy is that which could have been."

[email protected]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/arts/chi-dennis-wilson-0720jul20,0,3855378.story