Although
he is remembered by the masses as the tanned, surfing drummer brother
of Brian Wilsons Beach Boys, Dennis Wilson was also a widely
underrated singer-songwriter in his own right. Thirty years after
he recorded these tracks, Dennis is finally given a righteous reissue
treatment by Sony Legacy with the 2008 two CD set reissue of his two
late 70s solo albums. As is evidenced by his mostly unheralded
songs with The Beach Boys, Denniscompared to say his brother
Brianpreferred broad sweeping musical pop canvases, almost symphonic
and dirge-like sounding rock in places. The Legacy Edition of Pacific
Ocean Blue features the long awaited remastering of the entire
twelve track 1977 album, produced by James William Guercio,
along with four bonus cuts. Disc two features the first ever legit
reissue of Wilsons unreleased second album, Bambua
generous 16 tracks from the sessions plus a bonus cut. Commenting
on the 2008 reissue POB producer Guercio adds, In all
those years since Pacific Ocean Blue became a rare gem, I have
been eager to make it more widely available. The music that caught
the ear of critics and fans in 1977 has fallen from popular consciousness
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 testament to the strength of Dennis musical genius.
As Guercio correctly points out, Legacy has gone all out with their
2008 double CD Legacy Edition of Pacific Ocean Blue, releasing
it with some spiffy digi-pak artwork, historic liner notesincluding
an essay by Brian Wilson associate David Leaf embedded on disc
oneand poignant period piece photos of Dennis by Dean Torrance
of Jan & Dean. Fans of Dennis Wilsons excellent drumming
and remembered song writing on classic early 70s Beach Boys
albums like Sunflower and Holland will enjoy a heavenly
retro musical buzz here. www.thebeachboys.com