Although he is remembered by the masses as the tanned, surfing drummer brother of Brian Wilson’s 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, Dennis—compared to say his brother Brian—preferred 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 Wilson’s unreleased second album, Bambu—a 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 notes—including an essay by Brian Wilson associate David Leaf embedded on disc one—and poignant period piece photos of Dennis by Dean Torrance of Jan & Dean. Fans of Dennis Wilson’s 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

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