#385
Album: Pacific Ocean Blue
Artist: Dennis Wilson
Year: 1977
Length: 37:15
Genre: Rock / Pop
“I know people who want to go far
Make big movies and become a star
People got to dream
Dreamer who said it was easy
And the band played
Play for me”Dreamer
I always get incredibly excited when a new album is next on the list. Well, new to me, especially during this period of albums where I’ve heard a vast majority of them. It feels great to make a new discovery sprinkled amongst old favourites and familiar music. I embrace every new album with open arms and I found myself particularly giddy about diving into this one… unsure why I was, maybe it was my curiosity of what this album might deliver, or maybe it was just my inherent desire to listen to as many new albums as possible. Whatever it was, I was ready for it and whatever it had to offer.
This wasn’t what I was expecting, I mean I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but I don’t think it was this from one of the members of The Beach Boys. Funnily enough, I wasn’t surprised to see a ton of references to the sea and ocean as is custom with Beach Boys music (the title of the album is Pacific Ocean Blue for crying out loud), however I was sort of expecting something a little more mellow coming off a lot of the baroque pop of later Beach Boys albums. I do have to say a heavily bearded and dishevelled looking Dennis Wilson on the album cover did throw me off that scent a bit. He comes across an old lighthouse keeper whose been working too long and is tired with life (fitting knowing his history with the Beach Boys). What kind of music would a cranky, old keeper make? I was about to find out.
I heavily enjoyed this, much more than I thought I would, and, of course, that kind of reaction is never a bad thing. This is the kind of reaction I always hope to have when listening to something new. That sense of curiosity mixed with glee and surprise. From the first song I was immediately intrigued and by the third song I was hooked, all in for the experience that was the album. It’s great to see Dennis Wilson going solo away from the leadership of Brian Wilson (and later Mike Love), and it’s clear the band had many talented songwriters on it. Dennis Wilson gave me music that was altogether funky and rocked and was melancholic but angry and visceral but never in a overpowering way. I didn’t expect the growling, raspy vocals and how hard he hit his piano keys at times. It was wonderful to say the least. At times a song would start in that sort of mellow way I thought the music would be and then take a sudden turn, which caught me off guard in the best way possible. The album was an experience I didn’t realise I wanted until it happened, and I’m happy for it.
My only mild gripe (if I could even call it that) is that near the end, I kept thinking I finally heard a song that felt like a final song for the album, only to be met with another song following it. This isn’t a case of the album feeling long, because I would have happily listened to more songs like this, but more the songs felt like they were giving closure to the album when they weren’t really. That made for an oddly jarring experience that took me out of it at times, which was a shame because up to that point I was engaged thouroughly. That being said, it didn’t ruin the experience for me, just kin of threw me off a bit. But maybe that’s what he was going for in the end? A lot of finality with no real end in sight? At least the last song is called “End of the Show” which gives you no doubts when the album is ending.
There was something special about this album I haven’t quite put my finger on yet, but I know I’ll be re-listening to it quite a bit in the future and by then, I will have figured it out. Hopefully.
Favourite Song: Friday Night
-Bosco
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