Song of the Day: Solo Beach Boy Forever Rides the Pacific Blue
Dennis Wilson’s “Pacific Ocean Blue” came out in 1977. It’s an astonishingly beautiful album and the only solo offering he would release during his too-short life. This collection is more heartfelt and soulful than any album his brother Brian would ever record outside of the Beach Boys – quite an accomplishment on its own, all the more so considering that despite being the only Wilson who could actually surf, Dennis was reportedly only included in the band at his mother’s insistence.
In this effort, Wilson wears his heart on his sleeve, but he’s earnest without being maudlin. The album is an incredible document of southern California in the 70s, just as poignant and reflective of its time as the Beach Boys’ recordings defined the region a decade earlier.
Dennis Wilson would die at 39, diving in the waters of Marina del Ray. The ocean he did so much to immortalize took his life … As he sings, “It’s no wonder that the Pacific Ocean is blue …”
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