Dennis Wilson is the most underrated of The Beach Boys and yet Pacific Ocean Blue is the most soulful of any of The Beach Boys solo albums.I agree with you when you say he really put his heart into it.Who knows what he could have come up with next.Too bad he died before his talent was fully recognized.

I got this in 1977,and it was a nice listen, back then ,now ,decades later, it is astonishing.. I love it more and more as the years go by...Might be my favorite ALL time album...

Yes, Dennis poured his heart and soul into this album. It was almost like he knew that he wasn’t going to live a long life. Thanks for sharing your opinion on this rare moment of Beach Boys history.

Pacific Ocean Blue is the most honest record I've ever heard. Really enjoyed your review and I'm glad that the love for this album is still out there.

I have this album. I bought it when it came out in the 70s. It really is a great album. Dennis should have been so much bigger a star.

For anyone who doesn't know, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins died a few days ago... But he also sang on Dennis songs from the never-released 2nd solo album, Bambu, & Holy Man.... OMG! It's eery how much Taylor sounds like Dennis! Anyone should check that out!

200,000 copies was considered respectable for a first time solo artist at the time. Even Rolling Stone gave it a great review.

My favorite album of all time.

Hi Giggens, This is a truly magnificent album and a definite 10 out of ten score and even though I am a huge BBs fan, this album was far better than anything they were putting out at the time. I found my copy in the bargain bin would you believe ...? I only paid 50p for it, what a bargain. Im so glad you did this review and its nice to see that we are in complete agreement.

Stellar review for a stellar album. I'm glad creative recognition came to Dennis Wilson in this modern era. He didn't get noticed in his own time for it, it seems. Not to take from Carl and Brian Wilson. Both are ultra talented. Maybe there was so much talent in the Wilson family that Dennis just surfed that wave too. Probably didn't recognize it because he was born into it. All in all, Pacific Ocean Blues sounds like Dennis shows what he is capable of at that point in time. Interesting to wonder if he had done that in the early 70's how it would sound. Also, it 's amazing how many of us refer to the guys by their first names only. It is a testament to how close the listener feels to them. Kind of like they made us family by audio communication. Dennis was a great soul singer. This album makes the world a little better because it's in it. Thanks for the great review Mr. Giggens

I've been a huge fan of this album since day one. I bought this album the week it was released back in '77. I bought the cd as soon as it came out on that format and bought the reissue in 2008 the day it was released. Back in the 80's I bought a bootleg copy of the Bambu album at a record store in Columbus Ohio called "Magnolia Thunder Pussy". Great review!!!!!!

I recently heard this album and was very impressed good review

Great review and on the spot. Became a renaissance Beach Boys fan in the Summer of 76 when the 90 minute NBC special " It's Ok" was televised. Got me into Meditation watching it and took a class and have been meditating every day since then. In 1977 POB came out and in the Summer of 77 met Denny at a record shop and had my album autographed. Congenial and polite and Thankfulvwas Denny's approach to every customer. As for Bambu never being completed was due to Brothers Studios being sold. The studio was Denny's get away and hideaway from life and it's problems. About 10:years ago , went to Santa Monica Pier and not far from there was Denny's hang out " Chez Jays". Went in and spoke to someone who to this day was familiar with Dennis and ask where he normally sat. Sat in his favorite seat and the group that was therre we all raised our glasses for a toast to Dennis Wilson. So talented but gone far too soon. Thank You Dennis for the warm and feeling music that you shared with us.

"You and I" and "Moonshine" are my favorite songs on the album.

Yep, astonishing album. What I love, and you eluded to in some of your comments, is how Dennis throws structural convention out the window and creates songs which break the norm. No verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge here. Every track is unique. Needs to come with a health warning, because this album can seriously obsess your life, like it did mine when I first heard it! Great review, mate!

I haven't commented in a while but was listening to Dennis and came back and found this video. It's an incredible work and arguably the best of the solo works among the band. Another great video!

Good review. It's a very heavy album! Excellent. I can hear his addictions all over these songs.

EASILY IN MY TOP 10 of Greatest albums of all time.

Brilliant album. I guess when Dennis was on the street in his latter days. Fans that noticed him would come up and say “hey Dennis I love Pacific Ocean Blue” and he would give them a hug and say how deeply he appreciated that, when asked if he’ll ever make another album it’s said he stated “he can’t bear his soul out that much again or it’ll kill me” wow. What a soul filled spirited rogue of a musician, I guess he was heartbroken that it didn’t get more love by the distributors or promoters. The album is a genius top fav 50 album of mine.

Great review.I love this album.I think it's a work of genius.So heartfelt.The density of the production is incredible.A big fat sound.Everything you said echoes my feelings.It seemed that Dennis was very humble about his talents.I hope he realised how much love there was for his music.

A truly wonderful album I can recall listening to this album walking by a canal on a snowy winters day in the uk and the experience is permanently etched in my mind every time I go back to this album I am flabbergasted that the beach boys did not utilize more of Dennis Wilson's songs

i love your reviews giggens. really spot on.

Hey Giggy! So very well reviewed and yes them Wilson brothers are one of a kind! Thank you for the positive message and review on this album! Dennis was special and so misunderstood. Dennis was very brilliant, out of all The Beach Boys his hurt made the most beautiful music! My favorite solo record of them all! POB i can listen for hours! Kenny!

I’ve been really into River Song for years, but this album has grown on me at this point in my life. It’s interesting how sometimes you dismiss an album at a certain point, but when you revisit it later after experiencing more things in life they just hit so right.

It's been said that genius is not recognized in it's own time. This is true of Dennis Wilson. It's eerie that both Dennis and Taylor passed away before their time. They both were so talented.

been waiting for you to review this for a while, perfect! everytime i play this album, it becomes a 2 week obsession. i was fortunate enough to find the 2008 3xLP on blue vinyl at my local record store this year. also ken sharp's book Dreamer is an absolute must if you love this album.

Thanks for this great review. This was one of the albums I was eagerly waiting from you alongside BB Sunflower 1970. I think POB should be ranked within Rolling Stone 500 greatest album list I’m also surprised to notice that the CD I casually bought from Tower Records in Tokyo back in early 90s happened to be a rare treasure. Had I known I wouldn’t have sold it along with all other CDs couple years ago... BTW today is my birthday so this review turned out to be a great b present :-)

One of my favourite albums. I got the 2 disc version when it came out and loved it and then when I got it on vinyl I jumped for joy

This is amazing.

Great review. Just a few days ago found this for five dollars at a flea market. Been a Beach Boys fan for so long and was so happy to finally own and play it. Blows me away. So good.

Love this album. Holy Man is just beautiful as well as Farewell My Friend, Rainbow, and the River Song.

Just ordered a copy. An original pressing from 77. Cannot wait to get a hold of this!

MASTERPIECE hands down! You and I is my favorite.

Had this when it came out and liked it. I wish I had had the maturity to appreciate it at the time, now I am loving this and the whole Beach Boys early seventies thing. 11/10

Great review, I loved your enthusiasm... I wasn’t going to comment, until I heard you say “Pacific Ocean Blue” deserves “a lot of attention..and the right frame of mind”...because, I used to have this on CD, and I really wanted to like it - I had heard great things about it, and I always liked some of Dennis’ contributions, when juxtaposed with other Beach Boys songs - particularly on “Carl & The Passions/So Tough” and actually, on “L,A. Light Album” too.. but, I played “Pacific Ocean Blue” three or four times - and it just put me in a bad place emotionally listening to that album.. just the vibes - it felt, to me, like a bad energy, that I wanted to get away from, I guess.. I don’t mean to sound so spooky, but that was just my reaction at the time - about 2 or 3 years ago, and I no longer have the CD... but as you kind of said, perhaps it just wasn’t the right time - or enough time. So maybe down the road, I’ll return to it, and give it another chance, someday..

One of the things I love being a BB's fan is the countless hours of sessions material available to hear. I would LOVE to hear the sessions from this album...or watch the film from the studio that they shot during this album

He was the heart of The Beach Boys. Dennis… a pure genuine kind talented human being and Pacific Ocean blue proved how much of that talent soared through all the pain and heartbreak he endured.

I wish there was a biopic made about Dennis around this period.

Dennis had that raspy whiskey voice not your traditional Beach Boys sound but that's what makes him so charismatic. By the time POB came out his voice was starting to get pretty rough from the drugs and mainly the cigarettes but he was able to pull it off. River song is by far my favorite off the album and possibly my fave of his career.

They should have made this album and Bambu the follow ups to Holland for Christ sake instead of some of the shit we got from 1976 to 1980. With the exception of Love you and parts of the LA album.

Your emotional connection comes across on this review - thanks Giggens - 10/10 for you! I am so bummed that I was unaware of this album back in the day - I would have treasured it - my connection to Hawthorne and The Beach Boys and just the power of music like this, ugghhh. I only learned of this a couple years ago after watching "Dennis Wilson - The Real Beach Boy" documentary on YT. "Friday Night" makes me wonder if Dennis was talking about the burgeoning LA punk scene. I was 14/15 at the time of this album and I can tell you the punks were starting to make some noise. Obviously Dennis was more than at home in WeHo and Venice at the time - I dig the song. Just for context, the Wikipedia history time frame: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_rock_in_California#History "Farewell My Friend" was a tribute to Otto Hinsche. Carl sings background which is apropos. Trivia note, Carl married the sisters of two out of three members of Dino, Desi & Billy. Somewhat unrelated, and probably inappropriate, I jokingly refer to Bruce Johnston, Billy Hinsche and Terry Melcher as the Beverly Hills triplets.

Prob my fav album of all time.

GREAT review! to a greatly underrated performer/musician and album. Pacific Ocean Blue is one of the MOST cherished albums in my vinyl collection. Your comment on the three Wilson brothers is spot on, You nailed it "what a talented family". Just imagine what fantastic music the world could have had if Dennis and Carl had lived. Imagine the collaborations By the two most underrated beach Boys and arguably artist period. Oh well web still have Brian and WE will NEVER forget Dennis and Carl. To your followers I say Pacific Ocean Blue If you haven't heard it LISTEN to it. If you don't own it buy IT.

I bought this LP when it first came out, thinking it was going to be another bunch of light Beach Boy type songs. I was totally shocked when I first listened to it. It sounded like total garbage to me at the time. I just couldn't understand what I was hearing. It seemed so depressing. Over the years, I have gradually gained an appreciation for this music.

I thought this for a long time and it’s nice seeing you think the same way I do Giggins but I thought to myself I’m like I don’t know where else they could’ve gone differently as opposed to 15 big ones , love you , MIU and LA . I try to think of the other groups that were around that time a lot of progressive groups like yes Genesis or the hard rock stuff like Grand Funk Railroad the Doobie Brothers etc. I’m just trying to visualize what they could’ve done. Could they have been a little bit more horny like Chicago , a little more rocking like bachman-turner overdrive?

Giggs- Have you seen Two Lane Blacktop? As you are a 'music guy' - My forte is I'm a 'classic'/ old movies gal (with occasional drabbles in 70s films) - I just saw it today and while its not a super great movie, its a highly interesting movie, with a lot of complexities. Dennis was great on camera! Soo great!

Pretty sure Carl is at least on the river song, I can clearly hear his voice on the intro

This album resides in my top 3 favorite Beach Boys or BB adjacent/solo albums of all time. When i first heard this album fully in 2008, I honestly was like why the fun wasn’t Dennis the front man? He’s no longer with his, RIP Dennis and Carl Wilson, but he’s got more charisma and legacy of artistry and creative craft second maybe only to Brian, as a write producer. Now of course Carl had the best most versatile likely pitch perfect voice and I miss them both!

Love it ❤️

The Wilson's are a pretty good example of pressure making diamonds.

Bought a cassette version minus Bambu (The Caribou Sessions) - which is from 2001 I think but after watching your video, could be from '91, gotta check. Good album, probably signals the official end of the Beach Boys, Of course Dennis' death in 83 and Brian Wilson's self-released album from '88 confirms the band's demise. By the 80's the Band had slipped into becoming Mike Love's personal Nostalgia act. Kokomo and That's Why God Made the Radio aside, this band never recovered their mojo. Love's direction while profitable for their pocketbooks has pretty much soiled their legacy.

It should get a record release someday. On a color vinyl. Nice review!

love the RIVER SONG...

RIP Dennis W. and Taylor H.

Did Brian recycle some of 'River Song' when creating 'Rio Grande'?

Like one of the earlier commenters I bought the first CD version in 1992 in Tower Records, but in Piccadilly Circus. One copy there, £3.99 in a sale. That in itself did not surprise me. In the early eighties the LP was the darling of of the the bargain basements of Record And Tape Exchange in London. 50p was the probable price, after a few months of sitting there. I never bought it in that time. It had a good rep even then. The Beach Boys were still a big thing here, with hits around 1979 and 1980, but no one was listening to Dennis. They were out of fashion with serious rock critics. The critics came back in about ‘85 here. When I saw the original CD at around half-price in ‘92, I assumed it would be around forever, like the Brother label Caribou/ CBS CDs remained in print for so long. I didn’t expect to be buying a rarity. I have never seen another copy in a shop, not even second-hand. Online, sure. It’s nothing special as a copy, minimal inlay design, basic details, lyrics, generic Sony label design, and the sound is decent, although thin compared to the Legacy version, like say the Caribou “Sunflower” CD, compared to the two-fer from Capitol. Like another song says, “It’s ok.

GIG DADDY!!!1 A+

New sub.

I want to start doing cd reviews, do you have any advice?

In my opinion, that album is far better than anything the Beach Boys put out. Brilliant. Sadly, I only have it on CD.

I bought this based on its stellar reputation. I went all-in and picked up the Legacy 2 CD Pacific Ocean Blue/Bamboo version. However, I was very disappointed. There are some good songs here and there but most of the material on the album is weak and clearly suffers from the lack of input from the other members of the BB. In addition, Dennis’s drug ravaged voice does it no favors. I wanted to like this album, I really did, but it doesn’t deliver up to expectations.

Dennis Wilson's solo album is my favorite of any BB solo projects, followed by Carl Wilson's '81 album, followed by Brian's '88 album which had the great track 'Love and Mercy'. Dead last is Mike Love's 'Looking back with love' which is the worst piece of garbage I've ever heard......clearly the least talented of the group imo!!