In truth, Dennis' drinking and smoking would probably have continued to stymie his efforts to release a follow-up to 1977's Pacific Ocean Blue, but his Bambu venture was at least partially realised at the time of his death. Check Sony's excellent 2008 double-disc reissue of both projects for evidence of where Wilson's soulful tunes were tracking.
Pacific Ocean Blue didn't exactly come out of nowhere. Wilson had long been contributing songs to the Beach Boys, even taking lead-vocal duties once in a while. But few could have expected the notorious party animal to deliver such a contemplative, evocative work.
It's a difficult album to describe, if only because it sounds like little else. Sure, there are echoes of Wilson's day-job band, but they come from a parallel universe where the sun isn't so bright and the surf has long washed away any footprints in the sand. His muted, rasping vocals are a mile away from Brian or Carl's, yet they share the same spiritual qualities.
The music possesses more in common with a thickly daubed painting than any of the countless platters of vinyl Wilson had so far attached his name to, and his piano-playing expresses a depth of feeling his drumming could not.
From the gospel-soul of River Song to the woozy boogie of What's Wrong, the cruisy rock of Dreamer and the aching beauty of ballads Moonshine and End Of The Show, Wilson delivers the Californian equivalent of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass.
