Pacific Ocean Blue

Mojo Magazine put it on their "Lost Albums You Must Own" list. Robert Dimery declared it an album you must hear before you die. Opus, soulful, masterpiece, haunting, cult classic and unexpected treasure have been just a few of the terms used by critics and fans to describe Pacific Ocean Blue.

Pacific Ocean Blue was the first solo album released by a Beach Boy and was born out of creative frustration.  Dennis and Carl both stepped up as strong creative forces when Brian was not working with the Beach Boys, then were relegated to the back burner when he returned.  After contributing some of the stronger work in the Beach Boys catalog as evidenced on the Friends, Sunflower and 20/20 albums, Dennis wanted to progress and explore new territory, not churn out the same oldies music about surfing and cars.  He had progressive material, but it didn't fit the Beach Boys formula.  In true Dennis style, he refused to be chained creatively, so he took songs he had co-written with his friend Gregg Jakobson to Jim Guercio, head of Caribou Records, and recorded a bulk of the album from the fall of 1976 through the following spring. The album was released August 22, 1977.

Pacific Ocean Blue was unexpected, moving and delightful.  It was not driven by the desire for fame, money or popularity, but was driven by the desire for honesty and integrity.  Engineer Earle Mankey said, “When Dennis was working on Pacific Ocean Blue — from a musical perspective — he would always say, ‘All this song has to have is the truth.’ People would start talking about notes, parts, the melody or the rhythm, and he would say, ‘It’s the truth.’ That’s all that mattered to him.”  And it was absolutely the truth.  Every high and low in his life was expressed in full disclosure, with the soulful earnestness only Dennis was capable of expressing.  Much like Dennis, the songs are unpredictable and weave between plaintive softness, to having all hell break loose, then settling into a gentle groove again.  There are no cars, no hamburger stands, and there is no borrowing from the Beach Boys sound.  This album was entirely Dennis' own.

Though album sales were modest, Pacific Ocean Blue did outsell The Beach Boys Love You two to one, and it was received positively by critics and fans alike.  Encouraged by the response, Dennis immediately began working on a follow up album, Bambu.  Unfortunately Dennis succumbed to his demons and drowned in 1983, leaving Bambu unfinished and Pacific Ocean Blue out of print.  The album remained "lost" and became a subject of legend and a cult classic, something one could only purchase on eBay sales for a pretty penny.

Much to fans' delight, Legacy Records released a reissue of the album in 2008, along with unreleased material from the Bambu album Dennis was working on when he died.  The response from critics and fans was immediate. The Pacific Ocean Blue re-issue was the #4 rock release for Amazon.com on the day of release. The album was a top-seller in the UK and Europe, having debuted at #16 on the UK Album Chart, #67 in the Netherlands, #71 in Ireland, and shooting to #5 in Norway.  It also went to #8 on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Albums chart.  Chris Shields of the St. Cloud Times referred to the songs as "jaw-dropping aural tapestries".  Pitchfork called it "a wonderful study in Beach Boys surfer soul imbued with the expressiveness of Dennis' piano style."  Uncut Magazine rated the album 5 stars and said "key moments of Pacific Ocean Blue square dramatically up to your loftiest expectations."  The album was 31 years old yet was received as if it were cut mere months before, proving that Dennis was not only ahead of his time, but that great music is timeless and can never die.