Rating: 4/5
Review:
A very good package
Most Beach Boys fans (like me) will want these two albums in
their collection, and this is a good package.
You get plenty of bonus material with the original Pacific Ocean Blue,
which is a very decent album, and Bambu, which…well…isn't, really.
Pacific Ocean Blue, originally released in 1977 is rather a
lovely album, I think. I can't agree
that it's a major classic, but then very few albums are. It has some fine songs on it – River Song and
Rainbows especially, for me – and lots of genuine feeling and atmosphere. It is quite lushly produced with strings and
choirs, and it works extremely well.
Bambu, the intended follow-up, went unreleased for decades
and frankly, I can see why. It's
unfinished work, but even allowing for this, it is very weak by
comparison. The material is pretty
forgettable and Dennis is trying out a range of different styles; the result
isn't dreadful, but after a while I just start to think "Why am I
listening to this?" It's
interesting historically, but not really musically.
So, this package is ideal for me. You get all the relevant material without
having to splash out on the mediocre Bambu on its own - which I would have done,
and then been disappointed. Dennis
Wilson's overall legacy is huge, of course, and it's good to have all of this
available in addition to all the wondrous Beach Boys work – and Pacific Ocean
Blue is one to cherish.
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