The Pacific Ocean Blue reissue

[Wirestone]

I think the POB reissue got its due here. But it was, ultimately, a reissue of an album that most diehards (that is, people who would frequent a board like this) had heard.  The second disc was a great treat, but again, many of the tunes on it had been circulated for years. So again, for the die-hards, there were a couple of weeks of intense discussion, some talk about the handful of unbooted tracks, and then people moved on.

New albums and new tours are a different beast. Remember, TLOS also came out in '08, which just happened to be Brian's least expected excellent album ever, so that scrambled the equation yet again.

[Jon Stebbins]

As so many of you have written above, the 2008 POB/Bambu Sony Legacy set blew away all expectations as far as sales and critical performance was projected. The label was hoping for 40,000 sales, but knew it could be significantly less, and people thought it would review well but mostly in modest-profile media outlets. Instead it was an unexpected chart "hit" around the world...sold well over 100, 000 worldwide, went top 20 in the UK, and was Rolling Stone and Mojo reissue of the year...a Grammy nom would have been nice but other than that I think everybody was happy with how well it all went.  I remember being with a Sony exec on release day/ or the next day  and he was monitoring internal sales reports...and it really threw him back on his heels to see that POB was selling at nearly the same pace as the brand new Coldplay release that week. I think the internal report had Coldplay at #5 and POB at #6...or something like that. Anyway, it didn't go under the radar, maybe now it is a bit, but in 2008 it was a hit.

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

The second disc was a great treat, but again, many of the tunes on it had been circulated for years.

It's true that I'd heard a fair number of the Bambu songs on bootlegs before, but there were still quite a few that I hadn't and that were excellent, notably "Love Remember Me," and "Tug of Love" (though the latter wasn't technically a Bambu song).  The Taylor Hawkins vocal being added to "Holy Man" also worked out much better than I ever would have imagined, making me hope that someday there will be a similar vocal recording done for "I've Got a Friend."

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

As so many of you have written above, the 2008 POB/Bambu Sony Legacy set blew away all expectations as far as sales and critical performance was projected. The label was hoping for 40,000 sales, but knew it could be significantly less, and people thought it would review well but mostly in modest-profile media outlets. Instead it was an unexpected chart "hit" around the world...sold well over 100, 000 worldwide, went top 20 in the UK, and was Rolling Stone and Mojo reissue of the year...a Grammy nom would have been nice but other than that I think everybody was happy with how well it all went.  I remember being with a Sony exec on release day/ or the next day  and he was monitoring internal sales reports...and it really threw him back on his heels to see that POB was selling at nearly the same pace as the brand new Coldplay release that week. I think the internal report had Coldplay at #5 and POB at #6...or something like that. Anyway, it didn't go under the radar, maybe now it is a bit, but in 2008 it was a hit.

Considering how well it sold, is there any hope that there will be a release of the sessions from Dennis' first unreleased solo album, or is that hoping for too much?  At this point, I think that's probably the most interesting thing in the BB's catalogue that hasn't been released yet, save perhaps a few tracks from Adult/Child and "Stevie."

[Cabinessenceking]

As so many of you have written above, the 2008 POB/Bambu Sony Legacy set blew away all expectations as far as sales and critical performance was projected. The label was hoping for 40,000 sales, but knew it could be significantly less, and people thought it would review well but mostly in modest-profile media outlets. Instead it was an unexpected chart "hit" around the world...sold well over 100, 000 worldwide, went top 20 in the UK, and was Rolling Stone and Mojo reissue of the year...a Grammy nom would have been nice but other than that I think everybody was happy with how well it all went.  I remember being with a Sony exec on release day/ or the next day  and he was monitoring internal sales reports...and it really threw him back on his heels to see that POB was selling at nearly the same pace as the brand new Coldplay release that week. I think the internal report had Coldplay at #5 and POB at #6...or something like that. Anyway, it didn't go under the radar, maybe now it is a bit, but in 2008 it was a hit.

Considering how well it sold, is there any hope that there will be a release of the sessions from Dennis' first unreleased solo album, or is that hoping for too much?  At this point, I think that's probably the most interesting thing in the BB's catalogue that hasn't been released yet, save perhaps a few tracks from Adult/Child and "Stevie."

and like aything else written during the Friends period and 1974/75

[The Shift]

It's true that I'd heard a fair number of the Bambu songs on bootlegs before, but there were still quite a few that I hadn't …

I think just about everything on Bambu hadn't been heard in the versions presented there. And the fidelity was incredible.

[Mike's Beard]

As so many of you have written above, the 2008 POB/Bambu Sony Legacy set blew away all expectations as far as sales and critical performance was projected. The label was hoping for 40,000 sales, but knew it could be significantly less, and people thought it would review well but mostly in modest-profile media outlets. Instead it was an unexpected chart "hit" around the world...sold well over 100, 000 worldwide, went top 20 in the UK, and was Rolling Stone and Mojo reissue of the year...a Grammy nom would have been nice but other than that I think everybody was happy with how well it all went.  I remember being with a Sony exec on release day/ or the next day  and he was monitoring internal sales reports...and it really threw him back on his heels to see that POB was selling at nearly the same pace as the brand new Coldplay release that week. I think the internal report had Coldplay at #5 and POB at #6...or something like that. Anyway, it didn't go under the radar, maybe now it is a bit, but in 2008 it was a hit.

Considering how well it sold, is there any hope that there will be a release of the sessions from Dennis' first unreleased solo album, or is that hoping for too much?  At this point, I think that's probably the most interesting thing in the BB's catalogue that hasn't been released yet, save perhaps a few tracks from Adult/Child and "Stevie."

and like aything else written during the Friends period and 1974/75

And the 'shelved' second Flame album. And the Manson demos.

[Rich E P]

Is the 2 cd version (with Bambu) still in print, or is it just the 1 cd POB version now?  I know the 2 cd version is still relatively easy to come by and not really htf but I am just curious if the two cd version is still being manufactured.  Also does everyone here have the original limited edition 2 cd version with the digipak and extra liner notes and fold out packaging?  As a full on geek collector I really loved the initial packaging for the 2 cd POB / Bambu set.  I've got a few extra sealed copies if anyone wants to do some trading...

[Paulos]

The POB reissue is brilliant and worth it for Holy Man and Mexico alone.

[Malc]

The second disc was a great treat, but again, many of the tunes on it had been circulated for years.

It's true that I'd heard a fair number of the Bambu songs on bootlegs before, but there were still quite a few that I hadn't and that were excellent, notably "Love Remember Me," and "Tug of Love" (though the latter wasn't technically a Bambu song).  The Taylor Hawkins vocal being added to "Holy Man" also worked out much better than I ever would have imagined, making me hope that someday there will be a similar vocal recording done for "I've Got a Friend."

Now THAT would be something awesome ! IGAF is another one of those lost gems. Anyone in the 'know' know if that's even a possibility ? Get Taylor in again ...

[Jon Stebbins]

As so many of you have written above, the 2008 POB/Bambu Sony Legacy set blew away all expectations as far as sales and critical performance was projected. The label was hoping for 40,000 sales, but knew it could be significantly less, and people thought it would review well but mostly in modest-profile media outlets. Instead it was an unexpected chart "hit" around the world...sold well over 100, 000 worldwide, went top 20 in the UK, and was Rolling Stone and Mojo reissue of the year...a Grammy nom would have been nice but other than that I think everybody was happy with how well it all went.  I remember being with a Sony exec on release day/ or the next day  and he was monitoring internal sales reports...and it really threw him back on his heels to see that POB was selling at nearly the same pace as the brand new Coldplay release that week. I think the internal report had Coldplay at #5 and POB at #6...or something like that. Anyway, it didn't go under the radar, maybe now it is a bit, but in 2008 it was a hit.

Considering how well it sold, is there any hope that there will be a release of the sessions from Dennis' first unreleased solo album, or is that hoping for too much?  At this point, I think that's probably the most interesting thing in the BB's catalogue that hasn't been released yet, save perhaps a few tracks from Adult/Child and "Stevie."

Unfortunately those two entities are somewhat disconnected...the POB/Bambu era stuff being controlled by Jim Guercio needed no real approval or maneuvering through the Beach Boys/BRI/Capitol infrastructure...which made getting it out a bit simpler IMO. It was spearheaded by the fact that Guercio owned the masters, loved POB and wanted it out, he put his money into getting it rolling, handpicked his team to help him do the work, got Sony execs on board.... and the rest is history. The pre-Caribou era material would have to be BRI approved, and so much of it was recorded with the Beach Boys, or on the Beach Boys dime etc... This makes for a more difficult path to a pure Dennis release, and we've seen in the past some reluctance and indifference towards Dennis from certain parties in that power structure. Its so great that we're getting some fantastic Dennis rarities on these Capitol releases, but it would be even better to hear them in what i would describe as their proper context, surrounded by other Dennis material. Guercio has talked about doing a follow up with more Caribou era tracks (yes there are some), and the live POB tour rehearsals etc... Haven't talked to him in a while, but I'd bet he'd still like to do that at some point.

[pixletwin]

Well they would have my money if they ever saw their way to it.

[Jim V.]

As so many of you have written above, the 2008 POB/Bambu Sony Legacy set blew away all expectations as far as sales and critical performance was projected. The label was hoping for 40,000 sales, but knew it could be significantly less, and people thought it would review well but mostly in modest-profile media outlets. Instead it was an unexpected chart "hit" around the world...sold well over 100, 000 worldwide, went top 20 in the UK, and was Rolling Stone and Mojo reissue of the year...a Grammy nom would have been nice but other than that I think everybody was happy with how well it all went.  I remember being with a Sony exec on release day/ or the next day  and he was monitoring internal sales reports...and it really threw him back on his heels to see that POB was selling at nearly the same pace as the brand new Coldplay release that week. I think the internal report had Coldplay at #5 and POB at #6...or something like that. Anyway, it didn't go under the radar, maybe now it is a bit, but in 2008 it was a hit.

Considering how well it sold, is there any hope that there will be a release of the sessions from Dennis' first unreleased solo album, or is that hoping for too much?  At this point, I think that's probably the most interesting thing in the BB's catalogue that hasn't been released yet, save perhaps a few tracks from Adult/Child and "Stevie."

Unfortunately those two entities are somewhat disconnected...the POB/Bambu era stuff being controlled by Jim Guercio needed no real approval or maneuvering through the Beach Boys/BRI/Capitol infrastructure...which made getting it out a bit simpler IMO. It was spearheaded by the fact that Guercio owned the masters, loved POB and wanted it out, he put his money into getting it rolling, handpicked his team to help him do the work, got Sony execs on board.... and the rest is history. The pre-Caribou era material would have to be BRI approved, and so much of it was recorded with the Beach Boys, or on the Beach Boys dime etc... This makes for a more difficult path to a pure Dennis release, and we've seen in the past some reluctance and indifference towards Dennis from certain parties in that power structure. Its so great that we're getting some fantastic Dennis rarities on these Capitol releases, but it would be even better to hear them in what i would describe as their proper context, surrounded by other Dennis material. Guercio has talked about doing a follow up with more Caribou era tracks (yes there are some), and the live POB tour rehearsals etc... Haven't talked to him in a while, but I'd bet he'd still like to do that at some point.

What is the status of that album Tornado that Guercio was gonna put out? He said it would have stuff like "some recorded tracks Dennis never finished, some remixes of POB, and some unreleased POB." However, I have never seen anything about this besides in that book. I sure hope that this project is a reality though, because judging by Andrew's site, we could end up with some nice stuff, possibly like a reworking of "Lady" known as "Flowers Come In The Spring" and other interesting titles like "Taking Off" and "I Didn't Mean To Make You Worry." I do wonder what "remixes of POB" would be though. Probably vocals only mixes and stuff like that I assume. Or just alternate versions. I also think it would be cool if whoever is in charge of Dennis' post L.A. (Light Album) material could round up all that they can find of that material and get the best of that out. Supposedly Denny did more recording during this period than we know of. Plus there might be material with Christine McVie, right?

Anyways, I would say that the Dennis Wilson story won't be more clearly defined until his attempt at an early '70s solo album and his later work are collected and released.

[Mikie]

As so many of you have written above, the 2008 POB/Bambu Sony Legacy set blew away all expectations as far as sales and critical performance was projected. The label was hoping for 40,000 sales, but knew it could be significantly less, and people thought it would review well but mostly in modest-profile media outlets. Instead it was an unexpected chart "hit" around the world...sold well over 100, 000 worldwide, went top 20 in the UK, and was Rolling Stone and Mojo reissue of the year...a Grammy nom would have been nice but other than that I think everybody was happy with how well it all went.  I remember being with a Sony exec on release day/ or the next day  and he was monitoring internal sales reports...and it really threw him back on his heels to see that POB was selling at nearly the same pace as the brand new Coldplay release that week. I think the internal report had Coldplay at #5 and POB at #6...or something like that. Anyway, it didn't go under the radar, maybe now it is a bit, but in 2008 it was a hit.

Considering how well it sold, is there any hope that there will be a release of the sessions from Dennis' first unreleased solo album, or is that hoping for too much?  At this point, I think that's probably the most interesting thing in the BB's catalogue that hasn't been released yet, save perhaps a few tracks from Adult/Child and "Stevie."

Unfortunately those two entities are somewhat disconnected...the POB/Bambu era stuff being controlled by Jim Guercio needed no real approval or maneuvering through the Beach Boys/BRI/Capitol infrastructure...which made getting it out a bit simpler IMO. It was spearheaded by the fact that Guercio owned the masters, loved POB and wanted it out, he put his money into getting it rolling, handpicked his team to help him do the work, got Sony execs on board.... and the rest is history. The pre-Caribou era material would have to be BRI approved, and so much of it was recorded with the Beach Boys, or on the Beach Boys dime etc... This makes for a more difficult path to a pure Dennis release, and we've seen in the past some reluctance and indifference towards Dennis from certain parties in that power structure. Its so great that we're getting some fantastic Dennis rarities on these Capitol releases, but it would be even better to hear them in what i would describe as their proper context, surrounded by other Dennis material. Guercio has talked about doing a follow up with more Caribou era tracks (yes there are some), and the live POB tour rehearsals etc... Haven't talked to him in a while, but I'd bet he'd still like to do that at some point.

I remember the years leading up to the re-release of POB wasn't that smooth going. It was a long wait. Seems like only yesterday that communication with Guercio was non-existant and when approached about it, he seemed to balk at first or at least didn't express much interest. At one point it seemed the potential was stalled as there were also issues with copyrights and figuring out royalties and the rest. At one point there was also the Sony/Legacy deal which I guess was full throttle up after Guercio bought into the idea. So there was a long road leading up to it after the original CD release in 1990 (which in itself was a long road after the original release in 1977 and the price of it skyrocketed). I'm rambling. 'Cause I'm a ramblin' man.

[Jason]

Allegedly Dennis did his own mix of POB as well; if that still exists I'd love to hear it. I don't know why it wasn't slotted onto the POB reissue in the first place. I think there would have been enough for room for that without losing the outtakes.

[Alan Smith]

Allegedly Dennis did his own mix of POB as well; if that still exists I'd love to hear it.

Me too, it would be a really interesting take on what is already, for me, my desert island disc.

It was the best of times, and the worst of times, for a BB newbie in the summer of '82, with scant product in my local shopping centre (mall).  My 3rd purchase after SS/SUSA and BB Ballads was Ten Years of Harmony (on cassette) - no liner notes - so I had no idea that one of the best tracks, River Song was in from POB.  When I got the vinyl version of 10years, I noticed the POB reference on the inner sleeve: which  kicked off a long long fascination (equalled only by the then futile allure of Smile, as tantilisingly mentioned in the Tom Nolan article) which I didn't get to itch until the late ninties, when someone on a message board kindly sent me a copy of POB (cassette, again).

Nearly fainted when I finally found a vinyl copy a few years later; helped the guys in the record store  carry in and open the box when the reissue CD came out; praised the gods when my vinyl re-issue turned up.

There are many reasons why I love this album - there are few BB albums I would choose over this - and the reissue was/is gold - great topic RBB, and here's to James G possibly producing more of the good stuff

[Jon Stebbins]

Allegedly Dennis did his own mix of POB as well; if that still exists I'd love to hear it. I don't know why it wasn't slotted onto the POB reissue in the first place. I think there would have been enough for room for that without losing the outtakes.

I think "allegedly" pretty much sums up that statement. There are some tatty reference cassettes with rough mixes, mostly incomplete bits, some of those mixes were done by Dennis just so he could go home and listen to stuff...as well as some of his engineers and friends. A few of them are what i guess you'd call complete...and a few of them are revealing at some level, better even. But in no way is there a complete POB album mix done by Dennis, let alone one that exists on actual studio reels. One of the most interesting things that remain from that era are longer edits, like Rainbows exists with a bunch of extra parts. The POB rehearsal tapes have way more lead vocals on them than i had thought years ago, and apparently there are reels of Dennis/Christine recordings in existence...again more reels than originally thought...not in the possession of Guercio though. As was mentioned up the thread Guercio was toying with a plan to pull these things, a few more unreleased POB/Bambu tracks and other odds and ends together for a release titled "Tornado"...(title was my suggestion to Guercio by the way)...Dennis had used that as a working title for one of the three CBS/Caribou planned albums he signed his orig. deal to record...POB being the only one that made it to the finish line. I'd love to see Guercio do the third chapter, even if it is odds and ends because so many of them are great.

[pixletwin]

I won't lie. I really want to hear "Labor Day". Is that something Guercio has access to is that tangled up with Brother Rec?

[Jon Stebbins]

I won't lie. I really want to hear "Labor Day". Is that something Guercio has access to is that tangled up with Brother Rec?

Not A Guercio recording. From what I understand its just some piano noodling, nothing structured..but i haven't heard it so that's just what i was told.

[Jason]

Allegedly Dennis did his own mix of POB as well; if that still exists I'd love to hear it. I don't know why it wasn't slotted onto the POB reissue in the first place. I think there would have been enough for room for that without losing the outtakes.

I think "allegedly" pretty much sums up that statement. There are some tatty reference cassettes with rough mixes, mostly incomplete bits, some of those mixes were done by Dennis just so he could go home and listen to stuff...as well as some of his engineers and friends. A few of them are what i guess you'd call complete...and a few of them are revealing at some level, better even. But in no way is there a complete POB album mix done by Dennis, let alone one that exists on actual studio reels. One of the most interesting things that remain from that era are longer edits, like Rainbows exists with a bunch of extra parts. The POB rehearsal tapes have way more lead vocals on them than i had thought years ago, and apparently there are reels of Dennis/Christine recordings in existence...again more reels than originally thought...not in the possession of Guercio though. As was mentioned up the thread Guercio was toying with a plan to pull these things, a few more unreleased POB/Bambu tracks and other odds and ends together for a release titled "Tornado"...(title was my suggestion to Guercio by the way)...Dennis had used that as a working title for one of the three CBS/Caribou planned albums he signed his orig. deal to record...POB being the only one that made it to the finish line. I'd love to see Guercio do the third chapter, even if it is odds and ends because so many of them are great.

If I remember correctly, a few years back (I think) you mentioned that there were some piano/vocal tracks. Were these demos for stuff that we already know/have heard, or are some of these unknown to us as far as titles are concerned? I know that the "Album Tag Song" is bisected with one of these piano/vocal tracks (what was logged as "Album tag" was the instrumental sequence with the low backing vocals), and obviously My Love Lives On is another example.

Also, I think you also said that Piano Variations on Thoughts of You was a version of a track called Takin' Off. Is there a more complete version of that in existence?

Apologies if I may have misquoted you; I might have been quoting Alan Boyd by accident since he also talked a bit about the Dennis material on the POB set on here.

[Mikie]

Would love to hear a re-mix of the POB album. I would suspect that Hanlon or anybody else wouldn't be willing to do this on their own without funds coming in to support the effort. That would have to come from Guercio, right, as it would be copyright infringement if someone went ahead and did it without authorization? You know, as a "hobby project" or something for the fans). I think it was you, Jon, who said back in '08 that there's quite a bit of neat stuff going on in the underlying mix that's pretty much buried on the released version.

[Sam_BFC]

I've always been interested in what became of the version of Holy Man that Queen added some parts to.  This track would seem to be a good contender for the Tornado release.

[c-man]

Would love to hear a re-mix of the POB album. I would suspect that Hanlon or anybody else wouldn't be willing to do this on their own without funds coming in to support the effort. That would have to come from Guercio, right, as it would be copyright infringement if someone went ahead and did it without authorization? You know, as a "hobby project" or something for the fans). I think it was you, Jon, who said back in '08 that there's quite a bit of neat stuff going on in the underlying mix that's pretty much buried on the released version.

Wouldn't be possible for "River Song", as that 2" multi-track tape is missing, last I heard.

[Shady]

The reissue did it's job. "River Song" ended up in Marley and Me.

[Mikie]

Would love to hear a re-mix of the POB album. I would suspect that Hanlon or anybody else wouldn't be willing to do this on their own without funds coming in to support the effort. That would have to come from Guercio, right, as it would be copyright infringement if someone went ahead and did it without authorization? You know, as a "hobby project" or something for the fans). I think it was you, Jon, who said back in '08 that there's quite a bit of neat stuff going on in the underlying mix that's pretty much buried on the released version.

Wouldn't be possible for "River Song", as that 2" multi-track tape is missing, last I heard.

Well that really sucks. Best song on the album and it's missing. Too bad.