The Smiley Smile Message Board

Bambu: The Caribou Sessions.  Double LP, limited to 3000 copies.

http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/9522

So stoked on this. I have got to get my hands on a copy.

Does anyone have any idea why Denny chose the title (as well as the spelling) "Bambu"? Interestingly, all the boots I'd had years ago entitled the project "Bamboo", but I assume that the "Bambu" spelling was completely intentional.

I did just learn from a quick Google search that "bambu" is a type of rolling paper, could that be the origin of Denny's title?:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bambu

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,5590.0.html

AWESOME

First RSD announcement I have heard in a while that has me excited!

http://recordstoreday.co.uk/exclusive-releases/rsd-2017/dennis-wilson/

The artwork is here.  I wanna know why it's two discs. What will be on the second LP?

Does anyone know if this will be in Canada? I have to get my hands on this!!

Woohoo!

I would be surprised if it was anything different than what was on disc 2 of the POB set. That tracklist is two LPs worth of music.

Has the tracklisting been made available anywhere?

Edit, that was a really stupid question. Obviously it hasn't been made available yet. I really hope there are some extras (not on the POB re-release and a cool tracklist that makes it sound more like an actual album and not just a comp of tracks.

I think I'll listen to POB tonight.

Rotate This in Toronto tweeted that people have been calling them all day asking if they're getting such-and-such, and that they have ordered "almost every single thing"  being offered for RSD, so fingers crossed... but you could always call your local participating RSD store and find out for sure :)

Awesome thanks!!

It should be noted that it is listed as a "RSD First Release," meaning that it will be widely available later on.

For years, I assumed that the title was simply, uh, a reference to Dennis's, um, favourite nickname for himself. Or rather, er... a part of himself. The name of which, perhaps unsurprisingly, he also used to refer to the, ah, whole of himself.

And then we learned that it was supposed to have been Bambu all along, not Bamboo. Which prolly makes the rolling papers connection more likely. Actually, how did that change come about? Was it based on something in the documentation for the sessions, or did the folks behind the 2008 reissue retitle it?

I'm guessing the latter is unlikely, as all the guys behind that set had such regard for Dennis, I can't imagine they would have retitled it unless they had evidence that the man himself had wanted it that way. But now I stop to think about it... I don't actually know the story of how Bamboo became Bambu. If there is one!

No real story, it seems, just a word of mouth thing that resulted the name getting misspelt on bootlegs and elsewhere: "Bambu has been referenced as 'Bamboo' in numerous articles on Dennis and the Beach Boys, but paperwork that accompanied the sessions now reveals the artist always intended for the album to be titled Bambu."

Source: http://www.pluginmusic.com/news/archive.php?id=3116

Will have to grab a copy of that!  :hat

The website is french but bare with me, you'll find the tracklist of this release here:
http://disquaireday.fr/

Click on "vinyls" and then go to the letter "D" and click on ya boi Dennis Wilson et you'll get the tracklist of this Bambu reissue.

Spoiler; there's no new material, the whole thing is just spread on the two vinyls as in with all that space it gives a less compressed sound, for a better quality audio experience, they've been doing that for a while now, see Dig Out Your Soul by Oasis on vinyl that can fit on just one but that is on two vinyls.

Note how the Taylor Hawkins remake of Holy Man is not on it.

Wasn't expecting it to, the backing track was recorded in 1974, and of course Taylor Hawkins =/= Dennis Wilson.

I'm glad to see this getting a release, even if its pretty much just the second disc of POB deluxe edition. Although I would have preferred to see them put together something more along the lines of a traditional 12-14 track single LP, it'll still be really neat to actually hold an official vinyl record of Bambu in my hands!

One thing I don't get about this release is that there was already a widely distributed version of the POB deluxe edition on LP. I believe it was a triple set and may even still be in print, although it was very expensive.

Why not use a beautiful Ed Roach photo for the package?
Seems to be a no brainer.

I have an original Booted version of Bamboo from the mid eighties found that a record collector show. It has a beautiful picture of Dennis on the front as well as some back cover photos taken on the beach at the pier. Great photos and the original album jacket. Looking forward to the release

<<Why not use a beautiful Ed Roach photo for the package?
Seems to be a no brainer.>>

Because they are using beautiful Dean Torrence photos for the package.  Dean did the album design for this new release, just as he did for Pacific Ocean Blue, back in the day, and I can't wait to see it.
 

 
   
 

Wait -- That's a beautiful photo? Him BUSTED with the boom box?
Are you making a case that the 11 Dean Torrence shots of Dennis LOADED that day trumps the brilliance of what Ed Roach has in his archive from 1975 to 1978?

<<Are you making a case that the 11 Dean Torrence shots of Dennis LOADED that day trumps the brilliance of what Ed Roach has in his archive from 1975 to 1978?>>

I don't believe I said any such thing, Howie.  Ed's an excellent photographer.  

Dean's a brilliant graphic artist, Grammy-Award Winning album designer and did some breathtaking photography for Dennis' album... amazing shots.  And that one he picked for the cover, with Dennis sitting next to the boom box, is the perfect choice for Bambu. 

I don't, Steve.
Shoulda been Ed.

I think it's a valid question to ask whether anyone even asked to peruse the approximately 10 kajillion photos Ed Roach has of Dennis.

This Bambu album cover looks like a cover you'd put on a CD of home demos. It's obviously the music inside that matters, but a "Record Store Day" release with a big 12 inch cover shot could have done better I'd have to guess.

It looks like a shitty boot. Horrible font.
Wanna revitalize the Dennis Wilson brand after a decade of NOTHING -- a lousy looking album of previously released (albeit brilliant) material ain't it.

Enough of Dennis being the bum, the loser, the fuc kup -- as that LP cover absolutely portrays.
How about Dennis the ARTIST?

When does THAT angle finally become the most viable?

Sorry to Dean's fans/followers, but that LP cover is lazy and a disservice to that music.

You have some interesting points. What photo would you have wanted them to use for this album cover?

I don't mind the photo, i think it fits it, but yeah the font and the design on the coners is super cheap, and it's a shame cause i think Dean is very talented, Love You is probably the Beach Boys best album artwork after Surf's Up.

Pixel --

Should someone cut me a check -- I'll be sure to let them know.

Hmmmm. Okay. Anyone willing to ponie up Howie's consultation fee so he can expand on his opinion?  :lol

i like the cover! it portrays Dennis being who he was, a fella 'bumming' around with some music.
but then when you hear his stuff, it's like 'wow man! your really, like REALLY great!!!'.
that seems to be the 'tone' to me on this release.

Should have gone with something like this one!

(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pqgYIEZ2gaE/V2YdzXO_WiI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/4T3RUE3bvsEYhBrLj0zfvK2xPPaNIOL1QCLcB/s1600/Bambu%2B%2528Album%2BCover%2529.jpg)

Yeah, there was never any doubt in my mind that the title was named after and/or insipired by Bambú rolling papers.

For what it's worth, I like the photo (for this specific album at least, it fits) and the font. What is "Dreamer: The Making of POB" by Ken Sharp, liner notes author? Checked amazon and book sites-nothing.

Found these (no mention of Dreamer though):

"The Making Of Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue" by Ken Sharp, Record Collector Magazine, July 2008

Source (I see a familiar name): http://www.tiptopwebsite.com/custommusic2/craigslowinskicom2.pdf

And more c-man here: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/dennis-wilsons-pacific-ocean-blue-appreciation.462689/page-6

Search for Sharp on that page (in a post by Louise Boat).

Thanks JK, I had found that piece in my search, but either in incomplete form or somehow didn't read it all the way through. A lot of great background there. Alan Boyd has said that there is a lot of very good Poops/Hubba Hubba material in the archives, and the POB tour rehearsals were tentatively planned for release after the Legacy POB/Bambu, but when it was more successful than anticipated that project was unfortunately indefinitely shelved. Those rehearsals (and the Dennis/Dragon fragments in the vaults) are amazing from all accounts and to me constitute two of the most, if not THE most, compelling potential BB -related releases that will hopefully come to fruition someday. PLEASE!!

Only in the universe of BB plans and politics could a release being *more* successful than anticipated ultimately lead to a follow-up release *not* happening.

Howie in one of his earlier posts touched on something that hadn't specifically struck me: It has been a decade of nothing as far as Dennis solo is concerned. Yes, we've had some archival bits here and there on BB releases. But jeez, the POB reissue did so well, why didn't somebody concoct *something* else to put out on the market in the last decade? I dunno, maybe the Sony/Guercio stuff is still bogged down in a ownership/control issues or something. They still should be working *that* out, but in the meantime BRI could have done their own thing with Dennis material.

Wonder if a *decade* later there would still be any buzz putting out that Brian May version of "Holy Man." I'm surprised they haven't reissued POB with that as one single new bonus track as a cash grab if nothing else.

I think it because they were  making space for the Dennis biopic. But that never happened so everything went flat on the Dennis-front.

Absolutely on point HeyJude. How does a project doing well make a similar project then less likely? That makes zero sense.

Also, in terms of scrapped Dennis projects, let us not forget Guercio also wanted to release a new Dennis album entitled Tornado, which he said would include "some recorded tracks Dennis never finished, some remixes of POB, and some unreleased POB."

Such a project has me salivating. But I also know that it has been nearly a decade since POB was reissued, and about half a decade since the book containing that information from Guercio came out, so it honestly looks pretty unlikely that there are any Denny projects in the works.

And just for the record, I have to say, I'd be kind of okay with moving past the POB era. I myself would love to hear if an album's worth of material could be constructed from his late '60s and early '70s material and I really would like to hear what there is of post L.A. (Light Album)* Dennis Wilson recordings, such as the material supposedly recorded with the lovely Christine McVie and of course that enigmatic title, 1982's "Labor Day" which is apparently Dennis' final studio recording, which may be just a track, but also just may have vocals from what has been said on this board from those who would know.

*For those wondering why I picked the L.A. (Light Album) era as a cut off, it seems as though Bambu was pretty much scrapped as an ongoing concern after Denny donated "Baby Blue" and "Love Surrounds Me" (and also attempted "Constant Companion" at a point) to that album.

Is is certainly counterintuitive that rather than increasing incentive for further releases, the success of POB Legacy decreased the momentum behind the POB rehearsals project. Unfortunately, I can't remember the specifics behind the decision, whether they felt the marketplace was saturated with DW product for the time being (no longer applicable), enough profit was realized to put the urgency of further releases on the back burner, or what.

Howie needs to write liner notes for Dennis releases, he understands the zeitgeist of who Dennis Wilson was better than anybody alive. 

Hi

(https://www.amoeba.com/sized-images/max/500/500/uploads/albums/covers/other//dennis-wilson-bambu-caribou-sessions-rsd-vinyl-2017.jpg)

https://www.amoeba.com/bambu-the-caribou-sessions-record-store-day-lp-dennis-wilson/albums/3925117/ (https://www.amoeba.com/bambu-the-caribou-sessions-record-store-day-lp-dennis-wilson/albums/3925117/)

I noticed that they had it on Amazon.co.uk too... for a price. £72.75 for the vinyl.

It looks like people were busting on this album cover earlier... I actually love it.  A lot.  The colors are great, the layout makes my eyes start at him, meander around the whole photo and then finally back to the boombox.  Then I look at the whole thing and I kind of see the ivy or whatever that is as angel's wings too.

<<It looks like people were busting on this album cover earlier... I actually love it.  A lot.  The colors are great, the layout makes my eyes start at him, meander around the whole photo and then finally back to the boombox.  Then I look at the whole thing and I kind of see the ivy or whatever that is as angel's wings too.>>

The most fascinating thing for me, about that photo:  Dennis is looking off to his left.  Something else has gotten his attention, which is very evocative of the man himself, always moving on to the next thing, yet still anchored to his music in the boom box.

Wait until you see the entire album package.  It's elegant, beautiful and epic.  Simply stunning.

Just ordered my copy from Amazon - £34.91.

picked up my copy this morning from my local record store in New Zealand DENNIS!!

The cover of this release is far, far better than the bamboo background with the small insert picture of Dennis on a beach. Looks far more professional imo.

I picked up my copy a few hours ago too.  This is a pretty damn well-done vinyl, glad to have found it.

I went and got mine as well!! Looks really nice, going to be playing it all day  :hat

Sadly my local store didn't have it.. going to have to order it.

I went to 6 record store today.  I picked up a few extra copies of Bambu if anyone wants (of course I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada so shipping might be a bit pricey) but if anyone wants to trade and has some neat-o stuff, PM and lets make a deal!  I am enjoying the tunes and the packaging thus far.  Cool to have as I missed out on the reissue of POB that came with this material the first time.

Could anyone who already got it take some photos? :)

Yeah, looking at the new cover again, I can definitely see its merits. I'm just not a fan of the small "(The Caribou Sessions)" underneath the title, it makes the album feel more like a compilation than an actual "finished" album like I'd want it to be considered as. Nothing a little time in photoshop can't fix though!

But it's not a finished album. I think the subtitle is appropriate given the circumstances.

Yeah, I know. I guess I was kinda thinking of something like the Smile Sessions. Despite being an unfinished album, nowhere on the cover does it mention anything about being The Smile Sessions, it's just SMiLE by The Beach Boys. It gives off the impression that it's an actual album as opposed to a compilation album or whatever. Hopefully I'm making sense here, because it definitely makes sense in my head!

This is a superbly completed set. I'm thoroughly pleased! Picked it up this morning at my local joint with Elton's expanded live album & the Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane single. A great day!

Okay!  Pardon my low-fi cameraphone.

I was pretty excited that I could find it in my somewhat backwoods part of the world.  It has a few tracks that I hadn't heard before.  The original Love Surrounds Me was a surprise.  The love put into this project is apparent in the liner notes and the overall presentation.  The vinyl is beautiful and the layout is excellent.  It really sounds great. 
Unfortunately I think that it suffers in a few ways.  First, for a double LP I think that 16 tracks is a little weak.  I know that there were at least a few more tracks that could have been used on it to make it a true anthology.  Or, trim off a couple and just make it a single LP.  Secondly, this really, really (how many times can I say really?  not enough.) has some sequencing problems.  The running order on 1A from It's Not Too Late to School Girl is so bad and jarring to me, the likes of which I haven't heard since The Warmth Of The Sun --> This Car Of Mine.  And then going right back to Love Remember Me is just silly.  And on 2A, to end it on I Love You --> Constant Companion is unsatisfying and also unnecessarily jarring.  Constant Companion is just screaming "first song on one of the sides", and to spend it at the end of 2A is a missed opportunity.  I am not sure why they chose to sequence it this way, I don't think it is a chronological thing, but who knows.  On the flipside, ending 1B with Are You Real was a great choice, if not pretty obvious.
The final track was a very emotional listen for me.  I absolutely loved it.  It was honestly the highlight of the record for me and I would bet that it will make some of you get real misty eyed.  Overall I am very glad that I bought this.  "Thank you" and "I want to hang out with you sometime" to Jim Guercio.

I bought it, a great companion to POB.

My copy comes via ebay from Italy, 31 Euro, that´s cheap.

Thank you! i love it how the green is overwhelming, it's a nice balance in effect to Pacific Ocean Blue with its beach and whole water, this compliments Dennis, as a lover of nature.

Could of had more pics. But oh well. Let's keep scraping that barrel. Want more unreleased stuff. No more surfin USA for the 210th time.

I was fortunate enough to pick up a vinyl copy of my own. But I haven't opened it yet.  And I am thinking of keeping it sealed.

Does anyone know if any of the mixes have been tweaked at all, or if they are identical to how they appeared on the 2008 POB reissue?

I'm never anywhere near a town that has a record store on Record Store Day. This weekend was the same as always. However, I called one of our local record stores today to see if they still had Bambu in stock, and they did! Well, they don't any more -- it's now residing at my house.  ;D

I got a copy on Amazon.de for €21.99. Still one seller here selling for €24.55 so be quick - https://www.amazon.de/dp/B06XKWXZT1/ref=pe_386171_37038021_TE_3p_dp_1

Did you realize that it includes a code for a free digital download ?

Also important to keep in mind is that, as with may RSD releases, this is really just a curio collector's item.

You can buy the 2-CD POB Legacy set on Amazon right now for $10.99 (with free immediate MP3 download), and can of course stream the stuff for free and/or cheap.

I see what you mean. Probably a little easier with Smile because the cover was finished.

Waiting on mine to come from Canada brand new and sealed via Amazon as earlier stated via this thread. It was a good job I ordered it when I did---it's over £70 now.  :lol

When you go to redeem the download, the website shows a slight variation on the cover with “The Caribou Sessions” subtitle absent. Perhaps this was an early version of the cover.

(http://i.imgur.com/hEnm8sv.jpg)

Can anyone tell me what I'm missing regarding the digital download code?  I bought my copy a few days ago and I have no information inside the packaging showing how to redeem the digital download.  Did I miss it in the liner notes somewhere?

Thanks!

A very small piece of paper that likely slipped to the very bottom of the record sleeve.

That would explain it.  I haven't fully taken the vinyl out of the sleeves, just enough to peek at the awesome green color.  Thanks, I'll have to look again.

Record Store Day started of as a really good initiative, but nowadays they should just call it Ridiculously Overpriced Re-Issue Day. And I can never find the few releases that I really want. So I didn't ever bother going to a record store on Record Store Day this year. I'd pretty much forgotten about the Bambu double-LP when I walked into my local record store today, but to my surprise, there was a copy in a box of RSD leftovers. :)

Hi

I'm really interested to know if this RSD 17 release sounds any better than the same tracks on the POB 3 LP blue vinyl release ?

 

I haven't heard the blue, but the new version sounds freaking amazing-- the pressing is about as good as any album I own.

And in my opinion, colored vinyl usually sucks. Not this one.

I'm on my second copy of this LP and each copy has serious pops during the last track on side 2 Piano Variations On Thoughts Of You.
Bad luck or a pressing problem ? Anyone else noticed this ?