Cabin Essence Blog

In the early part of the 60s, the album was not that important. The Beatles, Dylan and our very own Pet Sounds turned that around, but it was the Beach Boys single releases that were primarily resonsible for the fame of the group, and the platform that allowed Brian Wilson to release Pet Sounds and his other later works.

The new Capitol box set celebrates this with 15 singles that took the band from Surfin’ Safari to California Girls- that more innocent era that celebrated the surf, cars and girls of California and essentially created the Californian dream before the formula was tossed aside and times got more complicated. So you get a chance to hear the Beach Boys in the same way that the original fans did -the Surfin’ Safari/409 single that started them on the road to fame, the Surfin’ USA/Shut Down release that made them hit the big time, I Get Around/Don’t Worry Baby which was surely one of the greatest 2 sides of 7 inch single ever and the astonishing When I Grow To Be Man/She Knows Me Too Well late 1964 single which showed Brian was already forging ahead in vision and production.

Each CD single has bonus tracks, usually alternate mixes of the original mono single. Eight of these are unreleased – a live 409,  stereo mixes of Little Saint Nick, When I Grow To Be A Man, Do You Wanna Dance and She Knows Me Too Well and mono version of Why Do Fools Fall In Love, All Dressed For School and I’m So Young; the last two off a bonus 16th disc.

It’s an expensive collection but as a celebration of the releases that gave the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson fame and fortune, it’s a worthwhile reminder of the greatness of those early years.

All three of the Wilson brothers are larger than life figures. Carl Wilson had the voice of an angel and was known as a gentle, peacemaking soul. We all celebrate Brian Wilson, especially today on his birthday, as an epoch-defining genius musician who has risen back from the ashes of near-oblivion.

But this month, our thoughts are on the middle brother, Dennis. It’s now almost a quarter century since he passed on and the mythology grows of the impossibly handsome, impossibly generous but yet tragically wasted drummer of the Beach Boys. The non-availability of his cult solo work has helped this mythology, but now we have not only the re-release of his only solo album but more than an albums worth of unreleased material.

It’s been a hellishly long time but boy, hasn’t it been worth it. Most of knew Pacific Ocean Blue, even if we got it less than legally, but we are reminded that this is not just the first solo album of a Beach Boy, but a brave, soulful record put out in the confusion of disco and punk and ummm…an oil crisis. We are reminded that Dennis may have not had a conventional voice or view of music, but he captured a mood and a feeling in a very real way. And as the title track reminds us, it’s not just the oil crisis that has a deja vu feeling on the album.

Bonus tracks are normally just icing on the cake, but on this release, it’s another three course meal. Tug Of Love, Holy Man, It’s Not Too Late, Love Remember Me, Cocktails, I Love You may have been names of songs a few weeks ago but they are now clear evidence that the talents of Dennis Wilson didn’t end with one solo album.

The album is getting good critical reviews all round, and one hopes this will translate into reasonable sales. My UK sample of one indicated that the album was getting reasonable promotion on that side of the Atlantic, although the news I hear from friends on the other side of the ocean is less encouraging.

Put this on your absolute essential Beach Boys list -nay, your essential list for a being a fan of rock music. And I can’t get Wild Situation out of my mind  – single release, anyone?