Edmonds extends a thematic approach to his commentary that, as a subhead — and life — would have it, “Nothing much was expected from Dennis Wilson.” Edmonds pegs the perception right on target when he says that the second Wilson brother was “destined to be the perennial Beach Boy afterthought,” content to be forced into the family band and be assigned the drums because that was the only instrument left. In recording sessions he was content to be replaced by studio musicians, and to cruise along with success, providing inspiration for surfing and car songs, while cashing the checks and going along for the ride.
Beyond the natural ability rarely displayed, there is much observation within the liner notes about Dennis’ sense of intuition and reliance upon immediacy - and the need to get this aspect of his talent nailed down before productivity can slip away. Because there were few precedents, says Edmonds, and no musical agenda beyond honest expression, "his music was free to become what it would.”
It is guided by instinct: interludes rise abruptly before dissolving back into the body of the song, new sections navigate unexpected turns. This was not self-conscious sonic architecture or compositional device. The effect is akin to experiencing the thoughts as they cross his mind. You feel the inspiration, not simply its painted memory.
One compares this impulsive shifting and spontaneity to big brother Brian’s reflective artistry and more conceptual mindset, especially as the mid- and late-sixties hit and pop music began to be reconsidered as art. The Beatles’ experimentalism and constant metamorphosis into concept albums seemed to spur on Pet Sounds, “Good Vibrations,” other groups’ art rock, rock operas, progressive rock, no matter how pretentious.
But Dennis may have had his limitations. “'Dennis was never a long-range thinker,'” says Gregg Jakobson, who co-produced Pacific Ocean Blue, co-wrote many of the songs, and somehow managed to keep Wilson on track. “'Dennis was the most present person I’ve known. He was so focused on each song that he hardly thought of it as an album.'” As Edmonds observes, “'these songs are frozen in the moment Dennis last worked on them, but mixed as the masterworks-in-progress they surely were.'”
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