In one telling passage, jazz musician Carli Munoz, who once played keyboards in the Beach Boys touring band, had an astute observation:
'Dennis wasn’t that fast when it came to mastering technique. He had to work hard at it, and he did. But he was very quick to get the feel, the soul of the music. He wanted to get down to the bone, and then to the marrow. He took chances. He had no brakes, and he didn’t think about consequences. He went for it right now. That makes for passionate music, but it can be a hard way to live.'
Perhaps being a "perennial Beach Boy afterthought" gave Dennis the time for study and reflection that allowed him to develop his musical soul and passion away from the group, making his accomplishments all the more stunning when he brought his gifts and ideas to the boys and the recording studio, both to such Beach Boys gems as Sunflower and to his solo projects. And on a more personal front, there are many melancholic clues and lyrical cues a listener can speculate upon as to the solace his music gave him from ongoing family, relationship, and self-reflective concerns driving or inspiring him. Whatever the source, Edmonds tells us that "every note bears his spiritual signiture."
Or even more to the point are Dennis Wilson's words: “Everything that I am or will ever be is in the music. If you want to know me, just listen,”
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