When I recently listened to the double CD that includes Dennis Wilson’s solo album Pacific Ocean Blue and the tracks from the second planned solo album, the last couple of songs on both CDs had skips on them. Fortunately, I was able to find a used copy from an eBay seller for a good price. The cover of this second one is beat up–mine isn’t–but the CDs both sound fine. If you know me, you understand this is a crisis averted. This collection is a go-to for me when I need to find a certain kind of solace and peace. In the past, I have’t listened to it on my little CD player, so maybe a different player wouldn’t have had the same problems. I’ll check that out sometime later. For now, I’m good.
News came out this week that Dennis’s brother Brian, the oldest of the Wilson brothers, has some form of dementia. Since his wife, who recently died, managed his care, and the care of their children still living at home, a conservatorship has been approved by a court with the family’s input. Apparently, Brian’s still singing and playing at home, but he doesn’t always do well in unfamiliar situations or with unfamiliar people. I wish him the very best and hope there aren’t any issues within his family about his care or his money or property. Not everyone inside the Beach Boys organization as it now exists has been kind to him, just as they were often unkind to Dennis. There’ve been many books and articles written about them; no need for me to rehash it here. I simply think Brian’s life has been tumultuous, and his gifts so beautifully shared, that he deserves a gentle and loving twilight.
Now that I’ve been through my A to Z CD binders, I have plans for what music I’ll listen to going forward when I write. More to come.
A few photos of the Wilson brothers I’m mostly saving for my own future reference, though it’s interesting to see how they changed through the years before Dennis died in 1983 (drowning, age 39) and Carl died in 1998 (lung cancer, age 51).
Carl, Dennis, and Brian Wilson, 1964
©Getty Images: Michael Ochs Archives
Dennis, Brian, and Carl Wilson, 1967
©Getty Images: Michael Ochs Archives
Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, 1977
©Getty Images: Ron Galella
Dennis, Brian, and Carl Wilson, 1979
©Getty Images: Michael Ochs Archives
Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, 1980
©Andre Csillag/Shutterstock
Dennis, Carl, and Brian Wilson, 1980
©Andre Csillag/Shutterstock