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Despite the positive stuff I'd read about this 2-CD set, I was still flabbergasted when I listened to it whole. This isn't background music. I was completely drawn into Dennis's deep reservoir of emotion and sound, and this goes for both disks. PACIFIC OCEAN BLUE is wonderful, but so is BAMBU. It's not a set of half-finished sketches, as the publicity had me believe. Perhaps it's not what Dennis would have ultimately released, but it's fine by me. It's better than fine, it's fantastic. As I write this I'm listening to BAMBU. Here comes "Constant Companion." There are a number of what I classify spirituals on these disks, and "Constant Companion" is one of the best (another is "River Song" from POB). Then there's the opener, "Under the Moonlight," a superb rocking riff on the laughable egotism of rock musicians. "It's Not Too Late," with a heart-rending vocal by Carl Wilson, will give you chills. "Common" is a simple, meditative instrumental featuring Dennis's piano and innovative harmonies, which moves into a minimalist new-agey frame towards the end. It's beautiful. For its time, Dennis was breaking new ground. Who knew?
Not every single track in the collection is a masterpiece, but the overwhelming majority is either great rock 'n roll or beautiful, heartfelt meditations on love and life's purpose. POB is a unified finished product, with many standouts. Dennis mixed up tempos and styles within one song, making for surprising musical twists. In "Dreamer," horns come in at the end of each verse with a wailing Dixieland/blues chorus. There's lots of variety too. "You and I" is a gentle bossa with lovely jazz harmonies; "Farewell My Friend" is an unabashed love song/requiem, "Thoughts of You," is a wrenching ballad about regrets and loss, and of course, there's the opener, "River Song," with a full gospel choir, expressing Dennis's longing for freedom and the natural world.
I hear numerous musical influences on these CDs: Beatles, Stones, Brian and the Beach Boys, jazz, r&b, doowop, even classical. But none of these styles defines Dennis. He had his own Muse. Dennis was a true artist, as original and creative as Brian in his own way. The word "meditation" comes to me over and over again: these songs are meditations on love, joy, heartache, dreams, spirituality, loss, life and death. Like a meditation, when Dennis sang he was fully engaged in the present moment.
About Denny's controversial voice, I have no idea what the problem is. If you like Bruce Springsteen, Joe Cocker, Tom Waits, or Mark Knopfler, you will like Dennis's singing. He's solidly in that unpolished, white soul singer tradition, completely honest and emotional. I'm willing to bet that many people who dislike his voice are just uncomfortable with the degree of feeling and vulnerability he allows us to hear.
If you have even a slight curiosity about Dennis or are simply open to hearing unusual and excellent rock music from the 70's, buy this thing, please, and get ready to be moved. Note to Dennis: with these two CD's in my hands, I miss you a little bit less.
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- Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2008
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