Dennis Wilson

Bamboo was the working title of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's second solo album, an album that was, for many reasons, not completed at the time of his death by drowning on December 28, 1983. The folks at the Bamboo Archive Project (www.denniswilsondreamer.com) have lovingly and professionally assembled what they consider the definitive issue of the Bamboo sessions. Forget the other bootleg editions of this album you have; they don't count. Their substandard sound, shoddy scholarship, and inept track selection leaves them out of the running. This is, thus far, the only authoritative collection of tracks -- with fine sound and a couple of remastered and remixed cuts -- that exists. It's also cheap because these folks aren't out for cash. The sessions for Bamboo began, reportedly, before those for Pacific Ocean Blue. For various reasons, they were shelved as that album came to fruition, and after Pacific Ocean Blue was released and the Beach Boys sold their studios, came to a slow, debilitating, frustrating halt amid personal problems and internal conflicts within the Beach Boys organization. The set opens with a new mix of "Wild Situation," with backing vocals added, becomes a fully fleshed-out song instead of a jamming sketch. Others, like "Baby Blue Eyes," are mixes that combine Wilson's first version of the tune with one that was used on the Beach Boys' L.A. (Light) album and offer a view of the song as an entity that is as dark as it is pop. "Love Surrounds Me" was also included on the Beach Boys' L.A. album, but here, the track has much more immediacy and depth because of its rougher -- but far from raw -- cut. Along with other rarities, like "He's a Bum," remixed with a vibes backing track, and a gorgeous reprise of "Love Surrounds Me," there are four bonus tracks that include live versions of "Angel Come Home" and "Good Timin'," as well as studio takes of "10,000 Years" and "New Orleans." In all, this set showcases, more than any of the posthumous Dennis Wilson outings, how wildly inventive in a studio he was, and how his songwriting had taken a turn for the adventurous -- note the Brazilian rhythms in "Companion" and the slippery profundity of "It's Not Too Late" -- and the experimental. We'll never know what ultimately would have been on Bamboo, but this version is the best yet for imagining. This is essential Dennis Wilson, and should be of interest to anybody with a liking or curiosity about West Coast pop, rock, and the Beach Boys. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide