Dumb Angel: The Life & Music of Dennis Wilson [Paperback]

Adam Webb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001

"Dumb Angel", the first working title of "Smile", is said to have been an expression of Brian Wilson's insight into the character of his brother Dennis.

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Dennis Wilson started out as drummer with the Beach Boys, a '60s teenage pin-up and the only true surfer in the group. He died prematurely in 1983, shortly after marrying his cousin's illegitimate love child. In between, he indulged copiously in sex and drugs, hung out with Charles Manson, married on three other occasions, wrote and sang on over twenty Beach Boys tracks, released one solo LP, and left a vast wealth of rare, beautiful studio material that remains largely unavailable to this day.

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Dumb Angel is an illustrated testament which reveals not only the highs and lows of Wilson's amazing rock and roll life and the details of his tragic early death, but focuses on the man's true legacy: his soulful, fractured voice and music.

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With a preface by Peter Buck of REM.

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In 1961, the Beach Boys scored their first hit "Surfin'." This at times too laudatory portrait of drummer Dennis Wilson (1944-83) is being published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of that event, which launched 1000 surf boards and moved millions of records. Describing the rise of the Beach Boys, London DJ and writer Webb shows how his subject initially played a minimal musical role in the band but epitomized the Beach Boys' image of sun-tanned, surfing, car-crazed babe-magnets. He then traces Dennis's growing songwriting influence as brother Brian Wilson lost his grip on reality, as well as the drummer's increasing drug habit. Chapters are also devoted to Wilson's brief stint as an actor and his 1977 solo effort, Pacific Ocean Blue, which Webb considers one of the most underrated records of the 1970s. Including interviews with minor characters from the Beach Boys' entourage, this profile succeeds in gathering the existing material about the tragic Beach Boy. Recommended. [Capitol Records has recently rereleased the Beach Boys' albums between 1962 and 1970, which may increase demand for this title. Ed.] Dave Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattl.
- Dave Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Adam Webb currently lives in London, England. He contributed to Lost Highways: An Illustrated History of Road Movies. This is his first book publication.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Creation Books (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840680512
• ISBN-13: 978-1840680515
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #819,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Okay But Error Filled, June 13, 2001

By 

Shane Ford (Los Osos, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dumb Angel: The Life & Music of Dennis Wilson (Paperback)

Adam Webb has done a good thing by bringing attention to Dennis Wilson's wonderful music. But this book needed some decent editing and fact checking in a big way. Webb continually makes mistakes that even the novice Beach Boy fan would catch. For example by stating that Dennis was not at the "Surfin" sessions. It is well documented that Dennis was there, his voice is obviously on the recording, and he sang a lead line on the B-side "Luau". Webb also states that Dennis sang lead on "Catch A Wave". No. That was Mike Love. Webb states that Brian's song "Lay Down Burden" was on his BW solo LP when in fact it was on his "Imagination" LP. These kind of annoying errors are rampant in this book. It takes away from the believability and enjoyment factor in my opinion.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book!, June 14, 2001

By 

Stewart Patterson (California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dumb Angel: The Life & Music of Dennis Wilson (Paperback)

I think this book rates really well alongside Jon Stebbin's book on Dennis from last year. There is some overlap, but Webb concentrates more on the music and deflating some myths surrounding the Beach Boys most underrated member. Most people know about Dennis for his rock n roll lifestyle and association with Charles Manson, but few know that he also created an awesome body of music.

Maybe it's a little one-sided but there are some cool interviews with key collaborators and Webb writes strongly with a genuine passion for Dennis Wilson's work. If you're intruiged by what you read here I strongly recommend that you search high and low for a copy of "Pacific Ocean Blue".

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Tribute To A Sad Life, April 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Dumb Angel: The Life & Music of Dennis Wilson (Paperback)

Dennis Wilson was always my favorite Beach Boy. He was a moving white soul singer. The author of this book pays (what in my opinion was)an overblown tribute to his accomplishments and musical talents. Pacific Ocean Blue is a great album, and I have enjoyed it for years, but it is no masterpiece. Dennis' earlier songs such as "Make It Good" & "Cuddle Up", are to me, less than successful experiments leading up to Pacific Ocean Blue.

It's a worthwhile read for BB fans, but I also think that the author missed two avenues of exploration into Dennis' life and music.

One, every BB book has some psychoanalysis of Brian's problems. Obviously, Dennis had destructive, addictive misogynistic and hedonistic tendencies, that always seem to be chalked up to Dennis "being Dennis". I think there is more to it than that. Dennis' music meant alot to him, the sad part is that drugs, alcohol and babes on the road ultimately meant more.

One also reads in interviews with various personalities that a large body of Dennis' work on Bamboo is on tape and has never been heard (as opposed to the poor quality bootleg material). I would have loved to read about the author investigating (in an in-depth fashion) about who owns this material and why they don't release it.

BB diehards will also have to overlook several factual errors (regarding the title of Murray's song and that "Lay Down Burden" was a tribute to Carl on Imagination as opposed to Brian's 1988 album, to name two).