I didn't catch that last part at first. I finally bought that Brenda Russell's Two Eyes and heard "Hello People" I could literally play that song all day, ha.
Channel 17 from June 21 until July 6. Channel 13 from July 7 until Sept. 6. Or Channel 311 all the time (not just summer) if you have a supported radio.
Patrick Swayze is the only artist I could think of who starred in action films and played yacht rock.
Three West Coast/Yacht Rock albums that I purchased on CD in the past year and really enjoy are Eric Tagg's "Dreamwalkin' " (1982) and Lee Ritenour's "Rit" (1981) and "Rit 2." (1982) The three LPs are all of a piece: Ritenour produced Tagg's album, while Tagg performs vocals on the two Ritenour discs, including on the hit (and West Coast classic) "Is It You?" The "Rit 2" album includes a slightly different version of the song "Dreamwalkin' " (also sung by Tagg) than the one on Tagg's self-titled LP. Both versions are great, IMO. The three albums include performances from several of the key musicians of the late 1970s/early 1980s West Coast sound: Ritenour (guitar), David Foster (keyboards), Greg Mathieson (keyboards), Jerry Hey (horns), Bill Champlin (background vocals), Richard Page and Steve George (background vocals), Abraham Laboriel (bass), Jeff Porcaro (drums), John Robinson (drums), Paulinho Da Costa (percussion) ... the list goes on. Basically, if you like well-crafted, jazz- and R&B-inflected pop/rock with that early 1980s L.A. studio sound (and who doesn't? LOL), these LPs will be right up your alley. The Tagg album is more obscure and can be a little harder to find. I paid a higher import price to get it on CD, but it was worth it. (Interestingly, as far as I can tell, the Tagg LP was originally released in 1982 only in Japan on the Agharta label; there was no U.S. version). I was able to snag the Ritenour albums on a two-fer CD that was priced more affordably.
Rit 2 is gold, baby, gold! Really enjoy that one. I haven't heard the Eric Tagg album, although I like is work with Rit.
I think you'll like the Tagg album if you like "Rit 2." Pretty similar sounding. For years, I searched for a used vinyl copy of Tagg's "Dreamwalkin' " because I had seen it listed in a few places as a quintessential West Coast LP. I still have never seen a vinyl copy. I now realize that the LP's scarcity is due to the fact that it was originally released in Japan in 1982 but not the U.S. I finally found an import CD version of it. Many of the albums that make West Coast/AOR "best-of" lists can be found cheaply on vinyl at well-stocked used record stores, but there have been a few over the years that I haven't been able to track down on that format: -- Dara Sedaka, "I'm Your Girl Friend" (1982) (This also was originally released in Japan and not the U.S., hence its scarcity. I eventually found a CD copy.) -- Rick Bowles, "Free for the Evening" (1982) (I have never seen this LP; it has a great cover, though!) -- David Foster, "The Best of Me" (1983) (This was originally released in Japan but eventually saw a U.S. release, although it may have been limited.) -- Byrne and Barnes, “An Eye for an Eye” (1981) (This is another LP I haven't tracked down on vinyl; an import CD version may be my best bet.)
Breezy, smooth, with escapism as its central theme, offshore preferably, with island spice subtly underscoring an otherwise low relaxed pulse. I can see why some Dan songs have been offered up, and can make a case for a few selections from their catalog (Babylon Sisters), but think their music generally is too cerebral for this genre. Let me throw out a curveball: Haircut One Hundred- Love Plus One.
VERY interesting. More of a new wave/yacht rock hybrid, but I can definitely see it. H100 were a unique band, and really no one of their time sounded like them. Pelican West was one of the best albums of the eighties, but you'll never see it show up on any best-of lists. BTW the cd of that album sounds incredible.
If you're in SoCal, I'll be playing Yacht Rock tomorrow night (Saturday) at Slidebar in Fullerton. We're called Yachty By Nature!
Man, I missed all kinds of stuff here—that'll teach me to take a vacation. So, Haircut 100. I think maybe the sax is throwing you off here, because the song is a hard "no" for yacht rock. Sort of hybrid of the era's New Romantic and Sophistipop sounds with a bit of a Caribbean "Rhythm of the Night" vibraphone or marimba thrown in. It is smooth, but it really has none of the classic yacht elements or instruments, and definitely has none of the studio stalwarts. As far as Steely Dan goes, as has been discussed, only the latter Steely Dan albums, particularly Gaucho, are yacht rock, although some tracks on the earlier albums definitely hint at what's to come. In terms of being cerebral, that's actually one of the hallmarks of real yacht rock tracks; dark themes and somewhat obtuse lyrics are common.
I'm pretty sure this is available as an import, and it's almost certainly worth whatever it costs, because it is a stellar yacht rock album, one of the best, and might be THE cult classic among yacht rock/Westcoast collectors.
Wow... Byrnes & Barnes is incredible! Love discovering some of this more obscure west coast yacht rock!
Back in 1977 in high school, one of my classmates' last name was Ritenour. I suppose I was known as being a "music guy" back then, so my friend sat down and starts mumbling about his cousin ... "he's kind of a famous, um, hot shot guitar player, I guess, ... I don't know ... his name is Lee, Lee Ritenour ... yeah, you probably don't know him ... I guess he's a big deal, but I don't know ..." And I'm just nodding, o-k, sure, whatever. And a few years later I start noticing Lee Ritenour popping up here and there. By golly, my old pal was right -- definitely a big deal.
