Yeah, that pretty much covers it. Basically, it should be a smooth late 70s-early '80s pop/rock song with elements of jazz and soul without being jazz or soul. One clarification: While an inexplicably large number of yacht rock songs refer to "the fool" in their lyrics, it's not a necessity. Westcoast, on the other hand, includes yacht rock, but also jazz, soul, and disco with a yacht feel.
I wish this would stop: i never owned a yacht while listening to chill tunes/albums from the 7o's. It's demeaning for a more naive and inclusive time for Pop music and doesn't deserve some floating yuppie palace to keep it afloat. Especially as Indie bands often mimic it's sensibilities under a new banner. Revisionism is so reductive.
Thank you. This music fascinates me. I'm trying to have a firm grip on what constitutes yacht rock by listening to the Spotify site. It's awesome! Did the following musicians release albums or tracks that can be labeled as such? Ace (too early?) ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) Benny Mardones Supertramp 10cc The Carpenters The Alan Parsons Project Simon & Garfunkel George Benson Grover Washington Jr. Kool & the Gang Matthew Wilder Orleans Player Michael Jackson (from Thriller) Sade Wilson Brothers Robert Palmer Sheena Easton Olivia Newton John Eric Clapton George Michael Lionel Richie Thanks again for any thoughts that might help me!
Lots o' entries, so sorry in advance if posted already, but this one from Runner has a little bit of the yacht vibe, albeit with the pedal down.... Runner: Fooling Myself Nice album from 1979, with Steve Gould from Rare Bird
Let's see: Ace (too early?) : Nope ELO (Electric Light Orchestra): Nope Benny Mardones: Nope Supertramp: Nope 10cc: Nope, although they turn up on 95 percent of the yacht rock playlists that you find for some reason. The Carpenters: Nope The Alan Parsons Project: I'd say no, although they might have a few tracks you could make a case for. Simon & Garfunkel: No, but Garfunkel solo has a few yacht tracks. George Benson: More of a straight-ahead jazz guy, but he's got a few tracks that work nicely as yacht. Grover Washington Jr.: Uh… huh. Not sure. Seems like a bit more of a jazz guy, but seems to fit nicely into the Westcoast vibe. Kool & the Gang: Too funky to be yacht rock proper, but their '81–'82 albums are great Westcoast. Matthew Wilder: Nope Orleans: I don't think so. A bit too countrified for the yacht. Player: Barely. All over the place, but they have at least two solid yacht tracks, IMO. Michael Jackson (from Thriller): Yes, although Off the Wall is the better album for yacht tracks. Sade: I'd say no, but I think it could be argued. Wilson Brothers: I don't know them, so it's hard to say. Robert Palmer: Rarely; "Keep in Touch" is the only yacht song from him that I've found. Sheena Easton: I'd say no, but I've never actually listened to her albums. Olivia Newton John: I've heard she has a few, but I haven't heard them. Eric Clapton: Oh, god no. George Michael: Nope Lionel Richie: I'd say no, although the Beyond Yacht Rock guys disagree.
Cool song. Definitely not yacht rock, but kind of interesting—sounds like KISS trying to be the Eagles.
Well, after decades of sailing around the marina, David Crosby finally committed and put down a deposit on the yacht:
Tough. I love those first two albums but I don't think so. "Spendthrift" a lot of Tom Cat is prime Westcoast IMO and of course the style ends up on Joni Mitchell's 1973-75 work. And on the other hand, you've got the Crusaders (half of the first edition of the LA Express) doing work like this too. It's great music but Tom Scott and the L.A. Express are early Westcoast and 73-76 Crusaders are too earthy (especially with Wilton Felder's old-timey honking sax) to be "Westcoast." YMMV.
I really like this, the Steely Dan-influence is very strong, I also hear traces of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's solo work too.
Absolutely. I also wonder if he heard some of the new Thundercat material with Loggins and McDonald and took some inspiration from that. When I first heard this, in fact, I assumed it was probably another Thundercat collaboration, but it's not.
Considering that there are specific parameters that define Yacht Rock & Soul as a musical genre in its own right, distinct from Westcoast, as has been attempted to develop throughout this thread, I can only but subsume that therefore a listing should be made that narrows down all the artists, albums and tracks that fall under this musical category. Would it be realistic to create such list? Or do some yacht tracks overlap with other musical styles, or is it a black and white ruling on every track examined? It cannot be that there are too many songs out there, because the strict requirements for a song to be yacht limit considerably their number. The Spotify link has plenty of tracks (844), that could serve as an approximate number of the total, yes, but the problem is that it is a mix with other non-yacht songs that fall under the Westcoast umbrella. Thanks.
I’ve thought for some time that an enterprising CD reissue label could come up with a really good Michael McDonald-themed various-artists collection that highlighted his work as a background vocalist and duet partner in the 1970s and 1980s. I suppose the licensing rights for such a collection would be difficult to obtain, but maybe not impossible. And, yeah, it might feel like too much McDonald at once, but I still think it would be a cool idea. McDonald lent his distinctive vocal talents to a range of artists during his peak period (roughly mid-1970s to mid-1980s) when he wasn’t touring or recording as lead singer of the Doobie Brothers or as a solo act. He probably wasn’t racing from one L.A.-area recording studio to another to cut vocals -- as depicted in a great “SCTV” skit from the early 1980s -- but he must have been pretty damn busy. McDonald’s soulful, husky baritone graced both big hits and obscure album tracks, and a collection of his work as a background vocalist and duet partner could form an interesting artistic picture. Many of the tracks, of course, fit nicely into the “West Coast/Yacht Rock” world. Others, not so much. If you look at his AllMusic.com profile and hit the “credits” tab, you’ll get a good rundown of albums to which he contributed. There were a bunch! That said, I’d caution that even that list doesn’t appear to be complete or 100 percent accurate. A CD project compiler could easily find enough tracks to make a two-disc collection with the McDonald-as-guest-vocalist-and-duet-partner theme. It might go something like what's listed below. Again, not all of this is “West Coast/AOR/Yacht” music, but a decent percentage of it is. Also, it is not a complete rundown of his guest vocals and duets from this era, but it's pretty thorough nonetheless. Disc 1 (1975-1979) 1.) Steely Dan, “Bad Sneakers” (1975) 2.) Steely Dan, “Black Friday” (1975) 3.) Steely Dan, “Any World (That I’m Welcome To),” 1975 4.) Steely Dan, “Rose Darling” (1975) 5.) Carly Simon, “One Love Stand” (1976) 6.) Steely Dan, “Kid Charlemagne” (1976) 7.) Little Feat, “Red Streamliner” (1977) 8.) Bonnie Raitt, “Runaway” (1977) 9.) Steely Dan, “Peg” (1977) 10.) Steely Dan, “I Got the News” (1977) 11.) Tim Moore, “Strengthen My Love” (1977) 12.) Chunky, Novi & Ernie, “See What You Done” (1977) 13.) Stephen Bishop, “Losing Myself in You” (1978) 14.) Carole Bayer Sager, “It’s the Falling in Love” (1978) 15.) Craig Fuller and Eric Kaz, “Fool for You” (1978) 16.) Steve Harley, “Roll the Dice” (1978) 17.) Elton John, “Victim of Love” (1979) 18.) Kenny Loggins, “This Is It” (1979) 19.) Michael McDonald with Nicolette Larson, “Let Me Go Love” (1979) 20.) Lauren Wood, “Please Don’t Leave” (1979) Disc 2 (1979-1986) 1.) Christopher Cross, “I Really Don’t Know Anymore” (1979) 2.) Christopher Cross, “Ride Like the Wind” (1979) 3.) Gary Wright, “I’m the One Who’ll Be By Your Side” (1979) 4.) Amy Holland, “How Do I Survive” (1980) 5.) Amy Holland, “I’m Wondering” (1980) 6.) Steely Dan, “Time Out of Mind” (1980) 7.) Jimmy Webb, “One of the Few” (1982) 8.) Jimmy Webb, “Old Wing Mouth” (1982) 9.) Paul Anka, “Second Chance” (1983) 10.) Paul Anka, “No Way Out” (1983) 11.) Christopher Cross, “All Right” (1983) 12.) Christopher Cross, “No Time for Talk” (1983) 13.) Amy Holland, “I Hang on Your Every Word” (1983) 14.) Patrick Simmons, “Why You Givin’ Up” (1983) 15.) Michael McDonald with James Ingram, “Yah Mo B There” (1983) 16.) Joni Mitchell, “Good Friends” (1985) 17.) Michael McDonald with David Pack and James Ingram, “I Just Can’t Let Go” (1985) 18.) Michael McDonald with Patti LaBelle, “On My Own” (1986) 19.) Wang Chung, “A Fool and His Money” (1986) 20.) Toto, “I’ll Be Over You” (1986)
Awesome! Check out THE YACHTSIE SCALE in the BEYOND THE ROCK WEBSITE. There it gives you a list of Yacht/Nyacht tracks with the percentage rating on how yachtie each track is.
Sorry - it's called the YACHTSKI Scale. And it tells you based on the rating it it's a Yacht or Nyacht song.
