Good lord...how many times do the same answers going to be given? If people would listen JUST ONCE to the podcast that's been referenced numerous times in this thread then they would hear the hosts say each and every time, "We're the guys who invented the term yacht rock." Not smooth!
Yeah, that's not half bad. Bit too much of a country feel to really yacht, IMO, but it's got a nice vibe.
Bingo! But I’ll state it one more time... JD Ryznar, Steve Huey, David B. Lyons, and Hunter Stair created the original web series, coined the term, host the podcast, and invented the “Yachtski Scale” Now, use Google and go to smooth school.
OK, now that's really close, especially with the faux-Michael McDonald backing vocals toward the end there. So much so that I checked the credits on Discogs, but alas, none of the usual suspects. Still, good stuff. Country and yacht rock had some near collisions during that era, with Dolly Parton and particularly Kenny Loggins putting out a few legit yacht rockers.
Nice collection of soft rock there, few yacht rockers. Always really liked Hot Chocolate's "Emma," which URGE Overkill covered nicely in the early '90s with the super heavy "Emmaline": FWIW, here's my yacht/Westcoast master list on Spotify: Yacht Rock and the Westcoast Sound: The 24-Karat Connoisseur’s List, a playlist by James Burke on Spotify
Apparently Yacht Rock is what every one wants it to be. The clear-cut definition and specifications of the genre for some is arbitrary for others. I think I've arrived at this conclusion.
Just jumping onto this thread, and enjoying the discussion so far! I haven't read it all, and don't know if it was previously mentioned, but a while back some guy started a thread called "Death to False Yacht Rock" or something to that effect. Anyway, not sure if these guys were mentioned, but it seems maybe there are possibilities this might fit?
Reading this thread reminded me of this tune from the early 80's. Didn't realize Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie were involved with it.
Whoops, we were looking for Kenny Rogers. Rogers. But, given the context, I think you can understand the slip.
Yeah, that's a completely valid conclusion. I'd add that it's a distinction between people who look at the genre objectively versus those who look at it subjectively. Now, I don't want to be pretentious and say I look at yacht rock from a scholarly perspective, but people like me who are really into the genre have, over the years, delved into the details—what specifically makes a yacht rock song yacht rock? And—as I've probably mentioned 100 times in this thread—when you do, you isolate a set of criteria, such as producers, songwriters, studio musicians, locale, era, etc. And when you combine them, it frequently results in music with a very specific sound. Of course, it's not foolproof; using the criteria, Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." and Christopher Cross' "Sailing" should be two of the greatest yacht rock singles ever, but they're not. At all. Conversely, there are artists who meet literally none of the criteria who have put out great yacht rock singles, particularly contemporary Scandinavian artists such as Albino, Norwegian Fords, and State Cows. Christian rock acts also frequently adopted the yacht rock sound in the late '70s and early- to mid-'80s with great success. On the other hand, most people approach yacht rock subjectively—mellow, '70s, California, tropical/ocean theme? Yacht! Which, as I've stressed time and time again, is fine. The whole point is to enjoy what you listen to and have a good time. There are at least 500 yacht rock playlists on Spotify, almost all of which are a random collection of '70s soft rock, Jimmy Buffett, and "The Piña Colada Song." Which I'm sure have been the soundtrack to many an enjoyable daiquiri-fueled afternoon. I know that at any "yacht rock" night I attend, I will absolutely hear "Brandy," "Baker Street," and "Sailing." And it's all good—no one gets hurt and everyone has a good time. The whole purpose of this thread is just to have a fun discussion and to provide those who want to get into this a bit more seriously a framework from which to work, not to get into a verbal knife fight over authenticity and uphold the sanctity of pure yacht. So my advice to everyone is to read, enjoy, and most of all, relax. While we may choose different boats, we're all sailing the same sea of smooth.
Are you saying "Sailing" isn't yacht? Because it's ranked pretty high on the Yachtski scale... I must be confused about something....
Hey, welcome to the thread! If you want to get a good handle on what yacht is (and isn't), I'd suggest this site as a primer: Yacht or Nyacht? Compiled by a friend of the Beyond Yacht Rock podcast, this is a largely accurate (I'm sorry, Christopher Cross' "Sailing" is not yacht rock), fairly exhaustive, and quite user-friendly resource. Like the video contributions. "Kiss You All Over" is a frequent question, which I'd categorize as more of a AOR country single than a yacht rocker. The Robbie Patton single is also suitably smooth, but doesn't have the yacht sound, IMO. Little Feat are an interesting case. They were more or less in the same circle as many of the yacht rockers, but usually had more of crunchy New Orleans jam thing going on. But they did flirt with the smooth, and here I think actually get pretty close to the yacht sound: LITTLE FEAT RED STREAMLINER
I am indeed saying this—"Sailing" is a terrible yacht rock song. Yes, it has the right personnel, it's the right era, it's the right locale, it's about sailing, it's the #1 song in every article about yacht rock, it's on every yacht rock compilation (except mine), and the Beyond Yacht Rock guys worship at its altar. But it's not yacht rock. EVERYTHING about the sound is wrong. It's plaintive, it's pensive, it's sentimental, it has soaring strings, a noodling piano solo, folky acoustic guitar, no electric piano, no electric guitar, no jazz influence, and it just never ends—it's as nyacht as nyacht gets. It's 99 percent Air Supply and 1 percent Doobie Brothers. So while it's not a popular opinion, I will defend it for all of my days until I receive the vindication I so rightly deserve.
I think these guys might be the most frequently asked-about band on this thread. The TL;DR version: No, not yacht rock IMO. From an earlier post: "Yeah, not really [yacht]. "Reminiscing" is pretty close, although I think it misses the mark, but otherwise their catalog is all over the place and most of it sounds nothing like yacht rock. There are many bands that are much yacht… ier."
I'm thinking about contacting a local club and DJ-ing a Yacht Rock night. They just had an awesome Goth Night at same club.
YES, man, I agree with you. Unfortunately, the objective interpretation viewed by you about what Yacht Rock really means is subjective to others. The better question to ask is if whether the genre has taken enough root of its own in order to be viewed as a legitimate form of music in its own right not open to further subjective interpretation. Has it?
