But that's just it—most yacht rock isn't feel-good smooth. It's smooth, certainly, but again the themes are usually somewhat bittersweet. Most have a certain longing or lament. And one of the hallmarks of yacht rock is a surprise in the arrangement; there's usually an unexpected turn in the road. Late-era Dan is textbook yacht rock.
Meh, I'm not really sure why; it's benign and does relate to the aesthetic—it sums up the vibe pretty well. I would think "punk rock" or "Krautrock" would be more offensive to most, no?
Is Dennis Wilson's "Pacific Ocean Blue" Yacht Rock? Whenever I listen to it I'm instantly transported here...
That's another one where— if you take yacht rock to mean literally "nautically themed"—it's lyrically perfect. And musically it is quite relaxing. But in terms of how yacht rock—as a specific genre rather than a concept—is defined, it's not right. It's sleepy, has lots of acoustic guitar, has no jazz or soul influence, no keyboards, and has the signature CSN harmonies—it's more a hippie holdover than a urbane yacht rocker. I absolutely love that album, particularly "Dark Star," but it's not yacht rock.
I really don't think of them sounding like "Yacht Rock" until around the Wind On the Water album. I could argue that Carole King & The City were Yacht Rock, though.
I can totally see why that would seem like a great yacht song, and thematically the escape to an exotic locale only to have your heart broken lyrics are spot on. That said, the sound isn't quite there. It's too meandering, too much acoustic guitar, what sounds like a bit of western steel—it's basically a country song. One of the misconception is that yacht rock has to be mellow and soft, which isn't the case. It has to be smooth, but some of it is quite upbeat. If you listen to Airplay's s/t album—which may be the yachtest album of all time—it's actually really in your face. Smooth as heck, but quite energetic.
I'd say yacht rock started much later than that. While it's usually associated with the early- to mid-'70s, I'd say yacht really didn't begin until 1977 and continued until the the early '80s. Seals and Croft are very often associated with yacht rock, but I'd argue that they're not. Too early, too folky, too acoustic, too mellow. The only song I can see as possibly yacht rock from them is "Stars" from the s/t album. The earliest song I can think of that might qualify as yacht rock is "Take Me With You" from (the gorgeous) Lyn Christopher's 1973 s/t album, and that's pushing it.
Whoa—that is as yacht as it gets! I think the issue is that Ned might be considered more Westcoast than yacht; the acoustic guitar and spacey synth are a bit off brand, and the sexy is a bit on the nose. But he's awesome, and "What Cha Gonna Do for Me" is about as yacht as it gets.
