LOL. Anyone who thinks yacht rock means 'nautical themes' is beyond hope. They deserve a full blown technical analysis.
Interesting list. I only collect five of the artists who have 3 or more songs on the list. And fifteen with 2 or less. Does that mean I have decent taste in music?
If you're reading this thread, you've probably heard these before, but just in case, here's an article from (the usually unreadable clickbait dumpster fire that is) Far Out Magazine that compiles pretty much all of the lost Steely Dan tracks: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-five-best-lost-and-unreleased-steely-dan-songs/
I had the great pleasure of seeing Steely Dan play The Bear live at the Chateau St. Michelle in Woodinville, WA. It is a great song. Cheers, Paul
Bob Weir of Grateful Dead fame, takin' a sail with the L.A. cats - ahoy there, get a load of the personnel credits on this bad boy! Art Direction – Ria Lewerke Backing Vocals – Bill Champlin (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B1 to B4), Bob Weir (tracks: A1 to A4), Carmen Twilly* (tracks: B1 to B4), Lynette Gloud (tracks: B1 to B4), Tom Kelly (tracks: A1 to A4, B1, B2, B4) Bass – Mike Porcaro (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B1 to B4) Drums – Mike Baird (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B1, B2, B4) Engineer – David DeVore, Keith Olsen Guitar – Bob Weir, Waddy Wachtel (tracks: A2, A4, B3) Keyboards – David Foster, David Paich (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B1, B2, B4) Photography By – Richard Avedon Producer – Keith Olsen Vocals – Bob Weir Wind – Tom Scott (tracks: A1, A3, B1) Merseyside lad Nigel Olsson as well on drums, who also did a similar type of album in 1980, literally called Changing Tides...
I remember when you posted this pic. I never got around to checking out the album. Found it on Spotify. I shall remedy that oversight today.
This web series is gold. You can watch the whole thing in roughly one hour and it rewards you with repeated viewings. Speaking of what constitutes as "yacht rock", while I agree with the OP that not all forms of 70's/80's soft rock accurately fits the description, there are at least some soft rockers who put out a few songs that definitely fits the bill such as the following: America - "You Can Do Magic" Ambrosia - "How Much I Feel" Player - "Baby Come Back" Atlanta Rhythm Section - "Spooky" or "So Into You" Sanford Townsend Band - "Smoke From A Distant Fire" Lee Ritenour - "Is It You?" Seals & Crofts - "Summer Breeze" or "Diamond Girl" Firefall - "You Are The Woman" The Beach Boys - "Sail On, Sailor" Crosby, Stills And Nash - "Southern Cross" Robbie Dupree - "Steal Away" Climax Blues Band - "I Love You" England Dan And John Ford Coley - "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight" or "It's Sad To Belong" Orleans - "Dance With Me" Bob Welch - "Sentimental Lady" And there's a ton more. Agreements/disagreements...?
Several I would disagree with here. Remember that the syncopated “bounce” rhythm is mandatory for Yacht Rock. Several of your picks have no bounce. Also YR typically avoids acoustic folk instrumentation such as acoustic guitars.
S&C got more yachty throughout the seventies, bit like Doobie Bros really, culminating in this lovely 1980 effort: What do you think of this track? If and Any Day · Seals and Crofts The Longest Road ℗ 1980 Warner Records Inc. The title track, #2, and #8 are pretty nice as well I reckon. Sadly they were dropped from the label after this, and went quiet for over two decades. Track 6 might have been (and remains) a bit controversial!
England Dan & John Ford Coley, "In It For Love." I believe this track was a one-off addition to their "Best Of" album from 1979, so it's on the obscure side. It's not an amazing track, but it's solid and definitely fits in comfortably with the L.A. West Coast pop sound of that era. Greg Guidry is one of the co-writers of this tune, which rides a nice Doobie Bounce. And not surprisingly, it is featured below on the superb West Coast 99 channel on YouTube.
This is an amazing breakdown! Thank you for posting. I certainly didn't know the elements that define Yacht Rock (and WAS starting to think "It's probably just a cooler, flashier name for Adult Contemporary"...!) Anyway, really interesting for me to learn of the Laura Nyro connection. I've been an admirer of her work for over thirty years, but fairly sure this is the first I've heard of the "mu" chord -- and the fact that she invented it. As for Adult Contemporary I'd say The Carpenters 1981 LP Made in America represents its zenith. As such, I'm wondering if something like Touch Me When We're Dancing would also qualify as Yacht Rock?
Hey, no problem. Thank ChrisScooter1; he's the the guy who really has a handle on the theory. Anyway, I checked out the song you mentioned and I'd say that's definitely nyacht. (or "not yacht" to the novice sailor. ) Yacht rock is smooth, but it's usually not soft, per se; there's usually elements of jazz and soul, unexpected bridges or changes, and frequently a killer guitar solo. This track has none of those. It's very soft and languid, very string forward (usually anathema to yacht fans), and just gently plods along. By contrast, here's a Carpenters song from the same album that has more yacht elements, "I Want You Back in My Life Again." Listen to the difference here. The keyboards are forward and have a beat similar to the classic Doobie Bounce, it's upbeat, has a few interesting changes and bridges, a Sanborn-esque sax solo and while it has strings, they're really more a background element than the focus. It's just a more complex, energetic song overall.
The sax solo is fairly correct on that previous track, the general ambience and location of the band as well, but as Gator says, strings? No. Plus I didn't like the way the song actually comes to a stop-start after about a minute in, total groove kill man! Here's how it's done properly, in a CCM vein, similar year: Tap yo toes
"But then one day there came a what in the road??? Jesus of Malibu, baby! (thanks again to our thread host) Jesus of Malibu: Christian Yacht Rock This song ain't on the list. . .
Congrats, you picked some really good examples here. I'd disagree with a few here: "Spooky": Some elements, but too bluesy, even by Southern yacht standards. "Summer Breeze": In terms of compositional elements, there's a pretty strong argument that "Diamond Girl" could be yacht, but "Summer Breeze" is a bit too folky to make the boat. "Sail On, Sailor: Probably my favorite Beach Boys song, but it doesn't have the yacht sound. "Southern Cross": Probably the most frequently debated song on this thread, but while it's smooth AF, a bit too much of a a hippie holdover for yacht. "I Love You"/"I'd Really Love To See You Tonight"/"It's Sad To Belong"/"Dance With Me"/ "Sentimental Lady": Some smooth operators, but none of these is yacht.
Because it's not available on Spotify. Percentage-wise, very little Yacht Jesus is available there; YouTube is a much better source.
