I was legitimately obsessed for Bertie Higgins song “Key Largo” about five years ago, around the time my first child was born. And when I say obsessed I mean obsessed– I played it about three times a day for an entire calendar month and it ended up on my Spotify Wrapped at the end of the year. I love everything about the song– the delicate piano introduction, the soft-loud dynamics between the verse and chorus, the lyrical content that pays homage to The Golden Age of Hollywood, and of course that final chorus which introduces a choir of female backup singers that riff on top of Higgins’ main vocal line. It’s a perfect yacht rock song that captures all the things I love about the genre. As I wrote about Christopher Cross’ debut self-titled album:
Yacht rock holds an incredibly special place in my heart. The smooth production style, the gorgeous three-part vocal harmonies, the sultry smooth rhythm sections, the saxaphones and synths– it’s all just so wonderfully easy to listen to. This is a sub-genre of music I’ve loved forever, became relatively obsessed with when I got Sirius XM radio in our car in 2018 (Channel 311 represent), and then when I became a father it was pretty much over. There was no turning back.
The rest of Another Day In Paradise doesn’t quite live up to the magnificence of “Key Largo” (how could it?) but it’s still a solid effort filled with moody and melodramatic songs that hit the spot. Long live yacht rock.
Standout Songs: “Key Largo”, “Casablanca”, “Just Another Day In Paradise”, “White Line Fever”
