Tag: Yacht Rock
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Steely Dan ‘Gaucho’ (1980)
For all intents and purposes Walter Becker and Donald Fagen from Steely Dan were psychopaths. These dudes completely redefined what the word meticulous means during their grueling studio sessions, displaying an obsession with perfectionism that basically dragged everyone involved along with them down into a never-ending rabbit hole. The recording of Gaucho is probably the…
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Kenny Loggins ‘Keep The Fire’ (1979)
Kenny Loggins’ Keep The Fire is a prime example of the smooth, radio-friendly sound that defined the yacht rock genre, blending polished production, breezy melodies, and Loggins’ signature sweet vocals. It was an album that solidified Loggins as one of the era’s defining artists, effortlessly straddling pop and soft rock with a touch of funk.…
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Hall & Oates ‘Private Eyes’ (1981)
Hall & Oates’ Private Eyes epitomizes the duo’s signature yacht rock sound—a smooth blend of pop, rock, and soul that captures the essence of early ’80s radio. The album features some of their most iconic tracks, including the title song “Private Eyes” and “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” both of which showcase…
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Player ‘Player’ (1977)
Player’s self-titled debut album introduced listeners to the band’s smooth blend of soft rock that would be featured on yacht rock playlists for years to come. Featuring a polished sound and sophisticated production, the album is best known for its hit single “Baby Come Back” which effectively defines yacht rock for me– catchy melodies, harmonies…
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Bertie Higgins ‘Just Another Day In Paradise’ (1982)
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…
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Boz Scaggs ‘Silk Degrees’ (1976)
Silk Degrees remains one of my personal soft rock powerhouse albums, one of those old go-to’s when you’re looking for an emotional pick me up. It has all the elements that comprise a timeless album– immaculately crafted pop hooks, dynamics you can only get with a live band studio recording, sultry saxophone solos, gallant grooves…
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Toto ‘Toto IV’ (1982)
Toto is one of those yacht rock bands from the 70’s that seemingly tried everything under the sun sonically. They rolled up their favorite components of genres ranging from funk, pop, rock, soul, prog-rock, jazz, and the blues, stitched them together with expert musicianship, and slapped a sweet sheen of production prowess on top that…
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Ambrosia ‘One Eighty’ (1980)
When you have an album that features a grand total of four vocalists carrying lead vocal duties throughout the entire album you know you’re in for a soft rock treat. Ambrosia’s 1980 effort One Eighty celebrates those soft rock bonafides in a tight and concise package, deftly incorporating elements of yacht rock and anthemic 80’s…
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Christopher Cross ‘Christopher Cross’ (1979)
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…
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Orleans ‘Waking and Dreaming’ (1976)
Orleans is one of those “your favorite band’s, band” kinda, well, band. Their eclectic blend of pop, yacht rock, blues, and Dixieland jazz led to some pretty massive hits in the 1970’s, the most prominent being “Still The One” which is featured on this record and at one point was actual the damn theme song…
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