I'm very resistant to pastiche and revival, but a record by a British band came out on Sony Japan in the late 90s that I always felt was as good as the Yacht Rock canon. Listening to it now, I can understand why the Japanese gave it a go when the western arm had shelved it - it's almost city pop - but I still play it from time to time and the music doesn't lose its power (unlike the cover art, which seems to have been replaced by something dismally tasteful and sepia tinted).
A great read as always, and thanks for including your playlist, which I will now ruthlessly pilfer for songs to add to mine. I admit that Jackson Browne and the Eagles have a couple of tunes that fit the general sound and ethos but I’ve always tended to not include them because, for me, half of the fun in yacht rock is that so many of the songs are full-on cheese. Becker and Fagen themselves were dead serious, there’s no argument there, but you can’t find anything as funny as the “so outrageous” refrain in Black Cow in anything that Don Henley ever released. It’s perfect.
I was also excited to see Steve Huey, another fellow BRHS grad! Hello to you both from Michigan. It’s cold here.
I'm very resistant to pastiche and revival, but a record by a British band came out on Sony Japan in the late 90s that I always felt was as good as the Yacht Rock canon. Listening to it now, I can understand why the Japanese gave it a go when the western arm had shelved it - it's almost city pop - but I still play it from time to time and the music doesn't lose its power (unlike the cover art, which seems to have been replaced by something dismally tasteful and sepia tinted).
https://open.spotify.com/album/2gZAFxSkMlbFuVz43eTjaB?si=1rNArnL8T-eFeYm6rQCzGQ
I also took a stab at an ultimate Yacht Rock playlist back in 2013. I look forward to comparing similarities between our picks.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0085oinNJlIry4fT89DEvb?si=99cfd6a5eb324a57
A great read as always, and thanks for including your playlist, which I will now ruthlessly pilfer for songs to add to mine. I admit that Jackson Browne and the Eagles have a couple of tunes that fit the general sound and ethos but I’ve always tended to not include them because, for me, half of the fun in yacht rock is that so many of the songs are full-on cheese. Becker and Fagen themselves were dead serious, there’s no argument there, but you can’t find anything as funny as the “so outrageous” refrain in Black Cow in anything that Don Henley ever released. It’s perfect.
I was also excited to see Steve Huey, another fellow BRHS grad! Hello to you both from Michigan. It’s cold here.