Theme week: eponymous Yacht Rock albums (9/15), with a few more YR records sprinkled throughout the month. Prince-related: Chaka (I’m running out). Pick Hits: Pantayo, Sinatra, Raitt, Scaggs, Romeo Void. Must to Avoid: Dolly Parton’s Christmas album, sad to say.
- Stephanie Mills, What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin’ (1979): 6/8 songs have Mtume/Lucas credit, which helps her breakthrough LP sound v consistent. “Put Your Body In It” is a disco stomp; her cover of Peabo Bryson’s “Feel the Fire” is immaculate. And THAT PERFECT VOICE, God.
- Dia de los Muertos, Satanico-Dramatico (2011): If you like thrash/death metal with lots of “woooaaaar” vocals, you could do plenty worse then this LA quartet. I dig that they do bilingual songs, & that a number of these feat. vocals from a woman, Loana dP Valencia.
- Oscar Brand, Election Songs of the United States (1960): The folk icon does 150 yrs’ worth of electoral songs, many sung to other popular tunes, with just banjo & guitar accompaniment. Not exactly pop music, but quite a history lesson; Irwin Silber’s liners are a must.
- Pantayo (2020): One of the yr’s freshest LPs comes from a queer Filipino-Canadian quintet of women marrying kulintang (trad SE Asian gong-chime music) with bilingual, punky takes on contempo pop/R&B. You’ve never heard anything quite like this astounding, necessary record.
- Tanya Tucker, TNT (1978): Not country but country-adjacent: I hear touches of Marshall Tucker Band and Bonnie Raitt, while she rocks out covers of Buddy Holly (v. LA ‘78)and Little Richard. The country here is in her saloon-hall vocal stylings, which are rich and full.
- Sam Cooke at the Copa (1964): The consummate soul singer jazzes it up on the likes of “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” and mixes his own hits up with “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “If I Had A Hammer” on this live date. He was so, stunningly flexible: just wow.
- Samantha Fox, I Wanna Have Some Fun (1988): It sure opens fun, with a quartet of acid house and freestyle tracks (one co-prod by Kevin Saunderson!), before falling into run-of-the-mill pop/rock, either made by SAW or sounding like it. And she’s no singer, but you knew that.
- U.S. Apple Corps (1970): 6 slabs of the rockingest “Jesus Rock” imaginable, at the very start of the movement: hard-verging-on-acid rock (think Ten Years After), w/heavily gospel/Xian lyrics (“Peace in the Valley,” “Swing Low,” “Ride on King Jesus”). Pretty great.
- Airplay (1980): On his sole LP with buddy Jay Graydon, David Foster mostly puts the “rock” in Yacht Rock: check the opening punch of “Stranded” and “Cryin’ All Night.” “Nothin’ You Can Do About It,” meanwhile is the perfect YR song, & most of the ballads are good, too.
- Pages (1981): Before ascending on “Broken Wings,” ½ of the future Mr. Mister were a solid Yacht Rock duo. On their 3rd/final LP, they show how good they could be (“You Need A Hero,” “O.C.O.E.,” “Sesatia”) and why they flopped (“Automatic,” limp closer “Midnight Angel”).
- Nielsen/Pearson (1980): Reed Nielsen & Mark Pearson co-wrote all 9 songs, & trade off lead vocals, on their smooth soph album, a lesser-known Yacht Rock classic. It all hits squarely in 1980’s smooth-yet-upbeat pocket (barring one ballad), & Idk why this wasn’t a hit.
- Amy Holland (1980): Michael McDonald produced this debut by his future wife, so it’s got a very late-period Doobies vibe. More soft rock than Yacht, though “How Do I Survive” is def primo YR. Her voice is solid, songs are generally good, & MM backs up 4 tracks.
- John O’Banion (1981): “If You Love Me” swings, and leadoff single “Love You Like I Never Loved Before” smacks you in the face with ebullient pop/rock, but much of the rest of this Nyacht soft rock debut is average or below, like Kenny Loggins w/o any personality.
- Bill LaBounty (1982): He’s had a great career as a songwriter (mostly country), so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the songs here are impeccable (“Slow Fade,” OMG). Most concern the end of an LTR, and most are lacerating. And the music is expert Yacht Rock: perfect.
- Maxus (1981): They give me heavy Toto vibes on their debut, especially at their more rocking (check opener “The Higher You Rise”), are a tight band, & have chops (many were LA session guys), but some of these songs let them down. The funky “Your Imagination” rules, though.
- Brenda Russell, Love Life (1981): Almost a decade before her late ‘80s commercial breakthrough, Russell was a journeywoman songwriter/sesh singer making Yacht Soul on the side. This one’s a little ballad-heavy but still feat. yachty jams like “Thank You” and “Lucky.”
- Frank Sinatra, Watertown (1970): The most pop-rock LP in Sinatra’s catalog, co-written/prod by Bob Gaudio, is this incredible song cycle about a broken man after his wife/kids have left. His singing is magnificent (every syllable of pain/grief is evident), songs hit hard.
- Al Jarreau, Jarreau (1983): No jazz/R&B singer was yachtier – he worked with just about every major name in Yacht Rock (Jay Graydon produced his best records) – and none of his albums were yachtier than this one. “Mornin’,” “Trouble,” “I Will Be Here” – it all works.
- Jhene Aiko, Chilombo (2020): I love Aiko’s voice, and love the vibe of this LP, helped by its analog feel and her use of trad singing bowls in its Hawai’i recording. Too many sex songs, but she makes fine use of guests (Miguel, H.E.R., Ty). Great as background.
- Nena, 99 Luftballons (1984): The iconic Neue Deutsche Welle band compiled songs from their 1st 2 LPs for their int’l debut (½ English/½ German). As you might expect, this is chunky, rocky new wave. As you might not, it’s pretty solid; singer Nena has personality to spare.
- Thin Lizzy, Jailbreak (1976): No surprises in the tough, taut hard rock of the title track and “Boys are Back” (what killer side-openers!) – no, the surprises are things like “Fight or Fall,” an introspective, almost mellow number from Phil Lynott. What songwriting.
- Bonnie Raitt, Home Plate (1975): She’s almost always had albums’ worth of great songs, this included. She’s sometimes had great producers who get who she is, and Paul Rothchild is def one (mid-’70s El Lay prod has never sounded so good). And she’s never sung badly.
- Boz Scaggs, Down Two Then Left (1977): Painstakingly arr, prod, played: you know, following up Silk Degrees, that it sounds good. (“We’re Waiting” is v Steely Dan.) But Scaggs is also singing gorgeously (has he ever not?), and these songs are great. An underrated gem.
- Chaka Khan, Come 2 My House (1998): Finally, a post-’80s Prince-touched LP that’s kinda solid. Khan & Prince co-wrote/-prod almost every song here, and while not a great album, it’s an okay one. “This Crazy Life” yes (lovely ballad), “Pop My Clutch” no (embarrassing).
- Dolly Parton, A Holly Dolly Christmas (2020): The musical equivalent of coal in your stocking. M. Bublé sounds disturbingly horny on “Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas” (WTH does “cozy down” mean anyway?), J. Fallon is a waste of space, & most of the originals are v subpar.
- William DeVaughn, Be Thankful for What You Got (1974): This debut album, made w/help from MFSB in Philly, is some gorgeously warm soul from that early-becoming-mid-’70s moment. His voice, the players, the songs, the prod: all of it interlocks perfectly. A real sleeper.
- Romeo Void, Instincts (1984): An astounding document of late-era US new wave, this has it all: down-tuned guitars, sinister sax, crack rhythm section, & especially the unique vocals of Deborah Iyall. Given a little more label TLC, they could’ve blossomed into stars.
- Lil’ Kim, 9 (2019): She barely sounds like herself on her 5th LP (sadly appropriate, since her plastic surgery means she’s barely recognizable) thanks to heavy doses of Auto-tune. Additionally, the prod is garbage, & most of these songs have precious little to say.
- Sleater Kinney, Dig Me Out (1997): My problem with this is the arpeggiated-yelling singing style I associate w/Jello Biafra; where it appears, it’s an immediate turn-off. The songs are pretty solid, v tuneful, & S-K are an incredibly tight band, but that singing? Uh-uh.
- Syreeta (1972): This mix of songs penned mostly by Syreeta Wright and her then-husband Stevie Wonder is mostly great – I love the 1st 3/last 3, could do w/o the Smokey and Beatles covers in the middle – & his production is as superb as you’d expect in ‘72. And her voice!
Oh Manchester, So Much To Answer For 