10 albums that made yacht rock sound amazing
There has been plenty of ink and pixels spilt over the pretentiousness of yacht rock. As much as people may like the idea of listening to that era of undone collared shirts and cool shades as they sip mimosas at an island resort, there are many people who think that it was the genre that made people like Joe Strummer and John Lydon pick up instruments of their own and bring rock back to its roots. But yacht rock can still be fun, and sometimes it takes people like George Harrison to bring that sound to the masses.
But, really, it was going to be a hard sell to get anyone on board with the soothing sounds of soft rock. Compared to every other genre in rock and roll, this is by far the easiest one to make fun of given how many tropes are associated with it, only being slightly beaten out by genres like nu-metal for how gimmicky they could be in their prime.
If anyone bothered to listen to the songs beyond the surface level, though, there was a lot of great musicality within those records. A lot goes into making something sound carefree, and while much of the genre is a breeze to listen to half the time, it only comes from the fact that the songs were drilled into every singer and session musician who walked through the studio doors looking to create some magic in the studio.
So while there’s a lot of great music to work with from every stripe of rock and roll, yacht rock deserves to have a bit more shine on its name than what it’s received in recent years. Because for every song that floats by without much impact, there are a few more in the backlogs of history that will knock people on their asses when they hear them.
10 albums that made yacht rock cool
‘Weezer (The White Album)’ – Weezer
There’s never been an actual cut-off point for when yacht-rock albums stopped existing. There are always opportunities for people to break out their greatest Hawaiian shirts and listen to the best summer music ever, and it’s not like the style stopped existing the minute that the 1980s began. It has persisted for years, but if there was one band that no one would have expected to go down that route, it should have been the band of nerds behind songs like ‘Buddy Holly’.
Although Weezer is best known for some of the greatest nerd-rock of the 1990s, their comeback in 2016 actually made for a fairly great summer rock record. Whereas some of their early tunes were great to listen to on a sunny day, all 10 tracks on this album are indebted to The Beach Boys, whether that’s taking their signature harmonies for ‘California Kids’ or making tunes like ‘King of the World’ into some of the most inspirational summer jams in recent memory.
There are many people who still believe that part of the band died the minute they entered the 2000s, but this record is why it’s important to always keep tabs on bands that aren’t always in the limelight. Because for all of the underwhelming albums they release well after the fact, there are always albums like this that practically put the board in your hand for you right as your feet touch the sand.
‘3+3’ – The Isley Brothers
There comes a point where most rock and roll starts to blend with every genre under the sun. No matter how many times people try to gatekeep their favourite styles of music and decide that they are judge, jury and executioner on every act, there are always bands that deviate from the formula and make something that can fit inside the genre and in spite of it. And while the Isley Brothers were responsible for birthing the greatest tunes from the pre-rock and roll age, 3+3 is when they started to take everything they learned and channel it into the greatest form of yacht funk.
This album could get a pass simply for including a cover of one of the greatest yacht rock songs of all time, ‘Summer Breeze’, but its true genius is being able to interpret everything they can through that funk rock lens. ‘That Lady’ might be the big hit from the record, but listening to the way that their versions of ‘Listen to the Music’ or ‘Sunshine (Go Away Today)’ groove, all the pieces for yacht rock are there in spades, only this time played with the perfect drumming pocket.
Whereas most yacht-rock songs are for sitting in a deck chair and wasting the day away, this is one of the few instances where the music is dancefloor approved. They may have started as the biggest name in R&B, but it turns out that some of those infectious grooves only get better with age.
‘Late for the Sky’ – Jackson Browne
One thing that’s often neglected in yacht rock is how smart it can be. Some of the biggest names in yacht rock may have become jokes amongst people that don’t know any better, but there were some tremendous musicians that came out of the fray who were willing to put in the work as songwriters. And there’s really no way of getting around singer-songwriter territory without talking about Jackson Browne.
When listening to Late for the Sky, each song is carefully crafted to describe the lives of people who have been unlucky in love or hit a crossroads in their development. A lot of the people in these tunes might seem lost, but Browne is always that welcoming hand letting them know that everything is going to be okay. Compared to every yacht rock song about nothing, this is like the musical equivalent of a warm hug from a friend that you haven’t heard from in a while.
And going through all of the fantastic songwriters that have come after him, Browne has garnered the praise of everyone from Glenn Frey to Bruce Springsteen for his tireless work ethic when it comes to never giving up on his material. Yacht rock is the ideal music that people turn on and forget they’re listening to anything, but it takes much more effort from the musicians to make songs sound this perfect.
‘Daylight Again’ – Crosby, Stills, and Nash
Crosby, Stills, and Nash were never meant to be the most prolific band in the world. As much as they could make beautiful harmonies together, it took a small army to get all of them in a room together long enough for everyone to commit to a project outside of their solo careers. Their version of music may have been considered the opposite of trendy the minute that synthesisers came into the picture, but Daylight Again is probably the best that any band of their ilk could have hoped for in the era of Thriller.
Despite being one of the greatest trios in the world, most only know this album from songs like ‘Southern Cross’, but a set of songs this strong could have easily gone to bat with the Deja Vu era of the group. It was clear that Crosby wasn’t taking care of himself, but when listening to him play on tracks like ‘Delta’, he had never lost his touch behind the scenes, eventually being forced to finish the tune by Jackson Browne.
Although Crosby would slowly go downhill and sideline the group for the next few years, American Dream ended up being the bizarro world version of this album where everything went wrong. They sounded like they were following trends at that point, but this is one of the few times when they seemed genuinely curious about where their muse would take them in the age of new technology.
‘George Harrison’ – George Harrison
By the end of the 1970s, George Harrison was no longer at the top of the rock and roll world and couldn’t have cared less. He could still write a quality tune, but in the age of punk and new wave, he felt much more content to live at Friar Park and make the kind of music that suited him. And now that he had the wilderness period of Extra Texture out of his system and building momentum on 33 and ⅓, his 1979 album was one of the greatest mellow affairs that a Beatle had ever made.
First of all, this is far from the kind of album to put on at a raging party. A lot of the tunes are fairly downtempo and rely a lot on the melody, but the folksy tinge to the track listing is a joy to listen to, with Harrison even giving us a jazzy update on one of his greatest tracks with the sequel song ‘Here Comes the Moon’.
Are there a few moments on the record that are a touch dated today? Absolutely, but the production isn’t what’s saving it. It’s always been about the quality of the material, and from the first note of ‘Love Comes to Everyone’ to the final chorus of ‘If You Believe’, it’s easy to picture Harrison on an island sipping a margarita as he gets ready to strum his next tune. Things got a little too carried away when making albums like Gone Troppo, but for the time being, this was a ton of fun.
‘Christopher Cross’ – Christopher Cross
Far too many bands that fall into the yacht-rock category do so because of their lack of hits. While Christopher Cross is among the few time-stamped in yacht rock for the rest of his days for ‘Sailing’, tracks like ‘Arthur’s Theme’ were great follow-ups that no one ever talks about outside the true 1970s rock enthusiasts. If there’s one thing that no one can take away from him, it’s the sheer brilliance of his debut record.
Many yacht-rock artists seem to have one eye on the crowd and the other on their paycheck, but this seemed like an earnest songwriter trapped in a pop rocker’s body. Even a song that has been overplayed like ‘Sailing’ is beautifully constructed, down to the guitar part being a bit more intricate for novice guitar players to get under their fingers. But many of the grim faces come from the fact that this beat out The Wall at the Grammys, which isn’t even Cross’s fault.
Admittedly, his music is far more in line with what The Recording Academy wants out of music, but that shouldn’t be enough to write him off for good. He had the makings of a brilliant career waiting at his feet, and looking at the serious chops that he had whenever he picked up a guitar, Cross is one of the few yacht rockers who would be able to outplay some of the best artists on the circuit.
‘Toto IV’ – Toto
Most artists see the idea of a session musician as both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, there’s always going to be work for you to do around the studio, but there’s hardly going to be any moments where people applaud you specifically for the iconic guitar lick that happens midway through the verse of a number-one hit. Once Toto realised that they had some star power of their own, they made one of the most impressive albums any band could have hoped for.
The band were riding high off singles like ‘Hold the Line’, but this is where everything fully clicked into place for them. Outside of being home to some of their most iconic tracks, the real stars of the show are the performances, whether that’s Jeff Pocaro teaching a clinic on how to serve the song or Steve Lukather adjusting his tone controls on a dime to make every solo sound like a cinematic experience.
And as much as people like to celebrate the memes that have been made around ‘Africa’, it’s about time that everyone recognises ‘Rosanna’ as the superior song, complete with massive key changes, a knockout vocal performance, and one of the tastiest guitar breaks ever found on a commercial pop album. No one in this band needed any introduction, but given how clean their records sounded, it’s no wonder that Michael Jackson eventually tapped them to be his backing band for Thriller.
‘London Town’ – Wings
Every single one of Paul McCartney’s ‘granny shit’ songs could have practically been a warm-up for yacht-rock. Not all of them were suited to being listened to on a beach with a drink in your hand, but the lighthearted nature of Macca’s whimsical tunes always had a similar vibe to how artists like The Doobie Brothers managed to reach the top of the charts. And for London Town, you have to give the former Beatle kudos for completely committing to the bit by recording the entire thing on an actual yacht.
After going through yet another shakeup with Wings, London Town was the result of Paul, Linda and Denny Laine writing the songs and recording while on a boat in the Virgin Islands. Despite having songs about perusing through the wonders of London, the greatest songs on the record could even double as sea chanteys, whether that’s the driving energy on ‘Morse Moose and the Grey Goose’ or the bounce of ‘Famous Groupies’.
And when McCartney breaks out the pop tunes, he hadn’t lost an ounce of shine on his hooks, whether that’s ‘With A Little Luck’ or the gentle ballad ‘I’m Carrying’. There is some of that trademark McCartney whimsy to be found if you know where to look for it, but the majority of the album fits nicely into the yacht-rock category and definitely lives up to the original title of Water Wings.
‘Surf’s Up’ – The Beach Boys
Any band that classifies itself as yacht rock is pulling from The Beach Boys whether they know it or not. Brian Wilson didn’t set out to make songs about summer for the rest of his life, but his immaculate ear for harmony and the sound he and his brothers created made every song feel like a ray of sunshine coming out of the speakers. Pet Sounds was proof enough that Brian could write masterpieces, but not enough people bring up Surf’s Up in the discussion of the greatest albums they ever made.
Granted, The Beach Boys were often a singles band in their prime, but when they adapted to the album format, they turned in some of the finest music of their generation on records like this. While it was being made in the midst of Wilson’s turbulent years with his mental health, every song here has the same relaxed vibe with a bit more musical theory behind it.
There is the occasional tune that doesn’t work like their cover of ‘Student Demonstration Time’, but the shining moments really serve as a reminder why Wilson has been compared to Mozart throughout his career. He may come across as one of the most humble musicians to walk the Earth, but a song like ‘Surf’s Up’ couldn’t be any more perfect unless it had been blessed by a musical God.
‘Aja’ – Steely Dan
Steely Dan always felt comfortable being outside the mainstream. They were influenced by everything that wasn’t rock and roll, and yet they could find ways to play circles around nearly every single rock and roll band they came across. Of all their classic records, though, the big kahuna takes us back to 1977 where they created a masterpiece of musical production on Aja.
While many musicians are perfectionists when it comes to their own work, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker weren’t going to rest until they had the perfect take out of every session worker that walked into the studio. Even if it meant them only contributing one tiny lick to a song like ‘Black Cow’ or ‘Josie’, the duo acted as craftsmen throughout this project, which resulted in some of the most tasteful playing committed to tape, whether that’s Steve Gadd’s fantastic drum solo on the title track or Larry Carlton’s guitars on ‘Deacon Blues’.
Even though the band has become somewhat of a joke among people for how they sound, that’s simply because they haven’t sat down and listened to the whole thing. It’s easy to talk shit about anything that you don’t understand, but seeing how the biggest producers in the world are chasing after something that sounds this clean, they have to at least be doing something great.
