Jim Alfredson Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 Yacht rock at its finest! But check out the keyboard rigs! One guy doing strings on an Oberheim OB-X and another guy with the CP70, Oberheim Four Voice and Rhodes! 11 3 Quote Keep it greazy! B3tles - Soul Jazz THEO - Prog Rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 Sailing is one of my favorite songs ever, but I watched him in concert once and it was awful. His voice wavered out of tune the entire show. Saw him do a concert on TV and it was the same thing. Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill5 Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 I saw him in concert in a YT video and thought it was good. The guy is a crinimally underrated guitar player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokely Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 We have tried to cover this song and might try again. it's one of those tunes that doesn't sound that great "sparse"--our guitarist plays the same riff I am on piano is the issue, it just sounds "frumpy". I also can't really do strings justice while playing that riff, I'm not great at "disconnected hands" playing or singing. Hate that term "yacht rock" but especially because I tend to like a lot of it and we usually sound great doing it I just translate it as "oh, music with good writing and musicianship" (for the most part, there's definitely some cheesy-to-me stuff lumped in there.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 17 minutes ago, Stokely said: Hate that term "yacht rock".... Rewind to the time period between 1976-1983 when the songs were popular. The music got its name (yacht or soft rock) from the audience that gravitated towards it and how they lived, worked, dressed and played in those days. As with every style of music, there is the good and bad. Disco gets a bad rap but Chic produced some of the best songs ever recorded. "Sailing" is a great song. Christopher Cross dropped a thunderbolt of an album back in 1979/1980 when soft/yacht rock was a thing. Some Steely Dan tunes get the yacht/soft rock tag too. Yet, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (RIP) wrote great tunes. it's best to ignore the label/tag and ask the question of whether or not the song(s) stand the tests of time. "Sailing" does.😎 1 Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 I saw Christopher Cross at a local theater a few years back. The live performance was tight. Spot on. Band was dialed in. Not to mention, he is a highly underrated guitarist. They closed with a great version of Pretzel Logic and he was ripping on his solos. He goes way back with Eric Johnson, and the influence isn't hard to spot. Also, for the guitarist crowd, he's a Dumble amp guy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill5 Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 54 minutes ago, Stokely said: Hate that term "yacht rock" but especially because I tend to like a lot of it and we usually sound great doing it I hate it because it's just a stupid term that makes no sense and is generally a degoratory one used a lot by people who think all music should be "edgy." It is not even a genre - then again, neither are about 800.000 other alleged genres which people come up with on a seemingly endless basis these days as they think it somehow gives a given song more validity. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Gehrig Charles Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 15 minutes ago, bill5 said: I hate it because it's just a stupid term that makes no sense and is generally a degoratory one used a lot by people who think all music should be "edgy." +2 I tend to equate the term "yacht rock" with terms such as "OK, Boomer" and whatever other subtle putdowns the cool kids are using these days to put people who are their parents age back in their place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Gehrig Charles Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 By the way, can the song "Sailing" even be considered "yacht rock" if most yachts don't have sails? I don't know the correct term for operation of a yacht. Maybe one sails a yacht regardless if it has a motor or not? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokely Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 Whoops didn't mean to set off a firestorm Indeed despite my dislike of the term, I don't let it get me down, I just listen to/play the songs if they fit the band! Labels aside, it's funny though what younger people get into. My oldest son is 21 and I noticed the other day when he visited that he had two LP albums--he doesn't yet have a turntable, so that's a bit odd, but the part that caught my eye was that one of them was Donald Fagen's The Nightfly. I actually, somehow, by accident probably, did at least one thing right as a parent! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 Top marks to any guitarist who books two keyboard players and no other guitar. Nile Rodgers does the same thing with Chic. Cheers, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill5 Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 1 hour ago, Lou Gehrig Charles said: +2 I tend to equate the term "yacht rock" with terms such as "OK, Boomer" and whatever other subtle putdowns the cool kids are using these days to put people who are their parents age back in their place. Exactly. Now get off my lawn blah blah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 3 hours ago, Stokely said: Hate that term "yacht rock" but especially because I tend to like a lot of it and we usually sound great doing it I just translate it as "oh, music with good writing and musicianship" (for the most part, there's definitely some cheesy-to-me stuff lumped in there.) Funny, I always saw it as a term of endearment. Frankly, chilling on a yacht, enjoying some laid back tunes, is something I'd sign up for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 Start your yacht rock education with this errr "documentary" series. 1 4 Quote Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_evett Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 1 hour ago, mate stubb said: Start your yacht rock education with this errr "documentary" series. Too fun! Must watch the rest of these... Quote 'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo. We need a barfing cat emoticon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogholic Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 6 hours ago, bill5 said: I saw him in concert in a YT video and thought it was good. The guy is a crinimally underrated guitar player. Fun fact, he was subbing for Ritchie Blackmore once when Deep Purple were touring the states in the 70´s....he was like 17 at the time 1 Quote All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 1 hour ago, allan_evett said: Too fun! Must watch the rest of these... It's literally where the term came from. It was named much later. Two guys sitting around probably drunk or stoned trying to find a way to sum up the cokey, short-shorts on dudes vibe of that era and the music. They introduced the cap and the whole nautical thing that people do. Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 3 hours ago, mate stubb said: Start your yacht rock education with this errr "documentary" series. I saw it a while ago. Too hilarious.🤣😎 Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 And Sailing, as well as the rest of the first album, is Tommy Taylor, later of Eric Johnson on drums , not Jeff Porcaro, who did visit the studio during the recording and supposedly did attempt to play it but it didn't work. He did provide Tommy some tips on it. Tommy has explained this multiple times on his FB page. And this was actually supposed to be a band called Christopher Cross, the way Ozzy's was and of course got turned into a solo artist with sidemen. And yes to the EJ connection, this is just one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogholic Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 2 hours ago, analogholic said: Fun fact, he was subbing for Ritchie Blackmore once when Deep Purple were touring the states in the 70´s....he was like 17 at the time Quote All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogholic Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 8 hours ago, ABECK said: I saw Christopher Cross at a local theater a few years back. The live performance was tight. Spot on. Band was dialed in. Not to mention, he is a highly underrated guitarist. They closed with a great version of Pretzel Logic and he was ripping on his solos. He goes way back with Eric Johnson, and the influence isn't hard to spot. Also, for the guitarist crowd, he's a Dumble amp guy 1 Quote All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazzjazz Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 Coincidentally I watched that just yesterday and was stoked to see an original OBX! Quote www.dazzjazz.com PhD in Jazz Organ Improvisation. BMus (Hons) Jazz Piano. my YouTube is Jazz Organ Bites 1961 A100.Leslie 45 & 122. MAG P-2 Organ. Kawai K300J. Yamaha CP4. Moog Matriarch. KIWI-8P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Tatum Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 Hey, I like that 70's soft rock stuff. Where's my yacht? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzpiano88 Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 It wasn't Yacht Rock at the time (that derogatory term was coined around 2005). When Jam and Lewis first heard Ride Like The Wind on the radio, they had to pull over and listen to it. Then they said "What the F is that!?" Christopher was signed because he sent his demo tape to the wrong person. Omar was assigned to produce him, and Christopher only agreed once he became aware that Omar played piano on the Steely Dan hits. Chris looks (and sings) like he's in his lower 50's if not younger: 1 1 Quote J a z z P i a n o 8 8 -- Yamaha C7D Montage M8x | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzpiano88 Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 And in case someone hasn't seen this famous parody of Michael McDonald recording his noteworthy backing vocals on Ride Like The Wind, there's this: 2 1 Quote J a z z P i a n o 8 8 -- Yamaha C7D Montage M8x | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamanzarek Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 Christopher Cross wasn't the only guitarist to sub for Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple. In 1972 Blackmore came down with hepatitis before a show in Quebec. The band got Randy California of Spirit to do the Quebec show and then canceled the rest of the tour. I remember reading about this at the time probably in Rolling Stone. Though the quality isn't great that show was recorded. Quote Gibson G101, Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, Vox Continental, RMI Electra-Piano and Harpsichord 300A, Hammond M102A, Hohner Combo Pianet, OB8, Matrix 12, Jupiter 6, Prophet 5 rev. 2, Pro-One, CS70M, CP35, PX-5S, WK-3800, Stage 3 Compact Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o0Ampy0o Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 I like some of the Yacht Rock. I also like Smooth Jazz and including some Kenny G. I don't like the direction Smooth Jazz went, which ultimately killed it, but up until that point it brought me great pleasure listening to it. I am not clear what the actual years of these two genres span but the 80's was a good time to see many of those musicians. Many of the venues had good acoustics and most seats were good. Never saw Christopher Cross live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogika Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 21 hours ago, Stokely said: it just sounds "frumpy". This is Frumpy: Quote "The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk) The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 I ignore all those labels that were invented and applied way after the fact like Yacht Rock, Prog, and Classic Rock. Quote "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill5 Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 Actually prog rock was a label that came out about when the music did, led by groups such as Yes and Genesis (before Genesis went mainstream). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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