Phil Ochs, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Patrick Sky, Len Chandler, Eric Andersen, Terence Boylan, Pete Seeger, and Tom Paxton performing together at a Broadside hootenanny at Village Gate in New York City, New York. November 1, 1964.
Terence Boylan
Jai Winding
Steve Hodge
John Boylan
Credit
Dane Donohue - Vocal, guitar
Mike Porcaro - Bass
Ed Greene - Drums
Jay Graydon - Guitar
Steve Lukather - Guitar
Victor Feldman - Percussion
Jai winding - Piano
Ernie Watts - Saxophone
Angelle Trosclair - Backing vocals
Bill Champlin - Backing vocals
Tom Kelly - Backing vocals
Bobby Lee, from Sheffield, England, invites the cosmos in with his blues-touched guitar meditations. Jennifer Kelly reviewed his Origin Myths in a recent Dust, noting that, Bobby Lee would likely find a kindred spirit in Tarotplane’s PJ Dorsey or in William Tyler in a transcendental mood. Like them, his blues drift towards revelation but very, very slowly.” Tobias Carroll will be reviewing Lee’s upcoming Shakedown in Slabtown for Dusted soon, but until then, dig into the man’s musical selections.
Deep Yacht Dives
After a long, cold, lonely winter, we’re finally getting a few warm days here in Northern England, which always has me reaching for a Margarita and my Larsen/Feiten Band LPs. As a fully paid up resident of the bargain bins, I’ve amassed my fair share of lower league soft rock, West Coast soul and AOR records which would generally be termed “Yacht Rock.” I have little interest in replicating the genre’s technical perfectionism or high end studio clarity in my own music, but can’t get enough of it when hanging with friends (remember that?) or driving. Slot these in between “What A Fool Believes” and “Ride Like The Wind” at your next family party and really impress your recently divorced uncle.
Terence Boylan — “Don’t Hang Up Those Dancing Shoes” (Asylum, 1977)
An early Yacht gem with a strong Jackson Browne vocal feel; it’s on the watershed of mellow Laurel Canyon SSW transitioning into sophisticated adult contemporary, as the 1980s come into view. It’s like watching a fish crawl onto land, grow legs and pull on a Lacoste tennis shirt. Describing a YR song as “breezy” is pretty tired, but I think it’s totally apt here.
The album is a real who’s who of early Yacht with members of Steely Dan, Toto (around the time of their formation), Pages as well as some West Coast soft rock cognoscenti like The Eagles and members of The Section. Having cut a solo record with Becker and Fagan way back in 1968, Boona as he was known, set the template for New Yorkers heading west to find their smooth.
Larry Lee — “Don’t Talk” (CBS, 1982)
Yacht Rock offered a new lease of life to many a past-their-prime boomer favorite, and this solo release from The Ozark Mountain Daredevils’ Larry Lee is a late era, high water mark of the genre. Gone are the dusty, hippie cowboys leanings of his former band; this is crisp early 1980s pop-rock which gestures towards new wave and wouldn’t sound out of place on the Fast Times At Ridgemont High soundtrack. Some major session dudes are present here, with David Hungate, Bill Champlin, David Sanborn and Lenny Castro in the starting eleven.
Peeking out coquettishly from under his baker boy hat on the cover, looking the spit of John McVie, Larry Lee was unlikely to ever hit the big time in the MTV era but he’s always got a place on my bedroom wall.
Diana Ross — “Let’s Go Up” (RCA, 1983)
As the appeal of disco began to wane, the genre’s stars began to look elsewhere for chart success. Many landed on a slick, post-Thriller sound, keeping West Coast session players in used Lamborghinis for most of the mid 1980s. Diana Ross’ 1983 lunge for relevance, Ross, was commercially unsuccessful but did garner a few killer deep cuts, including “Let’s Go Up” and the not very Yachty but excellent Grace Jones-ish “Pieces of Ice.” The whole album has a hi-tech cocaine-sheen which foreshadows the following year’s Miami Vice glossy yuppie-rock sound and pulls no punches with its line-up of late-Yacht studio pros. Check out Jeff Porcaro’s signature shuffle beat on “Let’s Go Up.”
The Parker Brothers — “Make Believe” (Crown Vetch Enterprises, 1981,1985)
Private Press blue eyed soul with one of the best wannabe Michael McDonald backing vocals in the chorus. The Parker Brothers were straight outta Pittsburgh, proving that the Doobie bounce could tolerate fresh water too. Recorded in 1981 but unreleased until 1985, this album sank without a trace until being reissued in 2016 by Favourite Recordings.
Released by Kenny Rogers a year earlier, Thunder’s original version dials up the spurned fool vocals and Christopher Cross-style chorus-drenched 12 string guitar. Whilst the verses err on the side of soft-southern rock, the electric piano, jazzy chords and tropical summer nights lyrical content keep it afloat.
Valerie Carter — “Crazy” (CBS, 1978)
As a back-up singer, Carter can be heard on countless Yacht classics, as well as albums by James Taylor, Jackson Browne and Little Feat amongst others. She was briefly persuaded to step into the limelight for a pair of solo albums released in 1977 and 1978 respectively. In a similar vein to Terence Boylan, Carter straddles the line between sensitive SSW and uptown R&B, with a hint of disco in the mix on Crazy.
Larry Carlton — “Wavin’ and Smilin’” (Blue Thumb Records, 1973)
Whilst the production is pure 1973, it’s easy to imagine “Wavin’ and Smilin’” on Ned Doheny’s Hard Candy or Prone LPs. With its mix of soft rock and jazzy R&B, it’s laying the groundwork for much of what was to become Yacht half a decade later. Predating Carlton’s much lauded work with Steely Dan by a number of years, this is essential proto-Yacht.
Chris Christian — “What Can There Be” (The Boardwalk Entertainment Co, 1981)
Perhaps the Yacht-iest thing I’ve ever heard. With a “What A Fool Believes”-style intro, a vocal somewhere between Christopher Cross, Bobby Kimball and Kenny Loggins, and a Toto-esque prog-pop breakdown, it could easily fall into pure pastiche. Instead it rides like the wind into Yacht perfection, with a stellar cast of A-list session cats to boot. If CC hadn’t been known primarily as a CCM-er, this could have been a smash.
Al Johnson — “I’ve Got My Second Wind” (Columbia, 1980)
With a not so subtle nod to Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won't Do for Love,” Al Johnson’s multi-orgasmic “I’ve Got My Second Wind” is another musical missing link, joining the dots between Yacht Rock, 1970s soul and the emerging Quiet Storm sound. Johnson’s vocal is classic R&B but there’s a distinct Aja feel to the arrangement and Lee Ritenour’s guitar solo places this firmly in the Marina.
Bill House — “You’re No Better Than A Common Thief” (RCA, 1974)
No prizes for guessing that Bill House was a fan of the first two Steely Dan records. “Common Thief” feels more like that a direct ancestor of first wave Yacht Rock than anything off Can’t Buy A Thrill or Ecstasy though. Once again, the early 1970s production dates it, but it deserves to be filed next to Ace’s “How Long” as one of the core foundational texts of Yacht.
"...Boylan landed a recording contract with David Geffen’s Asylum Records, a famous stable of singer-songwriters that included Joni Mitchell, Warren Zevon, the Eagles, John David Souther and Tom Waits.... [the album Terence Boylan] went to number one on the Billboard National Breakout list the week it was released, and was the most added album at radio for five weeks straight. The level of writing and musicianship on Terence Boylan (Asylum 7E-1091) prompted a number of critics to hail it as "astonishingly brilliant", and the reviews were laudatory both in the US and abroad, winding up on a number of top ten lists at year’s end. Iain Matthews, a British singer, picked up on two of Boylan’s tunes for his album Stealin’ Home, and his version of "Shake It" quickly climbed to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The following year, Boylan won two BMI Awards for Best Songwriting."
Terence Boylan - Don't Hang Up Those Dancing Shoes (1977)
Early front-runner for official Summer 2012 theme-song, straight out the 14201. Though he's a little buried in the mix, Donald Fagen is feat. here on the keys as well. This one is unstoppable... Poached it from the dollar bin.
