Starbuck's Moonlight, Feel's Right

Wow!  Just stumbled across this golden gem:  Starbuck's Moonlight, Feels Right.

Love it:

• smooth groove
• lots of keyboards
• berets
• marimba solo <-- greatest solo EVER!
• slightly sleezy lyrics about midnight connections and cruising under the moon
• uptempo beat w/out being overbearing
• facial hair

This is right in the HEART of Yacht Rock sweet zone!  #winner #bullseye

Seals & Crofts -- Summer Breeze

While they were certainly part of the SoCal scene that birthed many of the greatest Yacht Rock songs, Summer Breeze (despite it subject) is -- in the final analysis -- too wimpy to be considered Yacht.

It suffers from same affliction as Christopher Cross's Sailing -- flaccid beat.

Marty Balkin's Hearts

Today I came across Marty Balin's Hearts (1981) and it caught my ear because of the smooth sounds.

But, it is yacht or blue-eyed soul? It does throb along with a definitive beat in the right sweet spot of mid-tempo. But, the production seems far too slick for yacht rock -- which does require a bit of "grit" and some human touch.

Verdict? Close -- even VERY close -- but, no.

Despite it's name, Christopher Cross's mega-hit Sailing is NOT a yacht rock song.  The beat (if there is one) is far too flacid.

But, here is a CC song that has the nice brisk beat required, plus prominent keyboard, jazzy guitar solo, smooth vocals, and root-on-the-one bass work:  Never Be the Same.