Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary

As "Yacht Rock: A Documentary" (2024 release; 96 min) opens, we are in "1982, Santa Barbara, California", and the Doobie Brothers are on stage doing "Taking It To the Streets". A number of talking heads, including Questlove, talk about the LA music scene in the 70s and early 80s. We then go to "1976" and examine the unlikely influence of Steely Dan on what would become Yacht Rock, a term not invented until decades after the facts. At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from director Garrett Price ("Daisy Jones & the Six"). Here he examines the phenom that has become a musical subgenre called Yacht Rock. If you are a certain age and familiar with/grew up with SoCal music from the mid-70s and early 80s, much of this music is quite familiar, but you probably had never thought of this music as being its own genre. The Doobie Brothers (led by Michael McDonald), Toto, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, and other such acts are among the big names in Yacht Rock. "It rocks, but not too hard, but it rocks!" claims one talking head. I will not spoil how exactly Steely Dan fits in all this, you'll just have to see for yourself. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised how insightful and entertaining this all was. (At the very end of the documentary, the director ends up speaking with Steely Dan's Donald Fagen. Just watch!)

"Yacht Rock: A Documentary" started streaming on Max a week or so ago and I just watched it the other night. If you are a music fan, young or old, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Well-researched and edited survey of the sound that dominated the AM airwaves in the late 1970s and the musicians and technicians who were part of the scene. There are many interiews with members of Toto, Doobie Bros, and contemporary artists that reveal and trace both well and little known connections between diverse artists and bands. The contencious issue of whether or not Steely Dan can be considered Yacht Rock is covered. No spoilers but it's hillarious. As for my husband and I, we are of the belief that Steely Dan can never be considered Yacht Rock because they are such haters. The proof is in the lyrics: Royal Scam, Showbiz Kids, Only a Fool Would Say That, Haitian Divorce, to name a few. They even hate on themselves, and we love them all the more for it!

Omg did I love this. I am not into the music so much, but as a person born in 1974 - it was the backing track to my entire childhood. It was so interesting to learn about all of the studio musicians but most of all ...what a group of sweethearts. Really. I was dying of cuteness. It's not that often that you see a bunch of men just full of joy. It was interesting to revisit that time and learn how the sausage was made. Everyone was just a bunch of goofy looking nerds! But SUPER TALENTED NERDS. Even if you hate the music, definitely give it a watch. I promise you - you will be full of smiles at the end.

Most rock documentaries are about adulation; this one is about adulation via ridicule. The genre label now known as 'yacht rock' derives from an obscure, low-budget web comedy series from 2005 of the same name, in which some of the stars of the late 1970s and early 1980s soft rock scene in Los Angeles - people like Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, and the Toto guys - are parodied and ridiculed. However, the basis for it all was the web series creators' love of the music these guys made, and this is the phenomenon explored so brilliantly in this new HBO documentary made by Garret Price. Many of the most famous 'yacht rockers' of that era, such as McDonald, Loggins, Cross, Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro, and David Paich, appear and talk willingly about the scene they once were a part of and helped form, while others refuse to take part, telling director Price to "go f*ck himself" when he calls them up (Donald Fagen of Steely Dan). The inclusion of this sound clip is just one of the many gems that make Yacht Rock: A Documentary into one of the most enjoyable and enlightening music documentaries I have seen in a while.

Excellent look and interviews from studio, musicians and artists from the late '70s and '80s. The documentary showed a lot of how jazz and blues inspired the music was from these artists. The only part I did not like was where they showed how some rappers used. Michael McDonald's music in the 90s. That part was unnecessary in my opinion. I've never been a fan of people stealing other artists' music.

Other than that, I loved the interviews from the studio musicians that were parts of many albums. It was great to hear personal insights and how a lot of groups got their starts. I did not know that Toto was made up of so many studio musicians. Not a fan of Michael McDonald's voice, but I loved his stories and the documentary pointing out all those songs that he sang on during this time. It was really hilarious when they tried to get Donald Fagen of Steely Dan to comment on the phone.

I've been a fan of the music ever since XM started the station in 2016. And the YouTube videos that started the Yacht Rock name are just hilarious! I highly recommend you check them out if youhave not watched them yet.