The Smooth Operators Present Mellow Moods

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Théo Gosselin
In the 1970s studio techniques improved rapidly and there was plenty of money to hire the best musicians, so artists took their time to make their records. In Philadelphia, for instance, the sophisticated 'Philly soul' was created ('Get down with the mellow sound') by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and around the West Coast singer-songwriters started to make their own mellow sound, which is now known as 'yacht rock'. This clean new sound was perfect for upcoming FM radio that replaced AM Radio at the time, so it became immens popular, especially in the United States. By the beginning of the 1980s people got fed up with the mellow sounds and its popularity faded. The Smooth Operators (Martijn Soetens and I) pay tribute to the heyday of the FM radio sound with our series Mellow Moods. There's some fresh blood too. Enjoy our trip on quiet water!

Peter Godwin started as one half of Metro in the 1970s (the other half was Duncan Browne, known for his classic 'The wild places'). In the 1980s he became a frontrunner of electropop, making it big with hits like ’Images of heaven’, ‘Baby’s in the mountains’ and ‘Emotional disguise’. He also wrote for acts like David Bowie and Steve Winwood. 'French emotions' is on a new compilation called 'Liaisons dangereuses', compiled by Sven van Hees.

Track list:

Delta – Falling (1978)
Paul Davis – Cool Night (1981)
Young Gun Silver Fox – Emilia (2015)
Samantha Sang – Emotion (1977)
Amy Holland – How Do I Survive (1980)
The Dream Academy – Life In A Northern Town (1985)
Dance People – Midnight Breeze (1979)
John Martyn – Dancing (1982)
The Mystic Moods ‎– Midnight Snack (1975)
Photoglo – Don't Be Afraid To Love Somebody (1980)
Patrice Rushen – Forget Me Nots (1982)
Johnny Harris – Odyssey [Part 2] (1980)
Peter Godwin – French Emotions (1982)
Breakbot – Back For More (2015)
Scritti Politti – Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry For Loverboy) (1988)
Mary Lake – Budapest (2015)
American Gypsy – In The Morning (1975)
Full Moon feat. Neil Larsen & Buzz Feiten - Phantom Of The Footlights (1982)
Bobby Broom - Share My Love (1981)
Haggis Horns feat. Lucinda Slim - I Can’t Stop The Feeling (2015)
Boz Scaggs - JoJo (1980)
Khemistry - Can You Feel My Love (1982)
Par-le - Kamden Town (2015)
Walter Heath - You Know You’re Wrong Don’t You Brother (1974)
Judy Roberts Band - You Light Up My Life (1979)
Mickey Thomas - The Streets Only Knew Your Name (1977)
Quincy Jones feat. Patti Austin - Betcha’ Wouldn't Hurt Me (1981)
Jamie Woon - Sharpness (2015)
Light of the World - London Town (1980)
Con Funk Shun - California 1 (1981)
Robert Palmer - You Overwhelm Me (1978)
Hall & Oates - One On One (1982)


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