Smooth Sailing On A Luxurious Yacht Along The West Coast

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 Let’s hire a yacht on a sunny day and enjoy the good life, like the so-called yuppies did back in the day! 😊

Not only a good view to enjoy, but also fertile ground for musicality is that of California. Think of The Beach Boys, the hit makers of late sixties Sunshine Pop, the Laurel Canyon singer/songwriters (James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Carly Simon, Carole King, etc.) and the L.A. yacht rock musicians. Nowadays there is a lively electro pop scene. I focused on the yacht rock heyday around 1980 and its global successors. When the West Coast wind blows, musical inspiration will undoubtedly follow! 😊

The story goes that Living Without Your Love by Dusty Springfield, recorded in L.A. and released in early 1979, was originally titled Never Trust a Man In A Rented Tuxedo. The cover art pictured Springfield coming out of a hotel room shower, only covering herself up with a towel and a man in a tuxedo leaving the room. However, these plans were cancelled and the album was renamed Living Without Your Love with new cover art. Although album sales were poor, the LP has quite a few really nice songs. One of them is the opening track of this cloudcast.

Greg Phillinganes is well-known as a keyboard player on records by others. For instance, he played on Michael Jackson's Thriller and recently on the new John Mayer album Sob Rock. Lazy Nina, written by Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, initially came out on Phillinganes' 1984 solo album Pulse and is now on the compilation Too Slow To Disco Presents Yacht Soul as well:

"His was a name that seemed to appear on almost every top-selling blockbuster album of the era and the stars he worked for and with were only too happy to return the favor."

The inspiration for this cloudcast came partly from Dâm-Funk, by the way. Enjoy these warm sounds from the West Coast!

Tracklist:

Dusty Springfield – You Can Do It (1979)
The Cornelius Bumpus Quartet – Inside You (1983)
Ian Wilson – Four In The Morning (1985)
Nightwind – Why Can’t We (1982)
Paradise – Life Assurance (1982)
Prefab Sprout – Heaven Can Wait (1985)
Roby Duke – Come Let Us Reason (1984)
Carrera – Lucky One (New York Boy) (1983)
Sneaker – In Time (1981)
Dane Donohue – Can’t Be Seen (1978)
Rockie Robbins – My Old Friend (1981)
Al Jarreau – Girls Know How (1982)
Pages – Come On Home (1981)
Steve Marrs – Somebody Somewhere (1982)
Rick Bowles – Your Loss (1982)
Frank Stallone – Love Is Like A Light (1984)
The Kazu Matsui Project Feat. Robben Ford – Time Flies (1983)
Greg Phillinganes ‎– Lazy Nina (1985)
Patti Austin – Do You Love Me (1981)
The Cars ‎– You Might Think (1984)
Nick Lowe – Cruel To Be Kind (1979)