Kosmik Radiation Radio - Feb 4, 2011 Playlist

Yacht Rock!
The Godfathers of Yacht Rock

CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Crosby Stills & Nash "Crosby Stills & Nash" 1969 (USA/UK)

This month's special is a tongue-in-cheek salute to "yacht rock" -- the smooth aquatic-themed sounds that dominated radio during the 1970's. I would argue that the origination point of this trend was the debut album by Crosby Stills & Nash, which is among the most influential cornerstone albums of its era. Adopted as icons by "the Woodstock Nation", CSN led the movement away from "heavy rock" towards a smoother, more adult-oriented sound. Though immensely popular, the group also generated an immediate backlash based on the (probably accurate) perception that they were spoiled millionaire hypocrites only playing at being revolutionaries, as this interesting piece from Rolling Stone magazine from 1970 shows. And more specifically on the "yacht" theme -- Crosby, Stills and Paul Kantner from the Jefferson Airplane wrote the utopian hippie anthem "Wooden Ships" while sailing on Crosby's yacht (though the most famous version is the one on this LP, the Jefferson Airplane version was actually released first.) This song, which equates sailboating with being "free and easy", launched the era of seaborne escapist pop songs. And every CSN album since has included at least one song about sailing . . .
The centerpiece of this album is Stills' "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", an acoustic epic featuring the group's famous three-part harmonies. The other hit single from this album is Nash's "Marrakesh Express" (performed here by the duo of Crosby & Nash -- which lasted longer and recorded more albums than the full trio or the quartet version including Neil Young.) Next, here's CSN playing the song that started the yacht rock revolution, "Wooden Ships", as well as providing the name for contemporary San Francisco band Wooden Shjips. Some of the smooth acts that set sail in CSN's wake include soundalikes America and boating balladeer Christopher Cross. The smooth pop scene also inspired an amusing web series called Yacht Rock, though it places the focus on Michael McDonald from The Doobie Brothers and makes Hall & Oates (!?) into the primary rivals of the yacht gang.

Artist	Song	Album	Year (label)	Country
Wooden Shjips	Aquarian Time	Dos	2009	USA
Jefferson Airplane	Wooden Ships (by David Crosby, Stephen Stills & Paul Kantner)	Volunteers	1969	USA
The Ides Of March	Wooden Ships (CSN/Jefferson Airplane) / Dharma For One (Jethro Tull)	Vehicle	1970	USA
Crosby Stills & Nash	Wooden Ships (by David Crosby, Stephen Stills & Paul Kantner)	Crosby Stills & Nash CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK	1969	USA/UK

Crosby Stills & Nash	Pre-Road Downs (by Graham Nash)	Crosby Stills & Nash CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK	1969	USA/UK
Crosby Stills & Nash	Lady Of The Island (by Graham Nash)	Crosby Stills & Nash CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK	1969	USA/UK
Crosby Stills Nash & Young	The Lee Shore (by David Crosby - live)	Four Way Street	1971	USA/UK /Canada
The Stills-Young Band	Midnight On The Bay (by Neil Young)	Long May You Run	1976	USA/Canada
The Stills-Young Band	Black Coral (by Stephen Stills)	Long May You Run	1976	USA/Canada
The Stills-Young Band	Ocean Girl (by Neil Young)	Long May You Run	1976	USA/Canada

Grand Funk Railroad	I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home)	Closer To Home	1970	USA
Hot Tuna	Sea Child	Burgers	1972	USA
Jimi Hendrix	Pali Gap	Rainbow Bridge	rec. 1970, rel. 1971	USA
Flo & Eddie	Nikki Hoi	The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie	1972	USA

The Beatles	Yellow Submarine	Revolver	1966	UK
KISS	Torpedo Girl	Unmasked	1980	USA
Skintones	All Hail Poseidon	Rock Scene Problem	2003	USA
The B-52's	Rock Lobster	The B-52's	1979	USA
The Jimi Hendrix Experience	1983 . . . (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)	Electric Ladyland	1968	USA/UK

Donovan	Atlantis	Barabajagal	1969	UK (Scotland)
Parliament	Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)	The Motor Booty Affair	1978	USA
The Isley Brothers	Voyage To Atlantis	Go For Your Guns	1977	USA

Nektar	A Tab In The Ocean	A Tab In The Ocean	1972	UK/Germany
Robert Wyatt	Sea Song	Rock Bottom	1974	UK

Neil Young	Sail Away	Rust Never Sleeps	1979	Canada
David Crosby & Graham Nash	. . . To The Last Whale a. Critical Mass b. Wind On The Water	Wind On The Water	1975	USA/UK
The Blues Magoos	Sea Breeze Express	Gulf Coast Bound	1970	USA