Any Major Dude With Half A Heart

Much of the music in these 14 volumes may be classified by some people as “Yacht Rock”, a term I deeply dislike. But in that, I am probably fighting a losing battle; the recent entertaining HBO documentary on the genre once known as soft rock, AOR or West Coast rock actually celebrated the term “Yacht Rock”, even incorporating it in its title.

The documentary makers seemed to acknowledge that not everybody likes the term “Yacht Rock” when they replayed their phone conversation with Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen. Upon hearing that term, he tells them to get fucked and hangs up on them. It is a stupid term which turns highly-accomplished musicianship into something of a joke. It may be affectionate, but it lacks respect. We might as well call Mozart, Handel and Vivaldi “Wig Concerto” music.

And the sight of crowds wearing skipper caps at “Yacht Rock” revival shows… ugh! You are not Tenille’s husband; take off those damn caps. You don’t see patrons at performances of “The Messiah” turning up wearing powdered wigs, do you?

It seems the makers of the pre-YouTube video series that gave the genre its ridiculous name were inspired more by a Loggins & Messina album cover than by the more obvious suspect, Christopher Cross’ hit Sailing. Both Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina would occasionally venture into the domain of “Yacht Rock”, but as a duo, they were firmly a folk-pop enterprise.

The offending album cover that gave a ridiculous name to a great sub-genre. Not a captain’s cap in sight.

It seems, though, that Christopher Cross has bought into the term. I stand with Fagen. Cross features on this mix, with Michael McDonald on backing vocals — and McDonald comes across really well in the docu. Also appearing in the film was Kenny Loggins. Here we have Loggins with the Bob James-produced original of What A Fool Believes, which he co-wrote with McDonald. The Doobie Brothers’ version, which came out a few months after Loggins’, is superior and rightly regarded as a gamechanger in Not Feeling Guilty music.

This so quintessentially American genre wasn’t confined to only the USA. A number of acts on this mix were not from the USA, though some recorded there.

Dusty Springfield makes another appearance here, after debut in this series on Volume 13.

Morocko hailed from South Africa, comprising musicians who had made their bones before forming their jazz-funk-rock band, most notably South African music legend Cedric Samson, drummer and lead singer of the band. They didn’t last long. Founded in 1980, they released one album in 1981 and then split.

From Australia we have Birtles & Goble, who as Beeb Birtles and Graeham Goble were members of the Little River Band. Goble wrote their finest song, Reminiscing (featured on Not Feeling Guilty Vol. 4), as well as hits like Lady, The Night Owl (on Vol. 2), Take It Easy On Me, The Other Guy, and It’s A Long Way There (on Vol. 6).

Funk-rock duo Denne & Gold, known to their moms as Michael and Ken, were British songwriters for several soul acts, including Aretha Franklin, The Pointer Sisters and Jackie Moore. Their best-known compositions are The Real Thing’s hits You To Me Are Everything and Can’t Get By Without You, and The Delegation’s mighty Where Is The Love (We Used To Know). Denne and Gold wrote many songs together, but recorded only one album as a duo.

Also British is Nigel Olsson, a drummer in the 1970s for Elton John and, briefly, Uriah Heep who decided that, as the title of one of his two albums has it, drummers in fact can sing.

Olsson drummed on Elton John classics like Rocket Man, Honky Cat, Daniel, Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting, Crocodile Rock, The Bitch Is Back, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Candle In The Wind, and Love Lies Bleeding, singing backing vocals on most of them, and played on all of John’s tours in the early- to mid-1970s. Then Elton fired Olsson, who went on to release a few records under his own name, scoring a US Top 20 with the featured Dancin’ Shoes in 1979. Olsson and Elton made up a while ago, and Nigel backed the Elton when he headlined Glastonbury in 2023.

Another non-US act here is Dutch jazz-rock guitar hero and alumnus of prog-rock band Focus Jan Akkerman, whose admirers include Queen’s Brian May. The vocalist on the featured song is a US singer and drummer named Willy Dee (singing drummers is a bit of a sub-theme here, it seems).

Handel and Mozart on a yacht. (Actual photo)

Toby Beau certainly is an American act. The name might suggest a lamé-jacketed country-pop singer. They were not that, but a country-rock act from Texas. Their name was taken from a shrimp boat, which may be a unique source of a band name. They toured with acts like the Doobie Brothers, Bob Seger, and the Steve Miller Band. Between 1978 and 1980 they released three albums, and had one big hit, the featured My Angel Baby. Their recording career might have stalled 44 years ago, but the band is still a going concern.

Also sporting a maritime name are Sea Level, but that moniker is a pun on the name of frontman C(huck) Leavell. The band was formed when members of the Allmann Brothers Band — keyboardist Leavell, drummer Jaimoe, and bassist Lamar Williams — set up their own band, complemented by additional members.  They lasted for five albums, from 1977-80.

Today, Chris Mancini is known as a writer, director, comedian, podcaster and son of legendary film composer Henry Mancini. As a young man, Chris played in his dad’s orchestra; and in 1983 he released a solitary AOR album. Its title, No Strings, might well have been a very clever artistically distancing allusion to his father.

A stalwart of AOR is guitarist Larry Carlton, who was worthy of a Collection of songs he played on. His wife was Christian rock singer Michele Pillar, whom he married in 1988. Her featured song precedes that, but the sound is AOR. Pillar’s voice has featured several times on The Simpsons, including doing the voice of Karen Carpenter.

All previous NFG mixes are live again. As always, this mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R, and includes home-skippered covers (and, yes, the image on the cover is a bit of a gag) and the above text in a PDF. PW in comments.

1. Jackson Browne – Running On Empty (1977)
2. Kenny Loggins – What A Fool Believes (1978)
3. Christopher Cross – I Really Don’t Know Anymore (1979)
4. Michael Johnson – Right Through The Heart (1980)
5. Bill LaBounty – Nobody’s Fool (1982)
6. Photoglo – Steal Away (1980)
7. Frankie Bleu – Take Your Time (Vanessa’s Song) (1981)
8. Greg Guidry – Show Me Your Love (1982)
9. Michele Pillar – Walk Across Heaven (1982)
10. Denne & Gold – Let’s Put Our Love Back Together (1977)
11. Morocko – Giving It Up (1981)
12. Jan Akkerman – She’s So Divine (1979)
13. Sea Level – Living In A Dream (1978)
14. Jolis & Simone – Roundabout Midnight (1979)
15. Dusty Springfield – Living Without Your Love (1978)
16. Toby Beau – My Angel Baby (1978)
17. Carole King – Dancin’ With Tears In My Eyes (1980)
18. Chris Mancini – Where’s That Feelin’ (1983)
19. Nigel Olsson – Dancin’ Shoes (1979)
20. England Dan & John Ford Coley – It’s Sad To Belong (1977)
21. Birtles & Goble – I Didn’t Stand A Chance (1980)

GET IT!

Not Feeling Guilty Mix 1
Not Feeling Guilty Mix 2
Not Feeling Guilty Mix 3
Not Feeling Guilty Mix 4
Not Feeling Guilty Mix 5
Not Feeling Guilty Vol. 6
Not Feeling Guilty Vol. 7
Not Feeling Guilty Vol. 8
Not Feeling Guilty Vol. 9
Not Feeling Guilty Vol. 10
Not Feeling Guilty Vol. 11
Not Feeling Guilty Vol. 12
Not Feeling Guilty Vol. 13