"YACHT ROCK: A DOCKUMENTARY"

HBO, or Max, or HBO/Max, or Max in My Pants...whatever the hell it's called, is now streaming and broadcasting an extremely entertaining documentary called "Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary" all about the smooth West Coast sound that dominated radio and the charts from the mid-70s through the early 80s.

Artists like Steely Dan, Toto, Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, the one and only Michael McDonald, and more pioneered this genre of music that combined elements of smooth jazz, rock, and R&B, along with themes of white male melancholy and longing to create a unique, incredibly well-polished sound that would come to be known as "Yacht Rock."

This latest music documentary from the HBO Music Box film series is directed by Garret Price, who also produced the terrific docs "Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage," "Mr. Saturday Night," and "Jagged."

Price has carved out a very smart niche in the documentary film world with these professionally mounted, well-researched, behind-the-scenes music docs loaded with great music and stories.

In most cases, he gets the cooperation of almost everyone involved in each documentary's subject to participate, and that is certainly the case for "Yacht Rock" (well, except for one major musician, but we'll get to that in a moment), as he has almost everyone in the film, from the musicians to the creators/performers of a wacky web-series that coined the phrase "Yacht Rock," to fans and celebrities who love this type of music.

The film traces the evolution of this genre that rocks—but not too hard—from its beginnings with Steely Dan in the mid-70s in Los Angeles to the stellar work of some incredible session musicians working in those studios at the time and beyond.

The formation of the band Toto, which was made up entirely of studio musicians who worked on tons of projects (projects that are shown in a jaw-dropping montage of album covers in which these guys are featured), is also explored and tied in with the emergence of people like McDonald, Loggins, Cross and more.

Perhaps the most obvious example of "Yacht Rock." This is McDonald at his smoothest, coolest, and best. A classic.

Fans, musicians, and journalists alike love, revile, mock, and adore the genre in equal measure, and this film captures all of that magnificently. The undeniable sophistication of the musicianship, the interesting collaborations of disparate artists, and the influence that the genre had on younger artists who followed are all explored in smart fashion.

In addition to providing detailed information about each artist's background, the documentary also features some great musical moments and fabulous stories about working in the studio, writing songs (by the way, Christopher Cross was on acid when he wrote "Ride Like the Wind"), and dealing with the public and critics.

This is my absolute favorite song of the genre. A perfect example of everything awesome about Yacht Rock. This was written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins; to me, it is bliss. Oh, and don't even get me started on the genius of this ridiculous video: Loggins acting his ass off as a tortured artist. Cute kid with deep blue eyes. Lots of pensive looks to the camera. A disturbing amount of pencils, teddy bears, and what seems to be an homage to the movie poster for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Now we know why the Yacht Rock guys didn't do well on MTV.

The film also features hilarious, inspiring, and, in some cases, brilliantly insightful interviews with people like Prince Paul from De La Soul, Mac DeMarco, Questlove, Fred Armisen, and singer/producer Thundercat, whose insight and commentary are probably the best in the whole film.

The genre's rise and peak popularity are covered (millions of records sold, tons of Grammys awarded—the majority of them to Cross—and more), as is its end when MTV reared its ugly head in the early 80s and all but killed "Yacht Rock."

Also talked about (and shown briefly) is that Goddamn video for McDonald's "Sweet Freedom" from the Billy Crystal/Gregory Hines comedy "Running Scared," which was pretty much the death knell of the genre until the mid-90s when hip-hop came along, saved its ass, and exposed it to a whole new generation.

This is rich and satisfying stuff told with intelligence, respect, and a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek humor. This is especially true as the guys from that goofy-ass YouTube series talk, and clips featuring comedians wearing fake beards, captain hats, and sunglasses are played to remind us of the strangeness of the internet during the mid-aughts.

Overall, this is a great piece of music history that is educational, unbelievably entertaining, and a showcase for some of the best musicians who have ever recorded music.

I was also delighted to see that they included a classic bit from "SCTV" in which Rick Moranis plays Michael McDonald in a hilarious sketch that covers a day in the life of the busiest singer in the business. In the film, we learn that McDonald loves the bit and told Moranis just that.

"Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary" is an outstanding portrait of the guys who put the music together, and if you do not fall in love with McDonald, Cross, and Loggins, or guys like Steve Porcaro, David Pack, and especially Steve Lukather, you have no soul.

As I mentioned above, not all of the musicians who were part of the genre would participate in this film.

One of those who refused to participate is the surviving member of Steely Dan (one of the greatest bands in the history of music), Donald Fagen, who sums up his thoughts on the project here in this clip from the movie:

How perfect is that?

"Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary" is streaming now on Max and is highly recommended. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks for reading, and please SUBSCRIBE to my weekly NEWSLETTER!

 And join me on Patreon as a paid subscriber to help keep this thing going.

Thanks again!

The Roots Live…WOW!

I have been a fan of The Roots, the amazing hip hop band out of of Philadelphia (best known as the house band on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”), for many, many years, but I had never seen them live until this past Saturday night at Ravinia (with Digable Planets and Arrested Development) and WOW.

Some Background

I became obsessed with hip hop around 1987 and it was my favorite genre of music until the mid-late 90s when I felt it began lose its edge, get repetitive, and kinda sound the same.

For about 8 years, though, hip hop was easily the most creative, important, impactful, and diverse genre of music out there.

During that stretch, the three acts performing Saturday at Ravinia were among the most important. They were three of my favorite at that time, easily.

The Roots brought a unique, jazzy, and eclectic approach to hip hop with their use of much more than turntables and microphones. The full band featured horns, guitar, drums, keyboards, and vocalists all performing live without a recorded beat or drum track. Lead by MC Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter (who formed the group with Amir “Questlove” Thompson), their incredible work was experimental yet traditional.

Digable Planets, also out of Philly, formed in 1987 as a trio who also brought a jazzy feel to their hip hop and an experimental attitude to their music. Butterfly, Ladybug Mecca, and Doodlebug released two seminal hip hop albums in the early 90s (“Reachin’” and the extraordinary “Blowout Comb”) before breaking up in late 1996. Singles like “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” and “Where I’m From” are classics in the genre.

Arrested Development (my absolute favorite of the three acts), from Atlanta, is one of the most important hip hip groups in music history. They formed in 1988 by MC Speech and turntablist Headliner, and became popular in the early 90s for their positive, Afrocentric, and alternative approach to the genre (especially to Gangsta Rap). Their debut album “3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of…” is one of the best debut albums of any genre and one of the most important rap albums of all time. Their song “Revolution” was featured in Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X,” and their positive, unique and new vision continued to flourish until 1996 when they disbanded.

What a Show

The chance to see these three incredible acts on one bill was not to be missed, so my lovely girlfriend Julie and I packed up the cart with food, chairs, a table, and some drinks, and headed to Ravinia.

Packed and ready to go to Ravinia for The Roots!

Our fun spread and lovely spot for the concert.

The weather was perfect. We found a great spot on the lawn surrounded by very cool folks, met up with friends for some great conversation and food, and then the show started.

Before the show. Yeah...I know, she's waaaay put of my league.

The Roots took the stage and I wondered what the hell was going on. Why was the headliner on stage first? Did the other acts cancel?”

Tariq from The Roots giving everything he's got on the stage at Ravinia.

Those thoughts faded as The Roots kicked it off with incredible covers of Kool and the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie" and Instant Funk’s “I Got My Mind Made Up,” while tearing up the stage with energy, showmanship, and musicianship of mind-blowing power.

Then Tariq (aka Black Thought, an incredible rapper/MC) introduced Digable Planets and I realized the evening was going to be a showcase with The Roots as the “house band” for the whole night. Incredible.

Butterfly, Ladybug Mecca, and Doodlebug walked on stage and, with one of the best bands in the world backing them, tore it up with incredible versions of “Where I’m From,” “Nickel Bags,” “9th Wonder,” and more.

Each MC was in fine form (Ladybug Mecca was exceptionally cool), the music was extraordinary, and the whole crowd (including myself) were on their feet dancing their asses off.

Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets doing what she does best. An amazing performance.

Digable left the stage and The Roots continued with their set. Then, Black Thought introduced Arrested Development and I went nuts.

Speech and the crew did a short set that included “Mr. Wendel” and “Tennessee,” and the vibe was powerful, positive, and downright joyful. I remembered immediately why I love this band so much and just how incredible they are live. Once again, The Roots never left the stage, playing all of the music for Arrested Development.

Speech and the other members of Arrested Development performing for a happy crowd at Ravinia. This was truly on of the best concerts I've ever seen.

After Arrested’s songs, The Roots kicked into high gear with a monster set that included classics like “Web/Dance Girl,” “Here I Come,” and “You Got Me.”

The energy level was at a high that only NASA could accurately measure. Each member of the band got to solo and show off their talent (yeah, there was an awesome tuba solo), which all built up to Digable Planets coming back on stage for knockout versions of “Appointment at the Fat Clinic,” and, of course, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat).”

The final stretch of the show was the best. I was pretty much losing my mind, dancing like a lunatic, and forming bonds and friendships with everyone around me. Arrested Development returned to join The Roots to make the audience even happier with cuts like “Children Play With Earth,” “Revolution,” and “People Everyday,” which actually made me cry. The Roots then closed out the show in epic fashion, and thus ended one of the best concerts I have ever seen in my life.

Seeing these important, legendary groups on stage, performing music that means so much to me was just spectacular, even more so because of the company I was with (Julie loved the show, even though she was not familiar with most of the songs). The atmosphere was that of complete and utter happiness.

The feelings I experienced back in the day when I listened to these bands in my car or on my turntable came rushing back while I was dancing like an idiot in the middle of Highland Park on a warm Saturday night. It was a show I will never forget and a night I will treasure for years to come.

Oh, and by the way, Oscar-winner Questlove, who kept the beat going for the entire show, never left the stage once in almost three hours. An inspiring, remarkable feat, even for someone who has to put up with jackass Jimmy Fallon four nights a week.

Thank you, The Roots, Digable Planets and Arrested Development. What a night.

Thanks, and please SUBSCRIBE to my weekly NEWSLETTER, can consider joining me on Patreon as a paid subscriber to help keep this thing going. Thanks again!