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Alchemist Unveils ‘Yacht Rock 2’ Album Cover & Tracklist

After teasing it a few times, Alchemist has finally decided to drop details about his forthcoming new album Yacht Rock 2 .

The highly respected producer detailed the 12-track effort, describing it “the perfect soundtrack for your 2019 summer vacation.” He has shared the official cover and tracklist today which features guest appearances from Westside Gunn, Conway, Roc Marciano, Action Bronson, Gangrene, Mayhem Lauren, Benny the Butcher, Willie the Kid and more. Take a look below.

Yacht Rock 2 will hit stores everywhere August 30th.

View this post on Instagram YACHT ROCK 2 . AUGUST 30. A post shared by Alchemist (@alanthechemist) on Aug 7, 2019 at 7:05am PDT

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Yacht Rock 2

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Alchemist Reveals ‘Yacht Rock 2’ Album Cover Art & Tracklist

August 8, 2019

Alchemist reveals ‘Yacht Rock 2’ Cover art and tracklist.

Alchemist is releasing his new album ‘ Yacht Rock 2 ‘ on August 30th and today the producer decided to unveil the official cover art and tracklist. The project will have 12 tracks with guest appearances from Westside Gunn, Conway, Action Bronson, Mayhem Lauren and more. Check it out below.

  View this post on Instagram   YACHT ROCK 2 . AUGUST 30. A post shared by @ alanthechemist on Aug 7, 2019 at 7:05am PDT

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Review: Alchemist Sails Into Summer Vibes On “Yacht Rock 2”

• 3.4 Community Rating
• 7 Rated the Album
• 3 Gave it a 5/5

Believe it or not Hip Hop and yacht rock have been intertwined for some time now. From Warren G’s Michael McDonald sample of “I Keep Forgettin’” on the Nate Dogg backed- “Regulate” to De La Soul’s use of Steely Dan’s “Peg” on “Eye Know,” Hip Hop artists have taken elements from yacht rock, a genre developed in the late ‘70s featuring smooth basslines, harmonic pop hooks and polished instrumentation, more than some may think.

So, it’s no surprise prolific producer Alchemist has dedicated a whole album to the fusion of the two genres.

This time, Alchemist extends the voyage of 2012’s short-EP Yacht Rock for a more complete experience on Yacht Rock 2 .

The beat virtuoso takes the listener straight to the ocean with shimmering synths, aquatic piano and laid-back strings that would make Christopher Cross and Kenny Loggins proud.

The tone of the succinct project is set immediately with “Uptown Aquarium,” backed by smooth bass, light keys and an aggressive yelling, spoken-word feature from Big Body Bes, contrasting well alongside the calm vibe with lines like “I was raised in an aquarium/ I was born in the bottom of the ocean/ I was born under the sand/ You must be out your muthafuckin’ cranium.”

Boldy James comes through with a solid verse on “Ocean Prime” throwing in as many references to being on the water as possible ranging from being deserted on an island to taking Dramamine to prevent seasickness.

Griselda Records’ Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher steal the show, with the trio using their verses to deliver a storm of grit to the mostly calming waves of tracks. Alchemist darkens the production when the Buffalo natives jump on the mic. The Butcher teams up with Elcamino on “Sand Castles,” taking the boat off course and into the rough waters as they rap about selling drugs and the street life. Benny paints the picture of the street hustle with bars like “I run around with this big Glock/ Drive through Cleveland with a brick, hit your town for a pitstop/ You know that swish shot?/ It make the same sound when my wrist lock/ Back when y’all was piss pots/ I had a fork in my hand, pulling powder out fish pots.”

Conway and Westside Gunn continue the detour on “Eastside” with street raps about trappin’ and homies doing jail time, complemented by a killer guitar riff. These two tracks feature some of the best performances on the record as each artist completely changes the tone, standing out from the pack. From there, skies brighten and the waters calm down as Alchemist brings on Big Twins for a short and raspy verse on “Billy Dee” closing it out with an elevator music-esque outro on “The Floating Hotel,” docking the boat and returning to shore.

Overall, Alchemist’s beautiful production carries the majority of this project with each track’s potential only being reached when the featured artist distinguishes themselves enough to stand out. The concept is followed almost too closely at times and at other points abandoned altogether. Action Bronson’s quick hit verse on “Tropical Storm Lenny,” is passable, but ultimately a forgettable entry from one of the most notable features on the list. On tracks like “Harry O.” the shorter song strategy backfires as Roc Marciano barely gets any time to drop a verse before the track fades out.

Other times the production itself swallows the featuring artist like on “Sex in the Fountain-Bleu,” with Meyhem Lauren clashing with the high-pitched synths.

Despite some inconsistencies and varying level of performance, there’s no denying the exuberant ride Alchemist’s latest experiment takes you on. It’s a short voyage, but ultimately a satisfying listen to close out the summer.

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A beginner’s guide to yacht rock in five essential albums

Yacht rock, soft rock – call it what you will. Here are five brilliant albums that define the genre in all its bearded, Hawaiian shirted glory

Was there really ever a genre called yacht rock ? Prior to the 2005 online comedy series of the same name, what we now know of as yacht rock was simply soft rock, largely of the 1970s variety, but occasionally dipping into the 80s as well. It was music that was smooth, slick and did little to challenge the listener in the way that heavy metal or punk rock would. Yet  sold in the multi-millions, made superstars of its creators, and was beloved by industry professionals for the stellar musicianship and high production values. And above all, it was detested by the critics.

Today, yacht rock is the ultimate guilty pleasure genre. Its patron saints - almost exclusively men, generally bearded – never appeared on posters that graced adolescents’ walls. Yet bands and artists such as The Doobie Brothers , Loggins & Messina and Christopher Cross made sweet, soulful music featuring some of the finest musicians of the era and sounding so, so perfect in the process.

Unlike prog, hair metal or krautrock, the boundaries of what constitutes yacht rock are blurred. There’s little to link the jazzy noodlings of Steely Dan , Boz Scaggs’ smooth pop and the later, 80s pop-rock of Hall & Oates beyond the fact that the various members of Toto appeared on many of these albums, making them kind of a yacht rock mafia.

Yacht rock, soft rock, call it what you will: the men who made it are laughing all the way to the bank in their Hawaiian shirts and well-sculpted facial hair while the rest of us celebrate their music in all its frictionless glory. Critics be damned, these are the five essential yacht rock albums for those who want to plunge into the genre.

Loggins & Messina - Full Sail (1973)

Kenny Loggins was a boyish-looking yet handsomely bearded fellow with a penchant for country-esque ballads. Jim Messina had been in Buffalo Springfield and country rockers Poco . The pair teamed up to record some of Loggins’ material and ended up becoming an unlikely success story, notching up hits with  1971 single The House At Pooh Corner and the following year’s Your Mama Don’t Dance , later covered by hair metallers Poison.

But 1973’s Full Sail was their apex. Featuring the ultimate yacht rock album cover (two men, one yacht), the album itself contains everything from the calypso frivolity of Lahaina , and the smooth jazz of Travellin’ Blues to the joyously upbeat My Music and hit ballad Watching The River Run . This is yacht rock’s ground zero. Boys, what did you unleash?

Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees (1976)

An early member of the Steve Miller Band , guitarist and vocalist Boz Scaggs’ solo career had begun 1969. But nothing had clicked with the record buying public until he hooked up with David Paich, Jeff Porcaro and David Hungate, all of whom were on the verge of forming Toto , and recorded his seventh solo album, Silk Degrees . A masterful mix of smooth pop and slick ballads, it spawned hits in the shape of It’s Over , Lowdown , We’re All Alone (made famous by Rita Coolidge) and the pulsating Lido Shuffle , a bona fide dancefloor filler.

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Steely Dan - Aja (1977)

Arguments rage as to whether these protagonists of achingly cool and clever jazz rock belong in the yacht rock genre, but hey, if the people who made the Yacht Rock online series say the are, who are we to argue?

Their sixth album, Aja , saw Walter Becker and Donald Fagan stretching out into longer form pieces of music that were funkier and jazzier than they’d ever been before, capping it off with one of the most pristine production jobs ever – such were their levels of perfectionism that six crack session guitarists tried and failed to lay down the guitar solo on Peg to their satisfaction (it was the seventh, Jay Graydon, who nailed it). Bonus yacht rock points: auxiliary Dan backing vocalist/keyboard player Michael McDonald was also a member of The Doobie Brothers.

The Doobie Brothers – Minute By Minute (1978)

In 1974, Steely Dan guitarist Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter moved across to hugely successful blues rockers The Doobie Brothers on a free transfer. The following year, he suggested recruiting Dan backing singer/pianist Michael McDonald as a replacement for the Doobies’ ailing guitarist/vocalist Tom Johnstone.

With his blue-eyed soul croon and knack for writing uptempo R&B-infused songs, McDonald helped nudge the band towards smoother waters. By 1978’s Minute By Minute , they had fully transformed from moustachioed chooglers into yacht rock kingpins. The album’s blend of soft rock and R&B reached its apotheosis on the majestic What A Fool Believes – co-written with Kenny Loggins, naturally – which ultimately helped turn McDonald into a bigger star than the band. For the record, the singer’s 1986 Sweet Freedom compilation is also yacht rock gold.

Christopher Cross - Christopher Cross (1979)

When Christopher Cross released his self-titled debut album in December 1979, no-one knew who he was. A year later, he’d racked up four Top 20 hits and swept the boards at the Grammy Awards.

It’s not hard to see why: Cross’ spectacular voice was matched by the brilliance of his songs. Everyone knows Ride Like The Wind , featuring that Michael McDonald fella on backing vocals, but it was the mellower Sailing that hit the No. 1 spot ( Ride… only managed No. 2). A year later Cross’ theme to the movie Arthur won him and co-writer Burt Bacharach an Oscar.

Cross was no slouch as a musician either: Steely Dan had asked him to play on their albums and he even filled in for a sick Ritchie Blackmore at a Deep Purple US show back in 1970.

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.

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Yacht Rock 2

August 30, 2019 12 Songs, 23 minutes ℗ 2019 ALC

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Yacht Rock: Album Guide

By David Browne

David Browne

Summer’s here and time is right for dancing … on the deck of a large nautical vessel. During the late Seventies and early Eighties, the radio was dominated by silver-tongued white-dude crooners with names like Rupert and Gerry, emoting over balmy R&B beats, swaying saxes, and dishwasher-clean arrangements. Though it didn’t have a name, the genre — soft rock you could dance to — was dismissed by serious rock fans as fluffy and lame. But thanks to a web series in the mid-2000s, the style — belatedly named “ yacht rock ” — has since spawned a satellite-radio channel, tribute bands, and a Weezer cover of Toto’s “Africa.” Is the modern love of the music ironic or sincere? Hard to say, yet there’s no denying yacht rock is a legit sound with a vibe all its own that produced a surprising amount of enduring music perfectly at home in summer. (John Mayer even tips his own sailor’s hat to the genre on his new “Last Train Home” single, and even the aqua-blue cover of his upcoming Sob Rock album.) The resumption of the Doobie Brothers’ 50th anniversary tour, postponed last year due to COVID-19 but scheduled to restart in August, is the cherry atop the Pina colada.

Boz Scaggs, Silk Degrees (1976)

Before yacht rock was an identifiable genre, Scaggs (no fan of the term, as he told Rolling Stone in 2018) set the standard for what was to come: sharp-dressed white soul, burnished ballads that evoked wine with a quiet dinner, and splashes of Me Decade decadence (the narrator of the pumped “Lido Shuffle” is setting up one more score before leaving the country). Add in the Philly Soul homage “What Can I Say,” the burbling life-on-the-streets homage “Lowdown,” and the lush sway of “Georgia,” and Silk Degrees , internationally or not, set a new high bar for Seventies smoothness.

Steely Dan, Aja (1977)

The sophisticated high-water mark of yacht, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s masterpiece is the midway point between jazz and pop, with tricky tempo shifts, interlocking horn and keyboard parts, and pristine solos. Not settling for easygoing period clichés, these love songs, so to speak, are populated by a sleazy movie director (the gorgeous rush of “Peg”), a loser who still hopes to be a jazzman even if the odds are against him (the heart-tugging “Deacon Blues”), and a guy whose nodding-out girlfriend is probably a junkie (“Black Cow”). The most subversive cruise you’ll ever take.

The Doobie Brothers, Minute by Minute (1978)

The Doobies got their start as a biker-y boogie band, but they smoothed things out for Minute by Minute . Highlighted by “What a Fool Believes,” the unstoppable Michael McDonald-Kenny Loggins co-write, the LP piles on romantic turmoil, falsetto harmonies, and plenty of spongy electric piano. But it also proves how much personality and muscle the Doobies could bring to what could be a generic sound. McDonald’s husky, sensitive-guy delivery shrouds the unexpectedly bitter title song (“You will stay just to watch me, darlin’/Wilt away on lies from you”)  and honoring their biker roots, “Don’t Stop to Watch the Wheels” is about taking a lady friend for a ride on your hog.

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Further Listening

Seals & crofts, get closer (1976).

The Dylan-goes-electric moment of yacht, “Get Closer” validated the idea that folkie singer-songwriters could put aside their guitars (and mandolin), tap into their R&B side and cross over in ways they never imagined. In addition to the surprising seductiveness of the title hit, Get Closer has plenty of yacht-rock pleasures. In “Goodbye Old Buddies,” the narrator informs his pals that he can’t hang out anymore now that he’s met “a certain young lady,” but in the next song, “Baby Blue,” another woman is told, “There’s an old friend in me/Tellin’ me I gotta be free.” A good captain follows the tide where it takes him.

Christopher Cross, Christopher Cross  (1979)

Cross’ debut swept the 1981 Grammys for a reason: It’s that rare yacht-rock album that’s graceful, earnest, and utterly lacking in smarm. Songs like the politely seductive “Say You’ll Be Mine” and the forlorn “Never Be the Same” have an elegant pop classicism, and the yacht anthem “Sailing” could be called a powered-down ballad. Fueled by a McDonald cameo expertly parodied on SCTV , the propulsive “Ride Like the Wind” sneaks raw outlaw lyrics (“Lived nine lives/Gunned down ten”) into its breezy groove, perfecting the short-lived gangster-yacht subgenre.

Rupert Holmes, Partners in Crime (1979)

The album that made Holmes a soft-rock star is known for “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” which sports a made-for-karaoke chorus and a plot twist worthy of a wide-collar O. Henry. But what distinguishes the album is the Steely Dan-level musicianship and Holmes’ ambitious story songs, each sung with Manilow-esque exuberance. The title track equates a hooker and her john to co-workers at a department store, “Lunch Hour” ventures into afternoon-delight territory, and “Answering Machine” finds a conflicted couple trading messages but continually being cut off by those old-school devices.

Steely Dan, Gaucho (1980)

The Dan’s last studio album before a lengthy hiatus doesn’t have the consistency of Aja, but Gaucho cleverly matches their most vacuum-sealed music with their most sordid and pathetic cast of characters. A seedy older guy tries to pick up younger women in “Hey Nineteen,” another loser goes in search of a ménage à trois in “Babylon Sisters,” a coke dealer delivers to a basketball star in “Glamour Profession,” and the narrator of “Time Out of Mind” just wants another heroin high. It’s the dark side of the yacht.

Going Deeper

Michael mcdonald, if that’s what it takes  (1982).

Imagine a Doobie Brothers album entirely comprised of McDonald songs and shorn of pesky guitar solos or Patrick Simmons rockers, and you have a sense of McDonald’s first and best post-Doobs album. If That’s What it Takes builds on the approach he nailed on “What a Fool Believes” but amps up the sullen-R&B side of Mac’s music. His brooding remake of Lieber and Stoller’s “I Keep Forgettin’” is peak McDonald and the title track approaches the propulsion of Christopher Cross’ “Ride Like the Wind.” With his sad-sack intensity, McDonald sounds like guy at a seaside resort chewing over his mistakes and regrets – with, naturally, the aid of an electric piano.

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Kenny Loggins, Keep the Fire (1979)

Loggins’ journey from granola folk rocker to pleasure-boat captain embodies the way rock grew more polished as the Seventies wore on. Anchored by the percolating-coffeemaker rhythms and modestly aggro delivery of “This Is It,” another McDonald collaboration, Keep the Fire sets Loggins’ feathery voice to smooth-jazz saxes and R&B beats, and Michael Jackson harmonies beef up the soul quotient in “Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong.” The secret highlight is “Will It Last,” one of the sneakiest yacht tracks ever, fading to a finish after four minutes, then revving back up with some sweet George Harrison-style slide guitar.

Dr. Hook, Sometimes You Win  (1979)

Earlier in the Seventies, these jokesters established themselves with novelty hits like “The Cover of ‘Rolling Stone,’’ but they soon paddled over to unabashed disco-yacht. Sometimes You Win features three of their oiliest ear worms: “Sexy Eyes,” “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman” and “Better Love Next Time,” all oozing suburban pickup bars and the somewhat desperate dudes who hang out there. The album, alas, does not include “Sharing the Night Together,” recently reborn by way of its sardonic use in last year’s Breaking Bad spinoff El Camino .

Carly Simon, Boys in the Trees  (1978)

As a trailblazing female singer-songwriter, Simon was already a star by the time yacht launched. Boys in the Trees features her beguiling contribution to the genre, “You Belong to Me,” a collaboration with the ubiquitous Michael McDonald. The Doobies cut it first, but Simon’s version adds an air of yearning and hushed desperation that makes it definitive. The album also packs in a yacht-soul cover of James Taylor’s “One Man Woman” and a “lullaby for a wide-eyed guy” called “Tranquillo (Melt My Heart),” all proving that men didn’t have a stranglehold on this style.

Anchors Aweigh

More smooth hits for your next high-seas adventure.

“BREEZIN’”

George Benson, 1976

The guitarist and Jehovah’s Witness made the leap from midlevel jazz act to crossover pop star with a windswept instrumental that conveys the yacht spirit as much as any vocal performance.

“WHATCHA GONNA DO?”

Pablo Cruise, 1976

Carefree bounce from a San Francisco band with the best name ever for a soft-rock act — named, fittingly, after a chill Colorado buddy.

“BAKER STREET”

Gerry Rafferty, 1978

Rafferty brought a deep sense of lonely-walk-by-the-bay melancholy to this epic retelling of a night on the town, in which Raphael Ravenscroft’s immortal sax awakens Rafferty from his morning-after hangover.

“REMINISCING”

Little River Band, 1978

The Aussie soft rockers delivered a slurpy valentine sung in the voice of an old man looking back on his “lifetime plan” with his wife. Innovative twist: flugelhorn solo instead of sax.

“WHENEVER I CALL YOU ‘FRIEND’ ”

Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks, 1978

After its ethereal intro, this rare genre duet grows friskier with each verse, with both Loggins and Nicks getting more audibly caught up in the groove — and the idea of “sweet love showing us a heavenly light.”

“LOTTA LOVE”

Nicolette Larson, 1978

Neil Young’s sad-boy shuffle is transformed into a luscious slice of lounge pop by the late Larson. Adding an extra layer of poignancy, she was in a relationship with Young around that time.

“STEAL AWAY”

Robbie Dupree, 1980

Is it real, or is it McDonald? Actually, it’s the best Doobies knockoff — a rinky-dink (but ingratiating) distant cousin to “What a Fool Believes” that almost inspired McDonald to take legal action.

“TAKE IT EASY”

Archie James Cavanaugh, 1980

Cult rarity by the late Alaskan singer-songwriter that crams in everything you’d want in a yacht song: disco-leaning bass, smooth-jazz guitar, sax, and a lyric that lives up to its title even more than the same-titled Eagles song.

“BIGGEST PART OF ME”

Ambrosia, 1980

Ditching the prog-classical leanings of earlier albums, this trio headed straight for the middle of the waterway with this Doobies-lite smash. Bonus points for lyrics that reference a “lazy river.”

“I CAN’T GO FOR THAT (NO CAN DO)”

Daryl Hall and John Oates, 1981

The once unstoppable blue-eyed soul duo were never pure yacht, but the easy-rolling beats and shiny sax in this Number One hit got close. Hall adds sexual tension by never specifying exactly what he can’t go for.

“COOL NIGHT”

Paul Davis, 1981

The Mississippi crooner-songwriter gives a master class on how to heat up a stalled romance: Pick a brisk evening, invite a female acquaintance over, and suggest . . . lighting a fire.

“KEY LARGO”

Bertie Higgins, 1981

Yacht’s very own novelty hit is corny but deserves props for quoting from not one but two Humphrey Bogart films ( Key Largo and Casablanca ).

“AFRICA”

The same year that members of Toto did session work on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, they released the Mount Kilimanjaro of late-yacht hits.

“SOUTHERN CROSS”

Crosby, Stills, and Nash, 1982

The combustible trio’s gusty contribution to the genre has choppy-water rhythms and enough nautical terminology for a sailing manual.

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Yacht Rock Essentials: “Still the One,” Orleans’ Ode to Loving, Long-Term Couples

Jim Beviglia

Some yacht rock songs can’t help but put you in a positive state of mind. “Still the One,” the 1976 hit by the band Orleans, certainly fits into this category. The song went to No. 5 on the charts, and would prove to be the biggest hit in the band’s history.

What is the song about? What prompted the topic of the song? And how did Orleans come together in the first place? Let’s look back at “Still the One,” a chipper love song that’s perfect for long-time relationship partners.

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Orleans or bust.

Orleans took its name from its influences, not its origin of location. The core trio of John Hall, Larry Hoppen, and Wells Kelly knew each other from nearby areas in upstate New York. All three were active in the music scene and crossed paths on various projects before deciding to form their own unit.

By the time Orleans released the 1976 album Waking and Dreaming , they were a five-piece, with bassist Lance Hoppen (Larry’s brother) and drummer Jerry Marotta joining the fold. But there were fits and starts in the time between when they formed and reached that point, with a few lineup changes and a record deal that came and went.

The band hit their stride when they joined up with producer Chuck Plotkin and Asylum Records. “Dance with Me,” a song they had recorded once before, was rejuvenated on their 1975 album Let There Be Music a nd went to the Top 10. That set the tone for “Still the One” the following year.

A Husband-and-Wife Collaboration

John Hall’s then-wife Johanna was a journalist who began helping her husband out with lyrics for Orleans songs. She was responsible for the lyrics to “Dance with Me.” In the case of “Still the One,” it was a prompt from a friend that got the ball rolling for her, as explained by John Hall in the liner notes for the band’s greatest hits CD:

“A friend of ours was going through a divorce and asked Johanna (Hall’s wife and lyricist) to write a song about a couple staying together. So she did, and she handed me the finished lyric on the back of an envelope and said, ‘Do you think you can do anything with this?’ I wrote the music to it in 10 minutes, which was a good sign.”

The band initially wasn’t sure about “Still the One” as a potential single, but producer Plotkin immediately heard it as a winner. He turned out to be right a couple of times over. In 1977, veteran country music singer Bill Anderson put out a version that made it into the Top 20 on the country charts.

What is the Meaning of “Still the One”?

Larry Hoppen sung the energetic lead vocal on “Still the One,” a song that earns its goodwill by not overselling its main point. The song wouldn’t have worked quite as well if the narrator had claimed everything had always been wonderful in the long love affair that’s being celebrated.

Instead, the narrator admits there are rough patches: We’ve been together since way back when / Sometimes I never want to see you again . He also talks about the times when he took her for granted: I looked at your face every day / But I never saw it ‘til I went away . Much of the song is given over to the refrain of You’re still the one , followed by all the different reasons he chose her in the first place, and keeps choosing her as the years pass.

We’re still having fun / And you’re still the one , sing the members of Orleans in buoyant harmonies. “Still the One” lives up to its name by wearing its affection so well throughout the years and enchanting those couples out there who have stuck it out and feel as much love for each other as they ever did.

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Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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