[I review "Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary," "Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius}" and "Duran Duran: There's Something You Should Know"]
"Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary" (2024)
A smooth "dockumentary" about the West Coast sound known as "Yacht Rock."
If you thought you knew what "Yacht Rock" was, after watching this documentary you will probably realize you didn't.
Yes, there is the whole thing about it being high class, expensive, relaxing and smooth, like a yacht, but Christopher Cross notwithstanding, that's really where the nautical theme ends. As pointed out in the film, no one except the captain in Captain & Tennille ever wore a captain's hat. The term actually came from a 12-episode online mockumentary series called "Yacht Rock" that ran from 2005-2006. And yes, the term "yacht rock" is sometimes used in the pejorative sense, but after seeing this documentary I have new respect for the genre.
"It's not that it doesn't rock. It just doesn't rock too hard." It's soft rock but is all soft rock "yacht rock?" No.
Yacht rock is the smooth, soul-inflected jazz rock produced largely between 1977-1984 by some studio musicians and vocalists, songwriters, and producers, the four leaders being Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Kenny Loggins, and Toto, with the flagship being Michael McDonald. The music is more about heavy emotion and heartbreak, as in men actually do have feelings. I mean, c'mon, Michael McDonald's voice alone makes you want to cry. "What a Fool Believes" is #1 on the Yachtsie scale," and he was an early member of Steely Dan (that was something I did not know). The music is not only smooth and jazzy, it has a groove, often called a bounce. Listen to those bands. They all have a very clear bounce in their music. Others that fall into the genre are Seals & Crofts, Boz Skaggs, and the aforementioned Christopher Cross.
Major players in the genre are interviewed in the film: Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross and Steve Lukather of Toto. Here is a little fun fact about Lukather. I had the privilege of seeing him as part of Ringo Star's All-Starr Band when we were living in Washington State and they performed at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery. He is a fantastic guitarist and just embodies the rock god persona. I was fortunate to be upfront and after he performed and was leaving the stage, I blurted "You're fabulous!" And he looked back at me and said, "YOU'RE fabulous!" Be still my heart! Oh, and as an aside, I high-fived Ringo too! That's how close I was!
Directed by Garret Price, this film is very much a love letter to Steely Dan which makes it all the more funny when Price calls Donald Fagen asking to interview him for the film and Fagen tells him to "F**k off" and hangs up on him.
Rosy the Reviewer says...a very fun, engaging and enlightening music documentary. I will never make fun of the term "Yacht Rock" again. (Max)
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (2025)
The rise and fall of a musical legend.
Amir K. Thompson AKA Questlove has done it again. He won an Oscar in 2022 for his outstanding documentary "The Summer of Soul," and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets another one for directing this fantastic documentary about, yes, a black genius.
Sly and the Family Stone reigned musically in the 60's and 70's and were early pioneers of funk. Their performance was a highlight at Woodstock. At first, for Sly it was all about the music. But then, as they say, stuff happens.
Sylvester Stewart aka Sly Stone sang in church as a young boy and began his professional career as one of the most popular radio DJs in San Francisco. Then he was a record producer ("Laugh Laugh" for The Beau Brummels and Great Society's "Someone to Love") and then he started writing songs and performing.
He formed a multiracial band with both men and women and wrote and performed music that was culturally in sync with what was going on socially. After Woodstock, Sly and the Family Stone was a superstar band and Sly Stone's influence was seen in many artists like Prince and Janet Jackson. A who's who of talking heads from the music world weigh in on his impact and innovations and archival performance footage proves the points.
But then came the age of cocaine and PCP and Sly lost his way and his relevance. Drugs and erratic behavior were his undoing. Those he had influenced were now his competition and he faded away. Ironically, now the younger generation who may not even know who Sly Stone was are discovering him and sampling his music.
The film pays credit to Sly's genius and raises the question of the double standard that many black artists face but the film makes no excuses for Sly's downfall. And Sly doesn't either.
Rosy the Reviewer says...Questlove has made yet another brilliant documentary, this time highlighting the success and burden of a black genius. If you love music, this is a must see! (Hulu)
Duran Duran: There's Something You Should Know (2018)
Four decades of Duran Duran.
Who didn't have a crush on one of these handsome guys who were the epitome of 80's hair bands?
This documentary highlights their successful trajectory, their albums and does a sort of "where are they now?" as we catch up with them in 2018 as they share their stories and revisit old haunts.
Duran Duran consisted of Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Simon Le Bon, and believe it or not, none of the Taylors were related. They all came from a blue collar world in Birmingham, England but they didn't want to stay there and go that route. No blue collars for them. They formed a band and with their long hair and flashy clothes, they were known as "Birmingham's Peacocks." Over the course of their long career, they had huge hit albums, most notably "Rio." Oddly, no mention in the film of one of their biggest hits, "A View to a Kill."
Directed by Zoe Dobson, this short film covers the usual ups and downs and drama that bands go through - the breakups, the drugs - as well as their chart topping albums and all of the band members weigh in and are forthright about their struggles, though not much from Andy Taylor.
Hubby and I actually saw them in Everett, Washington in 2011. We had VIP tickets so were up close to the stage with the super fans (so close I could see up Simon Le Bon's nose) and let me tell you this band still had major super fans - women AND men!
Rosy the Reviewer says...not being a huge fan myself, I found the documentary a bit disjointed and dry, but Duran Duran fans will probably love it. (Now streaming on Netflix but if you want to see this documentary, better hurry. It goes away on April 21).
See You Next Time!
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