So I spent 10 days in the second half of June at the Virgin Islands (the U.S. ones). Despite being bombarded by vile, allergy-inducing Sahara dust during the latter part of this vacation, there was much to enjoy: the history, the rum distilleries, and of course some amazing diving and snorkeling experiences at the local reefs.
Perhaps the highlight of this trip for me, however, was getting a snorkeling trip over to Buck Island, which is said to have one of the ten most beautiful beaches on planet Earth. Having been there now....I can heartily agree with that judgement. With awe to spare!
Of course, I got to travel back and forth to this particular slice of paradise courtesy of a catamaran, which also doubled as a yacht. What was really awesome, though, was that the soundtrack the captain chose was of the smooth music variety. I can still remember almost every song I heard over that outing going back and forth, so I thought I'd share a few here:
Chicago - Happy Man (Chicago VII, 1974)
This was the first song that got played on the trip over. While its not the song I would have picked, I will say Chicago have had a crazy amount of hits since their genesis as a band in the late 60's, and this one wasn't too shabby. Their first album is pretty much the only album in their entire discography that is absolutely loved by even the most skeptical musical connoisseurs out there, but they certainly put out some great soft-rock stuff as the 70's came and went. Along with other prime-time content around the same period by
The Beach Boys,
Steely Dan and
Fleetwood Mac, this is some swell hammock noise.
Marc Jordan - Lost In The Hurrah (Blue Desert, 1979)
I had to double check on this one after the fact, but this is definitely the song that followed Chicago. Brief background - Marc Jordan is one of those guys who has probably written or been involved in a lot of music you've probably heard over the last thirty years, but most likely wouldn't know it: he's worked with everyone from
Kansas to
Josh Groban. Way back in 1979 however, he ended up working with
David Foster and produced an album called
Blue Desert which is considered to be a yacht rock classic (one which I'll eventually review in it's entirety). This song alone is probably worth the album and is perfect for any seafaring journey: it has a languid, almost hypnotic groove and arrangement, and Marc's soothing delivery and the cool keyboards dancing around it's jazzy atmosphere makes it a keeper.
Player - Melanie (Player, 1977)
Known for the monster smash 'Baby Come Back', this was a huge surprise when it was played on the way back from Buck Island. I didn't even know this B-side had been released as a single, but it was my favorite song off that album and has an absolutely amazing set of elements: huge tidal backing vocals, a killer bassline, an imaginative chord progression and overall arrangement that only the best Californian soft rock songs have and a nifty hook to boot amidst all this other stuff. What a great way to start the trip back after a day at the reefs.
Bobby Caldwell - My Flame (What You Won't Do For Love, 1978)
The last song I remember the captain playing (or maybe it just came up on the station he was on), and a minor classic on R&B radio back at the end of the 70's. It was a very early example of the slicker direction Westcoast music would take as the eighties came in full force. Along with Boz Scaggs'
Silk Degrees, Caldwell really set a high standard with this record for other smooth cats to follow. And that guitar...what a way to end a night. Or, in my case, a voyage back from one of the best beaches ever.
