To a certain generation, Gwen Stefani will always be the pink-haired ska goddess she was circa No Doubt’s Return of Saturn, but for her latest solo album, she took her sound in a very different direction.
The Voice coach, 55, has said Bouquet — out Friday, November 15 — was inspired by yacht rock, the once-maligned genre exemplified by artists like Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers.
“I always remember sitting in the back of my mom’s car and all of the songs playing [on the radio] were just so good,” Stefani told NME in October. “I mean, it was just the popular music of the time, which was classic rock, but I call it ‘yacht rock’ because if you put on a yacht rock playlist, it’s those songs: Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, the Eagles.”
The Grammy winner explained that she wanted to go back to that 1970s sound after spending much of her solo career putting a new spin on the ’80s.
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“I think the older you get, the more nostalgic you get,” she said. “I feel like I’ve played out all the ’80s stuff — like, I can’t even listen to it anymore so much. I want to write music that feels like this [yacht rock] music because there’s more chords in it, there’s more melody, and I really feel like I ended up getting there with this album.”
Sail away with Us for a look at seven songs that define the genre:
Christopher Cross, ‘Sailing’
There is simply no yacht rock without Cross or this song, which typifies the genre’s oh-so-smooth, jazz-inspired sound. It’s light and soft, but it’s still got a groove you can bop to while sipping champagne on the deck of your boat.
Steely Dan, ‘Dirty Work’
Stefani named Steely Dan as one of Bouquet’s biggest influences. You can’t go wrong with any of their songs, but “Dirty Work” gets the nod because of that Sopranos scene where Tony was belting along in his car. He absolutely had this on repeat on the Stugots.
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Kenny Loggins, ‘Heart to Heart’
He may be best known now for Top Gun’s “Danger Zone,” but Loggins’ true passion lies in funky bass lines and twinkly electric piano.
The Doobie Brothers, ‘What a Fool Believes’
If Cross is the president of yacht rock, then the Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald is his veep. (Bonus cred: Loggins cowrote this song.)
Archie James Cavanaugh, ‘Take It Easy’
A deeper cut with a decidedly yacht-forward message: “There’s not a sound to be heard except the waves on the shore.”
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George Benson, ‘Give Me the Night’
Benson is an architect of the spinoff genre yacht soul, which incorporates more R&B sounds. See also: Al Jarreau, Chaka Khan and Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.”
Thundercat, ‘Show You the Way’
The contemporary bassist’s music isn’t strictly yacht rock, but for this 2017 track, he teamed up with two of the OGs — Loggins and McDonald — for three and a half minutes of sheen on the high seas.
