SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS – YACHT METAL

VARIOUS ARTISTS
YACHT METAL
CLEOPATRA RECORDS

Once, Yacht Rock was known as ‘Adult Contemporary’ or even ‘Middle of the Road’ (MOR for short). For some reason, that name has been switched to Yacht Rock. This album features various heavy metal bands covering classic Yacht Rock songs. On one level, you might be thinking, “this will not work.” But if Pat Boone (“King of the Road”) can cover Ozzy Osbourne (“Crazy Train”), why can’t some of metal’s best-known artists tackle this genre? They have, and this album is a lot of fun. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but one thing is certain, these artists are having fun, but they are equally serious about their craft of the song. The other thing about this album is the teaming up of some of the artists.

The album kicks off with Kim McAuliffe, formerly of Girlschool and Leader of Down. The pairing could not be better here; they take Nicolette Larson’s mellow hit and really give it a jolt. It sounds great and the extra energy gives the song an entirely new meaning. Even more interesting is Ronnie Romero (Elegant Weapons, Rainbow) teaming up with guitarist Britt Lightning (Vixen) and their remarkable and heavy version of “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)”. I am sure Rupert Holmes never envisioned his song to sound quite like this. The song, about a married couple looking to step out of their marriage for an evening, is much angrier and less smirky than the original, and there is a level of excitement that builds up the song.

Back in 1977 Jay Ferguson had a hit with “Thunder Island.” It only makes sense that Thor tackles this one with Steve Morse. Again, power dominates the song but there are elements of prog rock thrown in throughout this version. In 1978, Timothy Dalton duetted with Mae West on the Captain & Tenille song “Love Will Keep Us Together.” That version defies any sort of explanation or description, but on this album, George Lynch (Dokken) and Femme Fatale’s version is easy to describe. It is pure heavy rock. Their voices work well together; it was a wise choice for the pair. And if you ever wanted Dokken to cover the song, well, this is close enough.

There are a lot of cool things on this album. Graham Bonnet (Rainbow) and former Guns N’ Roses’ Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal’s cover of “Just The Two Of Us” is absolutely brilliant. And while not every song works, those that do make up for some of the weaker moments. Yacht Metal is an interesting experiment and one of those albums that, on paper, should not work. But these artists are able to rise to the challenge and take on the songs without any issues. It is a fun album that metal fans should embrace, while Yacht Rock fans may struggle with some of the arrangements of their favourite easy rock songs.

Cleopatra Records Links