It takes a very particular kind of genius to conjure up a confection such as this.  Take one of the most critically maligned genres in modern pop history… let’s say Yacht Rock; and blend it with one of the most universally beloved… Heavy Metal for example. 

The possibilities are endless.

Captain and Tennille taking on The Runaways’s “Dead End Justice.” Rupert Holmes tackling Rainbow’s “Kill The King,” and the Doobies going full velvet jacket on what used to be Spinal Tap’s “Big Bottoms.”   And we’ll stop there because clearly, someone has got completely the wrong end of the stick and we must begin over.  Sorry about that.

Or maybe not!  True, Yacht Metal is an album full of metal acts embracing the yacht songs, as opposed to yachtsmen drowning in Behemothic riffs. But is one really any less mind-bending than the other?  

Thor sings Jay Ferguson. The BulletBoys batter “Taking It To The Streets.|” Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow) sails through “Ride Captain Ride.” And yes, talking of Captains, Lorraine Lewis (Femme Fatale) and George Lynch positively shred “Love Will Keep Us Together.”

The full Yacht Metal album docks on December 19 – the perfect last minute present for everyone you know. And it’s also the gift that won’t stop giving. The past almost-a-year has seen a slew of the album’s highlights spin out as digital singles… most of the above, for starters, and others besides.  And it’s a hallmark of the collection’s unremitting brilliance that the highlights keep on coming.  

Today, for example, former Girlschool guitarist/vocalist Kim McAuliffe strikes out with Leader of Down on Nicolette Larson’s version of Neil Young’s defenseless “Lotta Love” – and yes, we should pause for just a few seconds to recall what a fabulous band Girlschool were. A lot of people remember them best for their chart-busting link up with Lemmy and the lads, but there’s a couple of primal Girlschool live albums available on Cleopatra Records that you really need to check out as well.

“Nice to get out of my comfort zone on this brilliant project!,” says Kim.  |Great players on this track too, Leader Of Down.  Enjoy!”

SINGLE: https://orcd.co/lottalove

Given the gulf that divides the two genres, it’s fascinating to learn that a lot of the artists here are fans of the original songs.  

Thor, for example, says of “Thunder Island,” “I was there when this music genre hit the airwaves in the 1970s, and when I saw the song list I said right away ‘Thunder Island.’  It was the obvious decision. Thunder is true to my heart. Plus it’s a Thunderously fun track.”

Lorraine Lewis continues, “It was a no brainer to record the Captain & Tennille hit! I love the song and the funny thing is, long before Femme Fatale, I sang it in my lounge act back home. It’s a classic song and George [Lynch] and I did our own thing to it.”

Or Doogie White, discussing Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell In Love.”  “I always liked the song.” It was, he says, |fun stepping out of the kinda music I am used to playing.” And Tim “Ripper” Owens (Judas Priest), covering Exile’s “Kiss You All Over,” makes haste to reminds us, the very foundations of Yacht Rock rest upon “so many amazing songs and songwriters.  I actually like the so-called yacht rock music.”

So, it seems, do a lot of other people, and one wonders whether Yacht Metal is going to turn even more ears on to those smooth, easy sounds of yesteryear.  After all, there’s not many metal albums out there that actually open us up to other musical genres, and certainly fewer that reach as far across the divide as this one.

But with Megadeth’s Chris Poland, Joe Lynn Turner’s fellow Rainbow alumni Graham Bonnet and Bob Daisley; Marcus Nand, Bumblefoot, Cherie Currie (Runaways), Mick Box (Uriah Heep), and Tantric among the manifold other metal masters to have thrown themselves into the Yacht Metal stewpot, you know you need to hear it.

Start now with “Lotta Love” and, by the time the album hits the shore, you’ll be kissing it all over as well.

–CD/VINYL: https://cleorecs.com/search?q=yacht+metal
–DIGITAL: https://orcd.co/yachtmetal

Track listing

1. Lotta Love – Kim McAuliffe, Leader Of Down
2. Magnet and Steel – Cherie Currie, Mick Box
3. Escape (The Piña Colada Song) – Ronnie Romero, Britt Lightning
4. Ride Captain Ride – Joe Lynn Turner, Marcus Nand
5. Just the Two of Us – Graham Bonnet, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal
6. Takin’ It To The Streets – Bullet Boys, Bob Daisley, Mick Box
7. Love Will Keep Us Together – George Lynch, Femme Fatale
8. You Can Do Magic – Phil Soussan, Mick Box, Marc Lopes
9. Kiss You All Over – Tim “Ripper” Owens, Vinnie Moore
10. Sailing – Babylon A.D.
11. Moonlight Feels Right – Chris Poland, Tantric
12. Fooled Around And Fell In Love – Ross The Boss, Doogie White
13. Thunder Island – Thor, Steve Morse