We got somethin’ to say about yacht rock, yes we do…
[Video][Website]
[6.62]
Thomas Inskeep: Thundercat’s a weirdo. I mean, his resume is beyond ridiculous: the much-sought-after bassist has played with Suicidal Tendencies, received a Grammy for his work with Kendrick Lamar, and is a crucial part of new jazz great Kamasi Washington’s posse. So how does he lead off his third full-length, this year’s Drunk? With a Yacht Rock dream single (especially in 2017) featuring lyrical and vocal contributions from the twin titans of yacht, Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald, both of whose voices still sound like creamy perfection. And this isn’t Yacht Rock just because of Loggins and McDonald, either; Thundercat is an avowed yacht fanatic who reached out to the guys and asked them to collaborate with him, not to just sing on his record. The Yacht Rock guys — meaning, the four guys who invented the term via their web series a decade ago — gave “Show You the Way” a 66.0 on their Yachtski scale earlier this year. I’d go even higher: as a Yacht Rock single, I think this is at least a 75, maybe even close to an 80. (Modern yacht is tough.) This is smooth, this is soulful, this has the Voice of God (a/k/a McDonald) on it, and Thundercat’s not fucking around; he’s utterly sincere. “Show You the Way” dropped in January, and it’s been one of my favorite songs all year long.
[10]
Julian Axelrod: Thundercat is not fucking with you. Yes, he’s a bass virtuoso who sings odes to his cat in a boyish falsetto. Yes, he collaborates with Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald. Yes, he uses this outro to warn listeners to drink water while they’re raging. But this song would be unlistenable if it weren’t so achingly sincere. Thundercat doesn’t bring in these forgotten icons for an ironic deconstruction of their public persona. He works with Loggins and McDonald because he fucking loves yacht rock, and you hear that love in every bass line, harmony and keyboard squeal. And the lyrics, a tender testimony to the healing power of compassion, are similarly starry-eyed. But when it’s all so expertly executed, you can’t help but fall under his spell. Thundercat is not fucking with you, but he’s also not fucking around.
[8]
Micha Cavaseno: As the Brainfeeder crew appeared to have spiraled out of the land of instrumental hip-hop into a dimension of quasi-“black prog” to succeed where the Sa-Ra axis failed to be recognized, likewise we find them beginning the strange transition away from freeform muso-experiments into a sophisticate’s MOR. So the seemingly “random” aspect of someone like Thundercat grabbing Loggins & McDonald is actually quite predictable; in fact I’m surprised he didn’t get Bernard Purdie on it, or get the remaining Brecker brother to do a solo. Nonetheless, the pared down approach for Thundercat is still a surprising home for him that the more he slips into, the better he sounds.
[7]
Nortey Dowuona: Feels soft and inviting. Soft, pillowy synths softly sink around the twisting horn of the bass and the muffle thump of the loose, light drums as McDonald swirls around it, Loggins tiptoes up on it and Thundercat lets himself get pulled along with it.
[8]
Tim de Reuse: Thundercat cleans his usual shtick of all the usual clutter and wah-effect resonance, even scaling back significantly on his virtuosic bass noodling. What’s left is sincere, smooth eighties schlock in slightly more modern trappings, buoyed by a team-up that I couldn’t have predicted but that still makes a kind of cosmic sense. This song is proof of Thundercat’s chops as a songwriter, and the chorus contains one of the best melodies he’s ever written, but the whole composition isn’t terribly distinctive as an example of his style; a lovely single, but one that isn’t nearly as interesting as it could’ve been given the people involved.
[7]
Ian Mathers: With a potentially gimmicky guest list and a genuinely excellent video (especially if you go back and watch “Them Changes” again first), it’d be easy to overlook the actual substance of “Show You the Way.” But honestly, even though Loggins and McDonald are clearly still up to the task of being smooth as hell and low-key but effectively empathetic, his verse shows that Thundercat could have handled this one on his own if he needed to. It’s downright lush, like the emotional inverse of a good Steely Dan track.
[8]
Alfred Soto: So long as these old beards sing through their face hair over “Minute by Minute” electric pianos “Show You the Way” does for seventies nostalgia what “Get Lucky” was supposed to. As it is, I prefer faster, disco-ier pastiches: Holy Ghost!’s “Some Children,” Michael McDonald’s own “Sweet Freedom.”
[6]
Brad Shoup: Vocally, Thundercat’s outclassing his heroes, which you can credit to their age or his giving himself all the intense imagery. Still, when he drags Loggins through shallow water, or introduces each guest, or talks about hydration, you wonder if his yacht’s run aground on The Lonely Island.
[5]
Katherine St Asaph: There is no number high enough to count the Faustian bargains I would make to never again be told, usually by a man, to care about or canonize — of all the music of the ’70s and ’80s! — the limpid, diarrheically oily, sweaty-polyester-scented, sub-porn-music, unctuously synth padded, near-exclusively and incredibly male bullshit that is yacht rock.
[1]
Jonathan Bradley: Where languid becomes flaccid.
[3]
Cassy Gress: 70s smooth rock through a shimmery kaleidoscope. Sounds sort of like the feeling of when you tip your chair back too far and start falling, stretched out into four weightless minutes.
[7]
Julian Baldsing: I read a genuinely lovely tweet about sex a few days ago. It read, “The most damaging reality warp of porn is that porn acts like sex is SERIOUS when the best sex involves lots of laughs, giggles, teasing, chatting, and playing around to get things right for everyone.” I thought back to this while listening to “Show You the Way,” because Thundercat seems to subscribe to that same belief. “Show You the Way” is unafraid of being earnest, and sensual, and playful — all at the same time. These characteristics are best displayed in Thundercat’s parting words, when he reminds you to bring a bottle of water with your vodka. Sure, he wants you to have a good time right now, but he’d also really like you to stick around for a while after.
[8]
Rebecca A. Gowns: The recorded single is good in a mystifying kind of way. After listening to it, I click through to a live version of this song, which is even more mystifying. Thundercat could have performed this with a wink, but instead, he presents it with 100% reverence of Loggins and McDonald. On his own, McDonald, plonking away at the keyboard with white hair, hand up to his ear to nail the harmony, looks like any other older man performing with his weekend band at a coffee shop. Loggins looks like he’s performing his favorite deep cut at karaoke night. Thundercat looks like he’s jamming in his garage on a sleepy Saturday morning. But the looks that they all give each other have a passionate energy — each one of them nodding and egging on the other two, encouraging each other to solo and riff and keep those vocals going. This isn’t Thundercat featuring yacht rock samples as a joke. This is Thundercat featuring two musicians he admires greatly, and, it must be said, the feeling appears to be mutual.
[8]