Champlin.Williams.Friestedt - 'CWF 2'

The Yacht Rock royal family are back and once again they’ve produced another smooth and classy masterclass filled with West-Coast jewels. The title artists are Bill Champlin (Chicago), Swedish guitarist / producer Peter Friestedt and Joseph Williams (Toto, son of John and voice of adult Simba). But that’s not all – you also get cameos from Yacht Rock MVP Michael McDonald plus Lars Safsund from Work of Art and a host of great players like Randy Goodrum.

Of the pure AOR tunes, ‘All That I Want’ has a beaut of a chorus and is really lifted by some great guitar work by Friestedt. He’s probably the least well known of the titular trio but he might be the most important and influential star on this release. For ‘Runaway Dancer’ his Swedish pal Safsund joins the vocal ensemble to great effect. It’s a super melodic song and Lars’ performance puts me right in the mood for the imminent album release from Lionville which will again feature him as lead singer.

McDonald adds his class on ‘Love in the World’ which is built on a smooth and smoky late-night groove and, as you would expect, is excellent. The female backing vocalists on this are great too and include Amy McDonald, but I think it’s Michael’s wife rather than the Scottish singer / WAG.

There’s some intriguing recycled stuff on show. ‘Look Away’ is a nicely updated live version of the Diane Warren penned Chicago hit. There’s a 2for1 offer on the Champlins too; wife Tamara does the vocals on ‘Price of Love’ and it might be the best track on the album. AOR obscurists may recognise the 1991 version of this tune by Baton Rouge which Tamara co-wrote. That was a male lead vocal but this is a brilliant reboot and Tamara reclaims ownership with a cracking delivery that Robin Beck would have been proud of.

The other recycles are ‘10 Miles’ and the jazzy ‘Amanda’s Disguise’ which both featured on a 2018 EP release but they’re certainly worth including again and are perhaps the most Toto-sounding. You can’t mistake the classic Chicago sound on ‘Between the Lines’ and this is another tune that benefits greatly from Friestedt’s tasteful guitar soloing. ‘Restless Love’ slows the pace and it’s all wrapped up with ‘Sometimes You Win’ - a classic Yacht Rock lament for a ‘Jack without a Jill’.

A laid back album like this isn’t going to be every land-lubber’s cup of tea but if you fancy a break from riots, racism and furloughing you could do worse than curl up in the sun with this in your earphones and a cool cider in your hand. Yacht-tastic.