What Is Really Considered Classic Soft Rock

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Rush's "Hold Your Fire" c.d., and album isn't soft rock. Here are some artists, and bands, and groups, who are considered, and classified as soft rock. They are: "the Carpenters", "the Beach Boys", "Bee Gees", "Olivia Newton-John", "Kim Carnes", "Captain & Tennille", "Donny & Marie", "ABBA", "Air Supply", "Hall & Oats", "the Doobie Brothers", "Chicago (Their '80's, and more current music)", "Peter Cetera", "Phil Collins", "Peter Gabriel", "Billy Joel", "Elton John", "Rod Stewart", "Richard Marx", "Michael Bolton", "Lionel Richie", "Kenny Loggins", "Eric Carmen", "Chris De Burgh", "Neil Diamond", "Christopher Cross", and "Dan Fogelberg".

 

I don’t agree with Peter Gabriel as soft rock. He was far too experimental. Also some of these are just purely pop, like Phil Collins and Hall And Oates.

 

But a lot of these are correct.

[The Analog Cub]

Eagles music that wasn't written by Joe Walsh for the most part

[invisible airwave]

Soft rock seems to me like it has to be softer than your typical AOR band. Journey ballads aren't really going to cut it, mostly because Neal Schon's guitar playing is too cutting. Stuff like Cristopher Cross, Air Supply, Kokomo by The Beach Boys, that's soft rock as far as I'm concerned. I suppose Toto approach this category in places as well, though they usually balance out the Africas with Hold The Lines. It's definitely not More Than A Feeling or Heat Of The Moment. Those guitars are far too crunchy and the drums far too aggressive to be "soft."

A lot of Yacht Rock, the kind of stuff I'm unfamiliar with would probably be soft rock.

 

Late 80s soft is what I would call "yuppie rock." Previously mentioned post Cetera (in this case) Chicago, Richard Marx, Breathe (Hands To Heaven, How Can I Fall) and Michael Bolton fit this criteria.

 

Don't Mean Nothin' is still awesome, though, just for Joe Walsh on guitar and the even more relevant lyrics in the metoo era. Eagles even did this kind of song with King Of Hollywood.

[invisible airwave]

Rush's "Hold Your Fire" c.d., and album isn't soft rock. Here are some artists, and bands, and groups, who are considered, and classified as soft rock. They are: "the Carpenters", "the Beach Boys", "Bee Gees", "Olivia Newton-John", "Kim Carnes", "Captain & Tennille", "Donny & Marie", "ABBA", "Air Supply", "Hall & Oats", "the Doobie Brothers", "Chicago (Their '80's, and more current music)", "Peter Cetera", "Phil Collins", "Peter Gabriel", "Billy Joel", "Elton John", "Rod Stewart", "Richard Marx", "Michael Bolton", "Lionel Richie", "Kenny Loggins", "Eric Carmen", "Chris De Burgh", "Neil Diamond", "Christopher Cross", and "Dan Fogelberg".

 

As flawed as HYF is, it isn't soft.

 

Presto on the other hand...

[driventotheedge]

How could Bread be anything but soft rock?

 

But they actually had one song that wasn't. Rocked very nicely. Give this a listen..........

 

[JohnRogers]

How could Bread be anything but soft rock?

 

But they actually had one song that wasn't. Rocked very nicely. Give this a listen..........

 

http://youtu.be/Xs7C3VHwPcc

:haz:

[Lurkst]

Gerry Rafferty?

 

Musically Gerry ventured into soft rock territory, but there was an acerbic twist to his songs that you wouldn't expect from that genre.

 

[goose]

Rush's "Hold Your Fire" c.d., and album isn't soft rock. Here are some artists, and bands, and groups, who are considered, and classified as soft rock. They are: "the Carpenters", "the Beach Boys", "Bee Gees", "Olivia Newton-John", "Kim Carnes", "Captain & Tennille", "Donny & Marie", "ABBA", "Air Supply", "Hall & Oats", "the Doobie Brothers", "Chicago (Their '80's, and more current music)", "Peter Cetera", "Phil Collins", "Peter Gabriel", "Billy Joel", "Elton John", "Rod Stewart", "Richard Marx", "Michael Bolton", "Lionel Richie", "Kenny Loggins", "Eric Carmen", "Chris De Burgh", "Neil Diamond", "Christopher Cross", and "Dan Fogelberg".

 

As flawed as HYF is, it isn't soft.

 

Presto on the other hand...

Presto rocks the shit out of Hold Your Synthesizers.

[laughedatbytime]

Rush's "Hold Your Fire" c.d., and album isn't soft rock. Here are some artists, and bands, and groups, who are considered, and classified as soft rock. They are: "the Carpenters", "the Beach Boys", "Bee Gees", "Olivia Newton-John", "Kim Carnes", "Captain & Tennille", "Donny & Marie", "ABBA", "Air Supply", "Hall & Oats", "the Doobie Brothers", "Chicago (Their '80's, and more current music)", "Peter Cetera", "Phil Collins", "Peter Gabriel", "Billy Joel", "Elton John", "Rod Stewart", "Richard Marx", "Michael Bolton", "Lionel Richie", "Kenny Loggins", "Eric Carmen", "Chris De Burgh", "Neil Diamond", "Christopher Cross", and "Dan Fogelberg".

 

As flawed as HYF is, it isn't soft.

 

Presto on the other hand...

Presto rocks the shit out of Hold Your Synthesizers.

And the award for worst use of " Presto" and "shit" in the same sentence goes to...

[goose]

Rush's "Hold Your Fire" c.d., and album isn't soft rock. Here are some artists, and bands, and groups, who are considered, and classified as soft rock. They are: "the Carpenters", "the Beach Boys", "Bee Gees", "Olivia Newton-John", "Kim Carnes", "Captain & Tennille", "Donny & Marie", "ABBA", "Air Supply", "Hall & Oats", "the Doobie Brothers", "Chicago (Their '80's, and more current music)", "Peter Cetera", "Phil Collins", "Peter Gabriel", "Billy Joel", "Elton John", "Rod Stewart", "Richard Marx", "Michael Bolton", "Lionel Richie", "Kenny Loggins", "Eric Carmen", "Chris De Burgh", "Neil Diamond", "Christopher Cross", and "Dan Fogelberg".

 

I don’t agree with Peter Gabriel as soft rock. He was far too experimental. Also some of these are just purely pop, like Phil Collins and Hall And Oates.

 

But a lot of these are correct.

I can't help but notice that you took out Steely Dan. +1

[goose]

Rush's "Hold Your Fire" c.d., and album isn't soft rock. Here are some artists, and bands, and groups, who are considered, and classified as soft rock. They are: "the Carpenters", "the Beach Boys", "Bee Gees", "Olivia Newton-John", "Kim Carnes", "Captain & Tennille", "Donny & Marie", "ABBA", "Air Supply", "Hall & Oats", "the Doobie Brothers", "Chicago (Their '80's, and more current music)", "Peter Cetera", "Phil Collins", "Peter Gabriel", "Billy Joel", "Elton John", "Rod Stewart", "Richard Marx", "Michael Bolton", "Lionel Richie", "Kenny Loggins", "Eric Carmen", "Chris De Burgh", "Neil Diamond", "Christopher Cross", and "Dan Fogelberg".

 

As flawed as HYF is, it isn't soft.

 

Presto on the other hand...

Presto rocks the shit out of Hold Your Synthesizers.

And the award for worst use of " Presto" and "shit" in the same sentence goes to...

Your mom.

[laughedatbytime]

Rush's "Hold Your Fire" c.d., and album isn't soft rock. Here are some artists, and bands, and groups, who are considered, and classified as soft rock. They are: "the Carpenters", "the Beach Boys", "Bee Gees", "Olivia Newton-John", "Kim Carnes", "Captain & Tennille", "Donny & Marie", "ABBA", "Air Supply", "Hall & Oats", "the Doobie Brothers", "Chicago (Their '80's, and more current music)", "Peter Cetera", "Phil Collins", "Peter Gabriel", "Billy Joel", "Elton John", "Rod Stewart", "Richard Marx", "Michael Bolton", "Lionel Richie", "Kenny Loggins", "Eric Carmen", "Chris De Burgh", "Neil Diamond", "Christopher Cross", and "Dan Fogelberg".

 

As flawed as HYF is, it isn't soft.

 

Presto on the other hand...

Presto rocks the shit out of Hold Your Synthesizers.

And the award for worst use of " Presto" and "shit" in the same sentence goes to...

Your mom.

She went 90 years on this earth without hearing Presto. And if there is an afterlife, she was a good enough person that where she's going, she won't have to hear it there either.

[goose]

Rush's "Hold Your Fire" c.d., and album isn't soft rock. Here are some artists, and bands, and groups, who are considered, and classified as soft rock. They are: "the Carpenters", "the Beach Boys", "Bee Gees", "Olivia Newton-John", "Kim Carnes", "Captain & Tennille", "Donny & Marie", "ABBA", "Air Supply", "Hall & Oats", "the Doobie Brothers", "Chicago (Their '80's, and more current music)", "Peter Cetera", "Phil Collins", "Peter Gabriel", "Billy Joel", "Elton John", "Rod Stewart", "Richard Marx", "Michael Bolton", "Lionel Richie", "Kenny Loggins", "Eric Carmen", "Chris De Burgh", "Neil Diamond", "Christopher Cross", and "Dan Fogelberg".

 

As flawed as HYF is, it isn't soft.

 

Presto on the other hand...

Presto rocks the shit out of Hold Your Synthesizers.

And the award for worst use of " Presto" and "shit" in the same sentence goes to...

Your mom.

She went 90 years on this earth without hearing Presto. And if there is an afterlife, she was a good enough person that where she's going, she won't have to hear it there either.

We were actually secret pen pals and would have long chats online in which we would share our love for Presto. :P

[RushFanForever]

I'm going to throw in two Canadian classic soft rock artists which don't get mentioned a lot.

 

Ian Thomas and Marc Jordan.

[Maverick]

I'm listening to the Yacht Rock station on Amazon music, smooth and mellow like my black Italian roast coffee.

 

That's the station I leave playing for my dogs while I'm at work. :lol:

[Maverick]

Gerry Rafferty?

 

Any "rock" song that has flute AND saxophone in it has to count.

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Gerry Rafferty?

 

Any "rock" song that has flute AND saxophone in it has to count.

 

hm, I highly doubt you mean this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BqugCZVtXA

[J2112YYZ]

Does Steely Dan count? I know they are more jazz/rock fusion but they are certainly on the lighter side.

[bluefox4000]

Does Steely Dan count? I know they are more jazz/rock fusion but they are certainly on the lighter side.

 

yes certain tracks on aja and gaucho do count. i hear songs from just those 2 played on some soft rock stations.

 

Mick

[driventotheedge]

Does Steely Dan count? I know they are more jazz/rock fusion but they are certainly on the lighter side.

A little heavy on the sarcasm lyrically imo.

Edited September 17, 2021 by driventotheedge

[Weakly Criminal]

Jim Croce was much more folk than anything.

 

Big Shot is not soft.

 

Steely Dan is all over the place. (but never there when you need him)

 

Is Air Supply really rock?

 

Hard and fast definitions of music are for wankers.

[Krystal]

Phil Collins, Chicago, Jackson Browne

[goose]

Does Steely Dan count? I know they are more jazz/rock fusion but they are certainly on the lighter side.

A little heavy on the sarcasm lyrically imo.

Agreed. Soft rock is sappy, never cynical.