Definition:

Unlike the Wikipedia definition, I don't tend to include the likes of the Carpenters or Barry Manilow as Soft Rock. They're much more suited to Crooner / Cabaret, Pop or Pop Ballad as far as my ears go. Rather, I'd be looking to include Toto, Air Supply, Fleetwood Mac, REO Speedwagon, that kind of thing. Wikipedia doesn't have an A.O.R. (Adult Oriented Rock) page per se, but states that this style morphed into Yacht Rock. Again, I'd be wary about what is and isn't eligible from this style. From Wiki's list I'd be most likely saying no to Michael Jackson & Al Jarreau and yes to Eric Carmen & Boz Scaggs, but, each song goes under the spotlight on a case-by-case basis, the genre tag resting on the most prominent aspect of the piece.

The Jukebox Pick (of 1,204):

 Coney Island Baby

 (Lou Reed)

 Lou Reed

  “Classic” Soft Rock / A.O.R.

 Closing track on his LP of the same name in December, 1975. The album was, on the surface, a “play the game” concession, as Lou is backed by a group of oh-so conventional session rockers. The one saving grace is Lou himself though; his vocal style continues to be effortlessly cool, as he drags and drawls it all around, with those affections which are uniquely his. Single-handedly, he lifts the set out of the mediocre and into the realms of a perfectly acceptable good ‘un. The title-track summed up what the album was really all about – his Coney Island Baby was Rachel, his new transgender lover, who’d be around for the next couple of years: “Just remember different people have peculiar tastes and the glory of love might see you through.” Well, I never. In 1975, that was probably half of his potential sales gone right away. Their loss.

Some favourite artists:

Lou Reed, David Bowie, Neil Young

The Jukebox pick: