Earl Klugh - Magic In Your Eyes (1978/2018)

Even on this fairly early LP, acoustic guitarist Earl Klugh already had his distinctive sound down, along with his familiar approach to playing lightly funky poppish material. Klugh's tone was always very pretty, and he sounds fine on such tunes as "Magic in Your Eyes," "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," and "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues," which has a guest appearance by one of his main influences, guitarist Chet Atkins. On most selections, keyboardist Gregory Phillinganes is a key force in the backup band. Unfortunately, Klugh has not developed much from this promising start, and the overall music is a bit superficial, although pleasantly melodic.