Tavares - In The City (2018)

The Tavares brothers' creative and commercial winning streak continued with their third album, In the City. This excellent 1975 release marked the second time that they worked with the Dennis Lambert/Brian Potter team, which produced the record and wrote half of the songs (including the hit ballad "The Love I Never Had" and the funky number one smash "It Only Takes a Minute"). Lambert and Potter had done well by Tavares on their second album, Hard Core Poetry, and their input proves to be just as valuable this time around. The songs that Lambert and Potter didn't write range from Tavares' gritty title song (a bittersweet ode to urban life) to inspired covers of the Edgar Winter Group's "Free Ride" (which gives us a rare chance to hear Tavares performing rock & roll) and the Average White Band's smooth "Nothing You Can Do." The latter wasn't among AWB's major hits, although it should have been. Like Check It Out and Hard Core Poetry, In the City is undeniably essential. -- Alex Henderson