Eddie Kendricks - Can I

Everything is just right about this song. The stripped-down production, that beautiful opening guitar solo - and Eddie's voice is just something else. This comes from his debut solo LP, released just a few months after his exit from The Temptations. The album was a commercial flop and to this day remains unfairly overshadowed by its 1972 follow-up, 'People...Hold On'.

Can I

Eddie Kendricks

from All By Myself (1971)

Tim Maia - O Descobridor Dos Sete Mares

This song's title translates as The Seven Seas of Rhye, although I'm pleased to say there is no discernible link to the Queen song of the same name.

O Descobridor Dos Sete Mares

Tim Maia

from O Descobridor Dos Sete Mares (1983)

Peter Jacques Band - Mighty Fine

The tragically short-lived duo of Petrus & Malavasi were responsible for some of the smoothest synth-funk jams of the early 80's; from their most commercially successful act, Change, through to lesser-known (yet highly revered) groups like High Fashion, the BB&Q Band and here, Italo-Disco pioneers, the Peter Jacques Band. You can hear the similarities in this number with one of my favourite Change tracks, 'Hold Tight', released the following year.

Mighty Fine

Peter Jacques Band

from Welcome Back (1980)