Gallagher and Lyle "Willie And The Lapdog" (UK Folk 1973)

Too often dismissed as wimpy, middle-of-the-road lightweights, Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle are in actuality class A songwriters and performers; their recorded legacy, distinguished by classy, hook-filled numbers, is merely the cap on a career that also includes a stint in McGuinness Flint, during which they wrote two of the greatest folk-and-country-tinged songs in pop history, "When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues," and scribed for Mary Hopkin (her version of the terrific "International" is classic and superb).

Gallagher and Lyle may be better known by some more for covers of their material than for the original versions of their songs, such as "A Heart in New York," one of Art Garfunkel's best solo recordings. Amazingly, the duo charted only twice in America, landing at number 49 and 67, respectively, on the Billboard pop singles chart with "I Wanna Stay With You" and "Heart on My Sleeve." Hardly a brush with chart longevity, and hardly fair considering the high quality of the music.

Willie and the Lapdog, Gallagher and Lyle's second album, is the fruit of a more folk-influenced duo, and therefore quieter and possibly more at peace with the world around it. Produced with great care by ex-Beatles engineer Glyn Johns, and with appearances by Pete Townshend on Bass Harmonica, and one of McGuinness Flint's namesakes, Hughie Flint, on drums, Willie has a homey feel, as if it is being played to an small audience gathered around a campfire on a warm summer's night. The instrumentation is appropriately sparse, and the songs, which come together to tell a heartfelt story, are imaginatively written and performed. The duo's singing is tremendous throughout.