Aztec Two-Step - Two's Company (Reissue) (1976/2016)

The third album by the Boston-bred duo of singer/guitarists Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman is something of a retrenchment after their over-produced RCA debut, Second Step. In keeping with the stripped-down album title, producer Mark Abramson sets the songs in less-slick surroundings, keeping the duo's trademark harmonies front and center at all times with subtle piano, pedal steel, and percussion accents that never hog too much of the spotlight. Fowler and Shulman step up with a stronger collection of songs than before, highlighted by the rueful, almost Neil Young-like "Isn't It Sweet to Think So" and a soulful pop/rocker, "Loving Game," that wouldn't sound out of place on one of Todd Rundgren's poppier albums. Their debut is still their best effort, but Two's Company comes close.