He's a Friend

by Craig Lytle From this album's inception to its end, the mellifluous string and horn arrangements are irresistibly striking. The first of two singles was the title track "He's a Friend." An inspirational number with a disco flair showing praise to the Almighty without ever mentioning the word God. It scooted its was to number two on the Billboard R&B charts; holding that position for three consecutive weeks. The second release was the Carribean flavored "Get It While It's Hot." This joyous, bouncy number features some passionate female background vocals. It slipped into the top 30 at number 24. No album fillers. The vocals of Eddie Kendricks are wonderfully impressive as he injects an incohesive texture to his delivery, but smoothly returns to his ultra-velvet tone. This veteran singer masterfully utilizes his various vocal tools thoughout this album. There should have been more releases and any one would have sufficed. The production, arranging and the savvy vocals of Eddie Kendricks make this one marvelous album.