I may be wrong but doesn't infringement only come into play when you re-sell the item you duplicated? Private gifting between individuals should be okay.
What if I give my buddy a 'gift' of 10 mp3s, burned off an original CD?
Or, what if I give my buddy the original CD, and keep the 10 mp3s for myself?
It's an unauthorized copy. It's a copyright violation. If you want yer buddy to have the album so bad, you should buy him his own copy.