Sally Taylor - Apt. #6S

Sally Taylor is, of course, the daughter of Carly Simon and James Taylor and although her musical talent is obvious on 'Apt. 6-S,' she really sounds nothing like either parent in terms of either her voice or her songwriting choices. That's good news, as it turns out. She might make it big--or big enough--without the inevitable and endless comparisons to her famous parents. On 'All This Time,' which opens the album, Taylor examines the dance that happens between a man and a woman as they prepare to fall in love. It's sexy and has terrific lyrics. On 'Split Decisions,' she harmonizes with brother Ben (of The Ben Taylor Band), and together they do sound uncannily like their parents--but Sally's voice is lighter, more flexible, and sunnier than her mother's. Still, she can summon up smoke and desire when she wants, most notably on 'Fall For Me,' an ode to a lover's quarrel that features very effective metallic-sounding background horn work by Steve Roach and a splendid, soaring chorus. 'Give Me The Strength' may be the only dud on the album--not that there's anything wrong with a good sad song, but it's got depressing lyrics and not enough structural integrity musically to support them. 'Convince Me' is a wonderful pop confection complete with luscious backing vocals by Ben Taylor and Reed Foehl. 'Nisa' is a gorgeously down-and-dirty tune with only Taylor and strutting guitar licks by Chris Soucy--it's possibly the best thing on an album filled with other good things. The last tune, 'How Can I' sounds for all the world like a Blondie composition when Deborah Harry was in her Caribbean-influenced phase--it's a lot of fun.

1) All This Time
2) Split Decisions
3) March Like Soldiers
4) 4 Kim
5) Fall 4 Me
6) Give Me the Strength
7) Convince Me
8) 40 Years
9) Nisa
10) Without Me
11) Immortal
12) How Can I?
13) [Untitled Track]