Sally Taylor

From: The Berkshire Eagle
By: Seth Rogovy

WILLIAMTOWN, Mass., Oct. 20, 2000) - On first glance, the title of her Sally Taylor's new CD, "Apt. #6S" (Blue Elbow), is an awkward one. Taylor has said that it's the number of the Upper West Side apartment in which she grew up in New York, but it doesn't exactly trip off the tongue like, say,"Playing Possum" or "Mud Slide Slim."

But the title has another, hidden, and perhaps more appropriate meaning. The title could be read as "apt success." And indeed, the combination of sinuous, slinky pop-rock melodies and Taylor's alluring alto vocals spell nothing if not success for this daughter of pop-rock royalty (her parents are Carly Simon and James Taylor of the more sonorous album titles).

Taylor's album sounds fresh and up to the minute - "Give Me the Strength" could be a Tori Amos ballad, and others have noted that her voice sounds at least as much like Natalie Merchant as her mom. But there is also an unabashed, old-fashioned quality to "Apt. #6S," an eclecticism that ties it to the sort of pop albums her mom made in the '70s, where dramatic ballads sat comfortably next to folk-inspired numbers, pop tunes, R&B scorchers and rock songs.

What ties it all together, just like it did for Carly Simon, is Sally Taylor's voice. It's a phemonenal instrument, full of deep, husky power and sensuality, yet one she wields with authority that belies her relative youth and inexperience. It's heard to perhaps best effect deep into the album, on some of the recording's darker, more bluesy or jazzy tunes, like "40 Years," "Nisa" and "Without Me," tunes that boast a stark, startling intimacy.

"Apt. #6S" is an album deep and rich with hidden pleasures -- musical, lyrical, rhythmic, and otherwise -- that repays repeated listening. Taylor celebrates the release of her new album tomorrow night at Club Helsinki in Great Barrington (528-3394). For more info visit www.sallytaylor.com.