Being a son of a legend doesn't make you great

When I first looked at the cover of Legacy, I picked up something familiar about Floyd Taylor's face. When I started listening to the CD, I recognized something in his voice. I was somewhat puzzled and intrigued.\nAfter doing a little research, I found out why Floyd Taylor's look and sound struck a chord in my head -- he's the son of soul legend Johnnie Taylor.\nAnd with Legacy, Malaco is stressing that familial connection with remarkable vigor. "This CD will delight every 'JT' fan," the company trumpets on its Web site, "and very soon will establish Floyd as the Heir to the Throne his father held for so long."\nSlow down.\nWhile Legacy is, in general, an excellent example of Malaco's ability to update traditional soul with modern production and contemporary R&B sounds, it doesn't come close to rivaling Johnnie Taylor's classic catalogs with Stax in the 1960s and '70s and with Malaco in the '80s and '90s. None of the tracks on Legacy burst out of the stereo the way, say, Johnnie's immortal "Who's Makin' Love" did three decades ago.\nBut Floyd does deliver a noteworthy, admirable effort. He revels in the same thematic territory that his father mined so well -- forbidden love, unfaithfulness and sensual, red-hot romance. On the up-tempo, brassy "I'm Crazy Bout that Woman in Red," he longs for a married woman, while on the lush "Old School Style," he implores his lover to make love "slow and easy… let it last a while."\nThe best track on the album is "Caught Between Two Hearts," a heartfelt, apologetic admission of guilt that he is "playing the cheating game," that "deep inside, I'm feeling so ashamed." He sings mournfully, "I know it's wrong, but I can't deny it / I love them both just the same." The song beautifully recalls his father in his prime.\nPerhaps if Floyd can continue honoring his father, while at the same time carving out his own identity, maybe then we can start talking about inheriting the crown.