When children of well-known musicians pursue musical careers, they don't necessarily follow in their parent's footsteps stylistically. The sons and daughters of jazz musicians might end up playing rock, R&B, or reggae instead of jazz; the sons and daughters of regional Mexican artists might end up recording rock en espanol instead of norteno, mariachi, or banda. But on
Bad Girl, Chicago-based blues singer
Demetria Taylor definitely follows in her dad's footsteps stylistically.
Taylor is the daughter of the late guitarist
Eddie Taylor, Sr., who is remembered for his work with
Jimmy Reed.
Taylor, Sr. was the epitome of electric Chicago blues, and his daughter isn't any less Chicago-sounding on this 2011 release. Vocally, she favors a tough, gritty, edgy approach along the lines of
Koko Taylor (another Chicago blues icon), and her approach is unmistakably Chicago-minded on the
Willie Dixon staples "Wang Dang Doodle" (which is closely identified with
Koko Taylor and
Howlin' Wolf) and "Little Red Rooster" as well as on
Luther Dixon's "Big Boss Man" (a major hit for
Reed). But not everything on
Bad Girl has been recorded so many times that it falls into the warhorse category.
Demetria Taylor also turns her attention to strong material that ranges from
Koko Taylor's "Voodoo Woman" to
Luther Allison's "Cherry Red Wine." So no,
Bad Girl isn't one of those Chicago blues albums that adheres to an all-warhorses-all-the-time policy. It should also be noted that unlike a lot of electric blues recordings from Chicago,
Bad Girl doesn't make a lot of detours into soul.
Demetria Taylor pretty much sticks to electric Chicago blues of the
Chess Records variety, and while this 66-minute CD is derivative, it is enjoyably derivative. There are no dull moments on the engaging
Bad Girl. ~ Alex Henderson
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