In the 1960s and early to mid-'70s,
Johnnie Taylor was omnipresent on Black radio. But in the '80s and '90s, it all but ignored him -- the reason being his refusal to embrace high-tech "urban contemporary" sounds.
Taylor has continued to excel by sticking with the type of unapologetically gospel-influenced soul music he's always done. Crazy Bout You may have been recorded in 1988, but this treasure sounds like it could have been recorded 15 years earlier. Indeed, unpretentious and straightforward offerings like "It Don't Hurt Me Like It Used To," "Let's Get Closer" and the funky title song aren't significantly different from his early to mid-'70s Stax output (which was smoother and sleeker than his '60s work for that label). A cover of
Wilson Pickett's "I Found A Love," however, is more '60s-like.
Taylor has been one of Malaco's best-selling artists, and
In Control points to the fact that he's also one of its most consistently rewarding. ~ Alex Henderson