It's getting hard to ignore the number of sons of famous musicians who are ploughing their own row in the music field.
I guess the obvious suspicion is that if your parent is highly-esteemed in the rock world (and you grew up in a family that had a truckload of money) then you have certain advantages. This is, of course, true.

I remember leaving Neil Finn's Roundhead Studio in Auckland a few years back after a long day's session and who was coming in to use the place as a rehearsal space for the night, but Liam Finn and the other Betchadupa boys. Now I have a huge amount of respect for Liam Finn – he is a talent that I suspect will endure and create remarkable things – but I couldn't help but think that having that sort of studio and all the fantastic toys it contained as your place to rehearse gave you a certain head start.
But that's the way of the world; it is not an even playing field. However, the bottom line is that if you don't have the talent then no amount of advantages are going to create a long-term career for you in the music biz.
There have been some high-profile sons around, ones who are clearly where they are because they are really very good at what they do. Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey is also a drummer. Many might have seen him when he was in New Zealand in 2008 drumming for The Who. Pete Townshend invited him to become a full-time member, but he declined as he was also the drummer for Oasis.
Jason Bonham similarly followed in John, his father's footsteps, and stepped behind the drums for the big Led Zeppelin reunion in 2007. It was hard to tell that it wasn't his father pounding the skins.
But perhaps the reason I've been thinking about this is because I've been listening a lot to the self-titled debut album from Harper Simon, Paul Simon's son. I was particularly interested in it because this means now that the sons of three of my favourite songwriters are in the biz: Adam Cohen, Jakob Dylan and now Harper Simon. Although it's probably the last thing they want to hear, the comparisons with their fathers' works are fascinating.
Jakob Dylan has always avoided talking about Bob, or giving any sign of a connection beyond the obvious looks. His first five albums were with the band The Wallflowers – most well-known song being One Headlight from their second album – where he went to pains to remain just part of the band rather than a front man in the limelight. Recently he has released his second solo album, Women and Country. It's very good, with an obvious Bruce Springsteen influence, but no clear connection to his Dad's output.
Leonard Cohen's son Adam has a lower profile but is also doing well. He's released two English albums and one in French and has a new disc ready to go. I've only heard his self-titled debut and it was very interesting, complete with the sort of over-the-top sexual imagery that an early Leonard Cohen became infamous for after his first novel Beautiful Losers. Unlike Jakob Dylan, he is open about his father's influence: 'He's tremendously helpful. Forget that I am his son. I was tutored in lyric-writing by Leonard Cohen and I had his sensibilities to draw upon… How can I consider myself anything but incredibly fortunate?”
Harper Simon would appear to have had more than a little help. Looking through the credits on his album you find legendary musicians who played on Dylan's Blonde on Blonde alongside his Dad's regular drummer, the great Steve Gadd, responsible for that memorable drum-line on '50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and much more besides. Sean Lennon – another famous son – pops in to add extra drums.
And, unlike Adam Cohen and Jakob Dylan, the music is clearly from the son of the father. Harper sounds spookily like Paul, and on the album's standout track, Tennessee, co-written with his father, you could be forgiven for thinking it was a new Paul Simon song, a cousin to the loping rhythms and tongue-in-cheek humour of Graceland. I like it a lot – it'll be interesting to see if he can sustain the momentum after this impressive debut.