image courtesy of the Namedroppers

Album Review of Namedroppers: Cool Blue Shoes

There’s something about the Namedroppers‘ brand of blues. Despite the band’s ragged, emotional vocals, there’s a lightness that bring joy with the blues. If that’s your style of blues – blues as therapy rather than downtrodden commiseration – then the Name Droppers are a band you oughta know.

I reviewed the band’s last disc, Starshine, and now I’m giving Cool Blue Shoes a spin. As expected, Cool Blue Shoes a collection of Namedroppers-style potential new favorites. The new album showcases the band’s broad-based talent, delivering a fun collection of new music, Namedroppers styled!

“Killing Floor” opens the record with a rhythm you’ll recognize quickly as the Namedroppers if you’ve heard their previous records. It’s a loose, soulful style of laid-back blues, and there’s just something about the music and vocal style that lets you know it’s gotta be the Namedroppers; it can’t be anyone else. Indeed, all the elements sound familiar, but the band has carved out its own signature sound, something few bands can do. As such – a tune that clearly identifies the band – it’s a great disc opener. “Cool Blue Shoes,” next, still has that hint of a herky-jerky rhythm but leans into its instruments’ repeated patterns just a little heavier.

“Be Alright” is a big-stage performance number, with plenty of background vocals and an uplifting rhythm. The song sports a kind of a blues meets soul meets ’70s rock vibe. You can almost see the greens, browns, oranges, and goldenrods of the ’70s if you close your eyes and listen to the funky guitarwork.

“Keep Pushin'” combines a George Thorogood-esque guitar crunch with some serious ivory-tickling and a fast tempo.

“That’s the Way My Love Is” is a bit of a late ’70s/early ’80s laid-back distorted rocker, the sort that would be reminiscent of the summer of love in a style that’d likely place it a little more than a decade later. It’s a pretty cool number in that it shows the band’s range, falling a little farther than usual on the straight-up rock ‘n roll fringe of the band’s blues style, though still clearly being a Namedroppers tune. “Hard Way,” too, leans old-school rock, with sixties-style vocal harmonies and organ-style keywork setting the stage for a very cool, very bluesy blues-rock guitar solo. It’s followed by a rocked-up, modernly-stylized version of Willie Dixon’s “I Cry For You.”

A fun, energetic, kinda silly “Think Yiddish” – playing on the phrase “think yiddish, dress British” – follows, dropping in a brief “hava nagila,” while also serving as a vehicle for a nifty keyboard solo, all delivered with some typically ragged, cool Bobby T vocals.

The album’s second-to-last song, “Yes I Will,” carries the spirits of ’50s-style rock ‘n roll, with an almost Chuck Berry-ish guitar riff, maybe a little Chubby Checker style in the song’s rhythm and its rockin’ blues.

Then Cool Blue Shoes closes with the slowly swaying, spoken-over-doo-wop “Out of This Blue.”

In all, Cool Blue Shoes is a solid blues record with forays into adjacent styles that showcase the Namedroppers broad range while also providing a fun disc whose variety – all containing the Namedroppers’ cohesive, identifiable sound – make for an interesting listen, an enjoyable follow-up to Starshine.

Looking Ahead

Well, you won’t have to look far ahead to find the Namedroppers’ next album. Let’s Live Together is scheduled for a June 12th release. That’s next week! I, for one, look forward to more music that, I have no doubt, is gonna be a welcome addition to my playlist.