Opening your latest release by striding along in the footsteps of a gaggle of high steppers who already walked all over Howlin' Wolf's classic “Killing Floor” is a hell of a way to go. Wolf's original was daunting enough, with Hubert Sumlin's unique finger-picking taking the lead, Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar, and the mighty Sam Lay sounding like three drummers doing a double shuffle. Jimi Hendrix was up for the challenge, as was Albert King and Johnny Winter. But for their fifth outing, the Connecticut quartet The Name Droppers show they're able to kick it along, holding their own without stepping on any toes.
Bassist Scott Spray can lay claim to yet another cover version, playing on the tune by Johnny Winter on 2014's Grammy-winning Step Back. The Droppers' version gets off the footpath a bit courtesy of Ron Rifkin's organ interjections, but guitarist/vocalist Rafe Klein keeps it true to Wolf and Sumlin's original masterworks while drummer Bobby T. Torello, who also played with Winter, locks it in solidly.
