Blue Shoe is the latest CD by singer-songwriter David Stockdale. It is different from his previous CD's in many ways. First, it focuses more on the Blues genre, though still having as its base an acoustic guitar and voice. There are three crossover tunes (at the beginning, middle and end) that add variety to the project, in particular the jazz piano solo on Blue Canyon, but this is essentially a Blues CD. Second, Blue Shoe marks the first collaboration with Silvio Piccioni, Italian guitar player and music producer who also writes soundtracks for films. Piccioni adds an electric edge to the project, with the exception of Angel to Me, in which even the solo is acoustic. His voice is clear and distinctive and his background guitar parts rich and lush. Three songs include a horn section that works in the upper register instead of providing counterpoint for the bass lines, creating a lot of rhythm and punch. The sound is familiar, but also unique: a fresh approach to a well established genre. Maybe this is also because Stockdale lives and works in Italy and most of the talent on the CD is Italian (with the exception of Nathan Striedinger's drums). Stockdale also sings the background vocals, which makes for a more homogeneous overall vocal sound as compared to his prior work that included female vocalists. As usual in Stockdale's musical projects, the lyrics constitute an essential part of the experience. For example, Station is the story of a man whose woman has left him but she has also inadvertently left behind a precious ring he hopes she'll come back for. She doesn't, of course, because no amount of money will bring her back, and pawning the ring off doesn't bring him the joy it should. This is Stockdale's first CD with Gas City Records and the first time he has co-produced a project with another musician.