ANA POPOVIC "STILL MAKING HISTORY" Source: Living Blues Magazine Date: 08/2009 Writer: Melanie Young

Ana Popovic’s fourth solo release finds her ruminating on love in its various forms – whether it’s the love at cross-purposes of the title track, the first flush of love on Nothing Personal, or the love song to her young son on Part Of Me (Lullaby For Luuk).  Produced by Popovic and Mark Dearnley, and engineered by Dearnley and David Z, Blind For Love is an eclectic hybrid of musical styles showcasing the Serbian born blues-rock guitarist’s smoky vocals and fast paced fretwork.

The backing harmonies of Julie Delgado, Kenna Ramsey, and Billy Valentine blend well with Popovic’s dark, husky voice, which in softer moments is reminiscent of rock chanteuse Dido’s.  Bassist Ronald Jonker, keyboardist Mike Finnegan, and percussionist Lenny Castro lay down heavy funk grooves on tracks such as Wrong Woman, Get Back Home T o You, and Lines That Don’t Exist.  The latter the sole song lyrically focused on matters not of love but of fame – also features Darrell Leonard on trumpet and Joe Sublett on saxophone.  Finnegan’s keyboard work gives an R&B feel to Blind For Love and helps turn Putting Out The APB into a gospel rave-up, Drum-kit duties are shared by Andrew Thomas and Tony Braunagel; Braunagel also provides the sparse beat on Steal Me Away, and adds his voice to the enthusiastic chorus on Lives.

Through the variety of styles here demonstrates Popovic’s versatility, it may also be this album’s weakness.  The shift between genres is obvious and at times jarring, and the production of some tracks seems almost to bury her guitar playing, which this listener wanted to hear more of.  The best tracks are the least produced – Steal Me Away, consisting of little more than Popovic’s voice and dexterous slide guitar over the backing beat and vocals; and Blues For M, a slow-grooving torch ballad with full-throated singing and an extended guitar solo.