ANA POPOVIC "STILL MAKING HISTORY" Source: Music City Blues Date: 08/2007 Writer: Don Crow

Growing up in war-torn Serbia, a young Ana Popovic found solace thru the music of her father's record collection.   Determined to break away from the oppression of her homeland, she became proficient not only on the guitar, but in her wise-beyond-her-years songwriting ability as well.  With "Still Making History," Ana shows how far she has come as an artist, mixing blues, rock, jazz, and even a touch of reggae to eleven original tunes that speak on matters of love, relationship, and the politics of growing up in a Third World country.

"Hold On" is a prime example.  Behind a reggae beat, Ana sings "the place I was from was poisoned\power in dangerous hands," regarding the strife she grew up around.  "U Complete Me," presented in a rock and a blues version, is a tale of devotion to a lover.  "Doubt Everyone But Me" shows a jazzier side of Ana, and "Sexiest Man Alive" employs a funky backbeat and plenty of wah-wah over Ana's sultry vocal.

She doesn't forget to let her blues roots show, either, and they serve as our favorites.  She gives a no-good lover his walkin' papers in "You Don't move Me no more," featuring a killer B-3 solo from Mike Finnegan.  A mean slide kicks off Ana's version of Snooky Pryor's "How'd You Learn To Shake It Like That?", and she rides that slide all the way thru the song. 

As Ana sings in "Shadow After Dark," "what hope for a generation\grown up behind bars," she has deep feelings for the oppression of her people, and this fire drives her music and the passion in her writing and singing.  She is an unparalleled guitarist, and we had the pleasure to see her perform at the 2003 Handy Awards and we can attest to her talents as well as the unlimited potential she possesses.  Give a listen to one of the brightest young stars on the blues horizon, Ana Popovic, and "Still Making History."   Until next time....Sheryl and Don Crow.