Bluenight.com, November 2002

Possibly one of the last places that you could imagine a blues band springing from would be Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia. However, there is a very accomplished blues band down there and they are producing their own CDs. The band first formed loosely in 1983 with an American, Timothy Davis, and an Australian, Michael Sulc, being recruited by Dragoljub Crncevic-Baki (no, I can't pronounce it either!) and put together with Dragan Markovic to play bottleneck and Chicago blues. They recorded a couple of albums, during which time drummer Michael Sulc got homesick and returned to Australia, followed a while after by Timothy Davis returning to the USA . However, the other band members pulled together and completed a 1986 mid-European tour which culminated in Dragan Markovic leaving to form his own band. As if these upheavals weren't enough, in 1991 came the Yugoslavian political crisis and the band fell apart. It reformed as a trio in 1995 and recorded a rather disappointing third album, Southern Comfort. Various band members came and went, another album was recorded in 1997, and finally towards the end of 1999 the band found itself settled at last as a rejuvenated four-piece. A lot of rehearsing by founder member Dragoljub and keyboards player Darko Grujic, together with Zoran Milenkovic on bass and drummer Jovan Pejcinovic found them ready to start recording again. The new name of the band is Point Blank, and the first album to be reviewed here is Blue Deal. Recorded in December 2000, this CD featured Pointblank with a guest artist, the British harmonica player John O'Leary (ex- Savoy brown). 12 of the 13 tracks are originals written by band leader Dragoljub Crncevic-Baki, and the last track is co-written by Dragoljub and Darko Grujic. For someone writing in a language which is not his own, these are good, well-written blues. There is a good mixture here of tempos and styles. Keyboard player Darko stands out and carries the music along really well. The album opens with "I'm Alright," a medium tempo number which bubbles along and gives the listener an idea of what the band can do. It's followed by "I'll Be Your Loving Man," with Darko showing up with some some electric piano work, highlighting superb guitar playing by Dragoljub (or Dr., as he prefers to be called) showing that he can stand and be counted. However the highlights for me are the three instrumentals: "Behind The Curtain," "We're Just About To Leave" and "Hear Me Knocking." "Behind The Curtain" really cooks, and it had me tapping my foot the whole way through. There was only one track that didn't do much for me --- the slow ballad "C Minor Troubled Blues" (it put me in mind of British band "The Stranglers"), but like anything else it's a matter of taste. Pointblank's next album, Eight Blue Balls, is due for release later this year. This CD marks the second recording by the reformed, and now settled, line-up of the Belgrade- based band. The album opens with a curious 50 second rendition of "By The Way" before settling into some wonderful solid blues, showcasing Dr.'s excellent guitar work. As per the band's last CD, one track is co-written by Dr & Darko Grujic (a superb instrumental, full of changes called "Blue Ball"). The others are all penned by Dr. -- - 15 tracks in all. Again, like the previous album, there is a well balanced selection of tempos and styles -- - something for everyone, as the saying goes. This album really shows that Dr. & Darko have been together for a long time; they are so tight and seem to play instinctively with, and against, each other. This shows up really well on "Some Other Place," where Darko plays some lovely, jangling electric piano. As a matter of personal taste I much prefer their up-tempo numbers, but the ballads are well- written and well- executed, although they tend to reflect more country music than blues. If I have to pick a favourite, then it has to be "It's All Right," which puts me in mind of a John Lee Hooker boogie and could well have been recorded by the man himself. I have played this track over and over again, and I just can't sit still while it's playing. I would buy the CD for this track alone! The CDs are available direct from the band's web-site, www.pointblank.co.yu, at 10 Euros each, which is superb value for such good blues.

by Terry Clear