Over this past month things have been somewhat quiet on the International scene. The New Deal is now touring in the United States. After a short hiatus the Burt Neilson Band will begin a Canadian tour in March. The big news may very well be that Caution Jam drummer Bruce Brooker is a 2001 Juno  nominee for his work on Big Daddy G's Topless album... nominated in the "best blues album" category. Next month we'll have more on developments with these bands and others.

Twenty-eight Years Later, Musical Gem Arrives

By Evan Newman

  If a Paul Pena song were to appear in a Volkswagen commercial, his album New Train (Hybrid Recordings) would be a huge success. Not unlike Nick Drake (whose Pink Moon appeared in a Volkswagen commercial spurring interest in this previously unknown artist), Pena is just starting to get the attention he deserves after cutting New Train his second album, 28 years ago. Because of mismanagement, New Train never saw the light of day until this year.

Pena, a blind guitar player with a soulful voice got his start in music in the late sixties backing T-Bone Walker and John Lee Hooker. In 1972, Pena recorded his first solo effort, which was heralded in music circles but never received public attention. In 1973, Pena found himself in San Francisco playing with Walker and opening on his own for the Grateful Dead on numerous occasions. It was during this time that Pena began to record New Train . The making of the album occurred all over the U.S. with many of the top musicians lending a hand including Jerry Garcia, Merle Saunders, The Persuasions, Gary Malabar (Van Morrison) and many of the top studio performers of the time.  

Jet Airliner , made famous by Steve Miller was written by Pena and the original version appears on New Train . Producer Ben Sidran and Malabar were both working with Miller a few months after working on New Train . Miller overheard them raving about Pena and requested to use the song.

The album, although nearly thirty years old, sounds absolutely remarkable and completely relevant. On New Train , Pena doesn t shy away from any musical style and puts his full emotion and passion into each track. He shifts from a soulful upbeat groove in the opener Gonna Move to a dark and stormy Hendrix on Cosmic Mirror . Wait on What You Want , the albums fourth track could be regarded as the blueprint for most of today s jambands with the groove resembling that of present day jammers Uncle Sammy and Burt Neilson Band.  

The highlight of the album is the Grateful Dead influenced Venutian Lady which features an absolutely beautiful pedal steel provided by Garcia. In a recent Rolling Stone review of New Train , the author commented that Venutian Lady could have been an outtake from the Dead s American Beauty.

The real beauty in this incredible piece of music is Pena s voice. The range and diversity that exists on this album is awe-inspiring. On the slower songs, Pena evokes Al Green and on the more up-tempo tracks his raspy wail is reminiscent of Otis Redding.  

After recording New Train Pena left music to tend to his ailing wife (to whom he dedicates the album to). A few years later he was introduced to Tuvan throat singing, a rare form of singing that he had heard through short wave radio from Russia while he was living in San Francisco. Pena taught himself Tuvan throat singing and sang for noted Tuvan singer Kongar-ol Ondar who was quite impressed and invited Pena to sing in Tuvan contests. This experience is documented in the award winning documentary Genghis Blues .  

Paul Pena although ill with pancreatitis is still involved in music today. Practicing his Tuvan throat singing. It s a shame that this album had been kept from music fans for such a long time. If it had been released when it was supposed to, its impact would have changed the musical landscape that exists now.

For more information on Paul Pena: www.paulpena.com. For info on Genghis Blues www.docudrama.com