New Train
Encyclopedia
New Train is an album
by Paul Pena
, recorded in 1973 and released in 2000. The album was recorded at Bearsville Records
and produced by Ben Sidran
(keyboardist for the Steve Miller Band
).
New Train features Grateful Dead
member Jerry Garcia
playing pedal steel guitar
on "Venutian Lady" and "Taking Your Love Down." Merl Saunders
(frequent collaborator with Garcia and the Dead) plays keyboards
on "Venutian Lady" and "New Train". A capella
group The Persuasions
sing on "Gonna Move" and "Let's Move and Groove." http://www.genghisblues.com/paul/album_press_release.html
Stylistically, the album runs the gamut from straight-up rock and roll
(on the original version of "Jet Airliner") to folk
to acid rock
(on the Jimi Hendrix
-esque "Cosmic Mirror") to Rhythm and Blues
on the standout track "Gonna Move". The Grateful Dead-inspired "Venutian Lady" echoes their hit "Bertha".
Albert Grossman
, owner of Bearsville Records, stopped release of the record after a dispute with Pena.
Ben Sidran gave an unreleased copy of New Train to Steve Miller
, who recorded Pena's "Jet Airliner" with his band for their 1977 album Book of Dreams
. The "Jet Airliner" single went to #8 on the charts. Pena's primary source of income in his later years were royalties from that single.
The album remained unreleased for 27 years. After years of unsuccessful attempts, Pena's attorney (and original executive producer on the album) Jon Waxman negotiated for the album's release in 2000 on the New York-based Hybrid Recordings
label.http://www.fotuva.org/gb/comeback.html
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Paul Pena
Paul Pena
Paul Pena was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist of Cape Verdean descent.His music from the first half of his career touched on Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk and rock and roll...
, recorded in 1973 and released in 2000. The album was recorded at Bearsville Records
Bearsville Records
Bearsville Records was founded in 1970 by Albert Grossman. Artists included Todd Rundgren, Elizabeth Barraclough, Foghat, Halfnelson/Sparks, Bobby Charles, Randy VanWarmer, Paul Butterfield's Better Days, Lazarus, Jesse Winchester, and NRBQ. The label closed in 1984, two years before Grossman's...
and produced by Ben Sidran
Ben Sidran
Ben Sidran is an American jazz and rock pianist, organist, vocalist and writer born in Chicago, noted for his work with the early Steve Miller Band.-Biography:...
(keyboardist for the Steve Miller Band
Steve Miller Band
The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.-History:In 1965, Steve Miller and...
).
New Train features Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
member Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
playing pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
on "Venutian Lady" and "Taking Your Love Down." Merl Saunders
Merl Saunders
Merl Saunders, was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ.-Biography:...
(frequent collaborator with Garcia and the Dead) plays keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
on "Venutian Lady" and "New Train". A capella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group The Persuasions
The Persuasions
The Persuasions are an a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid 1960s. They have performed interpretations of both secular and non-secular music, and have covered a wide range of musical genres....
sing on "Gonna Move" and "Let's Move and Groove." http://www.genghisblues.com/paul/album_press_release.html
Stylistically, the album runs the gamut from straight-up rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
(on the original version of "Jet Airliner") to folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
to acid rock
Acid rock
Acid rock is a form of psychedelic rock, which is characterized with long instrumental solos, few lyrics and musical improvisation. Tom Wolfe describes the LSD-influenced music of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Iron Butterfly, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Cream,...
(on the Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
-esque "Cosmic Mirror") to Rhythm and Blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
on the standout track "Gonna Move". The Grateful Dead-inspired "Venutian Lady" echoes their hit "Bertha".
Albert Grossman
Albert Grossman
Albert Bernard Grossman was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music scene and rock and roll. He was most famous as the manager of Bob Dylan between 1962 and 1970.-Biography:...
, owner of Bearsville Records, stopped release of the record after a dispute with Pena.
Ben Sidran gave an unreleased copy of New Train to Steve Miller
Steve Miller (musician)
Steven H. "Steve" Miller is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more popular-oriented sound which, from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, resulted in a series of successful singles and albums.-Early years:Born in Milwaukee,...
, who recorded Pena's "Jet Airliner" with his band for their 1977 album Book of Dreams
Book of Dreams
Book of Dreams is the tenth studio album by American rock band The Steve Miller Band. The album was released in 1977 on the Capitol label in North America and on the Mercury label in Europe...
. The "Jet Airliner" single went to #8 on the charts. Pena's primary source of income in his later years were royalties from that single.
The album remained unreleased for 27 years. After years of unsuccessful attempts, Pena's attorney (and original executive producer on the album) Jon Waxman negotiated for the album's release in 2000 on the New York-based Hybrid Recordings
Hybrid Recordings
Hybrid Recordings LLC is a record label that is a division of Metropolitan Talent, Inc., which is led by John Scher and Al Cafaro.Hybrid Recordings recently announced a new worldwide distribution agreement with SonyBMG's RED Distribution. Hybrid Recordings kicked off 2007 with Recollection, the...
label.http://www.fotuva.org/gb/comeback.html
Track listing
All songs written by Pena except as indicated.- "Gonna Move" – 4:31
- "New Train" – 4:53
- "Jet Airliner" – 5:42
- "Wait On What You Want" – 3:28
- "Venutian Lady" – 4:43
- "Cosmic Mirror" – 5:23
- "Let's Move And Groove Together (Johnny NashJohnny NashJohn Lester "Johnny" Nash, Jr. is an American pop singer-songwriter, best known in the US for his 1972 hit, "I Can See Clearly Now". He was also the first non-Jamaican to record reggae music in Kingston, Jamaica.-Life and career:...
) – 4:13 - "Indian Boy" – 4:37
- "A Bit Of All Right" – 3:43
- "Taking Your Love Down" – 2:52
Personnel
- Paul Pena - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Ben SidranBen SidranBen Sidran is an American jazz and rock pianist, organist, vocalist and writer born in Chicago, noted for his work with the early Steve Miller Band.-Biography:...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with... - Harvey BrooksHarvey BrooksHarvey Brooks is an American bassist. He has played in many styles of music...
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Gary MallaberGary MallaberGary Mallaber is a Los Angeles session drummer, percussionist and singer. He got his start playing drums in a band from Buffalo, New York, known as Raven....
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Special guests
- Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
- pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
on "Venutian Lady" and "New Train" - Merl SaundersMerl SaundersMerl Saunders, was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ.-Biography:...
- keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
on "Venutian Lady" and "New Train" - The PersuasionsThe PersuasionsThe Persuasions are an a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid 1960s. They have performed interpretations of both secular and non-secular music, and have covered a wide range of musical genres....
- background vocals on "Gonna Move" - Charles Greene - background vocals on "Let's Move and Groove Together"
- Arthur Adams - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
on "A Bit of All Right" - Dave Woodward - saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
on "Cosmic Mirror" - Nick DeCaro - arranged strings
- The Funky ladies - additional background vocals
Production
- Producer: Ben Sidran
- Executive Producers: Jon M. Waxman and Gunther Weil
- Engineers: Adam Taylor and Bruce BotnickBruce BotnickBruce Botnick is an American audio engineer and record producer, best known for his work with The Doors, and with Love. He engineered Love's first two albums, and co-produced their third album, Forever Changes, with the band's singer-songwriter, Arthur Lee.In November 1970, he took over production...
- Mixing: Ben Sidran and Marty Feldman
- Mastering: George Marino
- Liner Notes: Ben Sidran
- Slipcase photograph: Jennifer Cheek Pantaleon
- Recorded at Intermedia in Boston and Wally Heider StudiosWally Heider StudiosWally Heider Studios was a recording studio in San Francisco, California between 1969 and 1980, started by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider.-History:...
in San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...