Alan Arena

Deceived

Independent

Blues Musician and singer-songwriter Alan Arena had two New England top 10 albums when  he moved away from Boston. He was also a caregiver for “Hugs For Lizbeth” his best friend, a veteran who had been stricken with Huntington’s Disease. When a new venue and studio called The Music Room opened on Cape Cod he decided it might be a good place to record new material. The late Grammy winning guitarist and producer Paul Nelson  (Johnny Winter), was a partner in the venue. Nelson who was impressed with Arena offered to produce this new album. They collaborated on some of the music including the title track and enlisted an impressive ensemble. Included are Arena, vocals and guitar; Nelson, guitar;  Brooks Milgate (Chris O’Leary), piano and organ; Jerry Portnoy (Muddy Waters), harmonica;  Brad Hallen (Roomful of Blues), bass; and Marty Richards (J. Geils Band), drums. Additional  musicians include percussionist, Stephen Clements; Milton Smith, strings; vocalists Allyssa  Jones, Joe Russo, and James Brown; and “Sax” Gordon Beadle. The album includes seven  originals and one cover.

Opening with “Raised On Radio” Arena combines a honky-tonk musical style with a handsomely emotive vocal as he recalls his youth growing up listening to his favorite songs, Nelson’s guitar work is both greasy and stinging as Milgate adds some Hammond organ, “I was raised on radio, now music is the only life I know…I was raised on radio on an old two speaker stereo, now music  is the only life I know”. “Believe In Yourself” is an uplifting song, “when your heart is on the rise and fate is all you know…when you’ve given it your all…but still all alone…you got to believe in  yourself, if your gonna make it on our own”.

The title track co-written with Nelson features him on a Flamenco style guitar, with a string  arrangement, as Arena sings about a breach in trust “I’ve been down since the day I was born… you lied straight to my face, I must have been deceived…you tore my soul apart, I must have been deceived”. “Big Black Cat”, “I was walkin down the back roads I saw a big black cat…the  big black cat walked straight across my path…I was possessed when the big black cat walked straight across my path”.

The “Devil In The Bottle” makes for a fun party vibe as Arena serves up some funky brew “the  devil had me a big swallow from the bottle…well the devil and the bottle are the only ones your  talkin’ to, I like the devil in the bottle too”. “Mother Earth” written by Memphis Slim is the album’s only cover, further popularized by Tracy Nelson, “I don’t care how rich you are, I don’t care what your worth, when it all comes down, you gotta’ go back to Mother Earth”, with Jerry Portnoy on harmonica.

Full of organ swirls, honky-tonk piano, and thumpin’ bass notes, on “Speed of Life” Arena chimes “my life is turned upside down and there is no place to turn around…things just got out of hand, as things don’t always go as planned…I’m traveling at the speed of life”. “Hypnotized” with “Sax”  Gordon Beadle, “I been on the road for a lot of time, but when I saw you’ve been hypnotized… I just want to shine one moment at a time but since I met you I’ve been hypnotized”. “Believe In  Yourself (Radio Edit)”, reprises this song with some great piano from Milgate. On the closer,  with “Sax” Gordon and percussionist Clements, “Deceived” is also reprised but performed as an instrumental.

“Deceived” should garner Arena a lot of attention. The album is dedicated to “Hugs For Lizbeth”,  and the caregivers. Arena also reminds us of Paul Nelson who not only played with Johnny  Winter but also opened for many artists at The Music Room in Cape Cod, including Kim Wilson, Mike Zito, Albert Castiglia, Shemekia Copeland, Bernard Allison, and others. Now Arena honors the legacy of Paul Nelson.

Richard Ludmerer

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