Synth Single Review: Lou Gramm’s “Just Between You and Me” covered by ARENA

by Karl Magi

ARENA’s cover of Lou Gramm’s “Just Between You and Me” gives a fresh twist to the original. The song opens with a synth planing out into a broad vista while a gigantic bass pulse supports Joey Arena’s emotionally entangling vocals, drawing the listener into the superb original melody. The melody is full of tender, tentative sensations as the vocals deliver the words with feeling and intensity.

Joey Arena has a vibrant and gripping voice, while the drum beat adds form and a synth bursts with radiance over the rumbling bass. The chorus becomes an expression of love under duress as it leaps outward with emotional urgency. This cover stands as a respectful tribute to Lou Gramm’s original performance (with his full support).

The rhythm scuds forward as Joey Arena’s guitar slides in with a solo full of expressive heart. A shifting synth creates a luscious background while chimes add diamond-like brilliance as the guitar surges. As Joey Arena takes hold of the lyrics by Lou Gramm and Holly Knight, I feel myself pulled deeply into the song before it ends with a soaring guitar line.

The narrator and his partner stare at each other with accusing eyes, their mistrust evident as they keep their voices low, unwilling to expose their problems to the outside world. “One cold word’s gonna lead to another,” threatening a breakup despite the lingering love between them.

Even as the relationship falters, our storyteller wants to protect what remains, insisting that their emotions belong to them alone, not to outside judgment. He recognizes that if they cannot repair what’s broken, there may be no return yet he remains drawn in, still “lost in your mystery.”