Pete Gardiner has been busy during lockdown; he spent countless Fridays hosting ‘A Song & A Drink with Pete Gardiner’ where he hosted online gigs singing, of course, his brilliant original music and then an increasingly diverse selection of covers. The effect of these gigs was twofold in that it enabled Pete to hone his rapport with his original music and there was a feeling that he went through a process of falling back in love with his entire catalogue. However, the second effect was that it pushed Pete into songs that he maybe would never have considered attempting before these sessions. It was a joy to watch as this incredibly personable performer showcased his own music alongside classics which straddled virtually every genre. It was a joy to watch as his audience started to push for the originals. As approbation for the originals increased, Pete delivered with more and more confidence. This is a singer whose lyricism borders on modern social poetry and comfortably sits with the music of his idols Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen and to see that realisation dawn on the attentive audience was personally just proof of what I have written many times before. Pete Gardiner is a songwriter of such outstanding ability that we should take notice of, support and push as much as we can.
One of the songs that Pete sang regularly was his new song ‘Sing from The Heart’ which has a guitar driven backbeat reminiscent of ‘The Importance of Being Idle’, the Oasis classic, and lyrics that feel very Warren Zevon inspired with their almost story like construction. Like so many of Pete’s songs, it is full of brilliant one-liners including a cute little nod to Clint Eastwood’s Outlaw Josey Wales. There’s a darkness in this song which is at odds with the jaunty backbeat and the sing from the heart, howl from the grave dichotomy running through the song seems handmade for the stylised violence of something like Peaky Blinders. It’s a ‘Werewolves of London’ for a modern audience who have got to the end of their tether and are completely over the clap every Thursday, do what you’re told and everything will be ok approach to healing. It’s “a path to enlightenment that (he’s) been limping along” and Pete’s brilliant lyricism is once again laid bare for all to see.
Like so many of Pete’s songs, this gets better and better the more you listen as you let the lyrics wash over you and let the slow, driving journey to its grandstand finish sweep you along with it. I can’t recommend enough that you give a listen to this song as soon as you can. Please add it to your playlists, put it on repeat and make sure that we support artists of this quality. This is not throwaway pop for the faint hearted, this is on point, hard hitting song writing and I implore you to help Pete Gardiner continue to sing from the heart.
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