Pidgeman - Alone

Hear The Track Here

While I was downloading this track I became mesmerised by the four fairly innocuous words used to describe this track. I was OK with 'rock', 'guitar' and 'instrumental', where the wheels started coming off was with the word 'ballad'. To my ears the six letter word b-a-l-l-a-d could just as easily be spelt m-a-u-d-l-i-n but that'd be seven letters so I should just shut up and get on with it. Actually, the really surprising thing here is that Pidgeman has given me an instrumental to review this time. All of the bakers dozen of his tracks I have reviewed so far have shown Craig (aka Pidgeman) to be an adept rock/pop songwriter. I knew, of course, that he was a guitarist, and he know his way around the rock chord handbook.

But a whole instrumental?... Lesseee

Pidgeman rises to the challenge admirably, and believe me I'm a very harsh judge of tracks like this. If that guitar doesn't cut, and the melody sustain the interest, I'm not going to be interested - no matter how good you are. After all, guitar noodlers are everywhere these days and very, very few of them appeal outside of a certain limited audience. I think Pidge understands that because he has couched Alone somewhere between early Fleetwood Mac (the blues variety with Peter Green) and a kinda sub-Santana feel to it in parts. Doesn't sound much in black and white but it works a treat on my ears.

It also shows that as well as understanding how to structure the track, the man is ready to get down and wail for you, and he's pretty nifty on the fretboard too. I would have probably got more out of it if it were anything but a ballad but that is my curse and cross to bear. Although I wouldn't really be in the market for that particular strand of rock, I know of plenty who would lap this up with a spoon. Pidgeman has been putting himself about of late, raising his profile in lots of different ways and if he keeps releasing tracks as good as this, it can only get better.

Excellent shreddage. Highly Recommended Guitar instrumental.