To the Shores of Heaven

Jeff Pearce | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 3, 2000)
• Original Release Date: November 16, 2000
• Label: Hypnos
• ASIN: B00004XR16
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #428,354 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Fading

2. Sudden Light

3. From Cliffs of Departure

4. The Emergence

5. Rain as a Metaphor

6. Beyond and Within

7. Veil of Lake Snow

8. Angels of the Ocean Calm

9. Doubt on Dark Waters

10. To the Shores of Heaven

11. Reunions

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Subtle, evocative ambient work, December 16, 2001

By 

Robert H. Nunnally Jr. "gurdonark" (Allen, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To the Shores of Heaven (Audio CD)

Jeff Pearce's "guitar only" brand of ambient music is always a delight to hear. One might expect that an artist whose forte is using various treatments of guitar to achieve an ambient sound would be inclined to showy "look what my guitar can do" displays, Gentle Giant-ish signature changes, and the other hallmarks of the guitarist-as-artiste. Pearce takes an altogether different tack. To the Shores of Heaven is an intelligent and very subtle collection of slowly unfolding melodic sound played in ambient format, never cloying, always interesting. There's no gimmickry here, just solid ambient sound. At British Columbia's Butchart Gardens, the flowers are not labeled by variety, because the planners wish one to experience the garden as a *garden*, and not as a collection of ideas. To the Shores of Heaven is similar--Pearce never makes you feel that you're listening to an ambient devotee's intellectual exchange on the state of ambient made with guitars; this is instead an integrated and altogether musical album, well worth owning. If you've always wanted to move your ambient taste past Music for Airports and the Budd/Eno collections, but never known where to begin, here's your answer. Begin here.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jeff Pearce's To The Shores of Heaven- Elysium Revisited, April 9, 2000

By 

Cindy Lyn (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To the Shores of Heaven (Audio CD)

Existing adjectives fail to do justice to Jeff Pearce's latest release. Having said that, I'll give it a go. The body of Pearce's work to date consistently stands out in its ethereal beauty and emotional impact. To the Shores of Heaven is clearly his masterstroke. The opening track, "A Fading," goes straight for the heartstrings with Pearce's sublime guitar work. Electronic enhancement is (perhaps deceptively) feather-light. The pristine and languid acoustic melancholy of the instrument shines through. As "The Shores" progresses, Pearce exquisitely intertwines this lyrical quality with lushly layered soundscapes to create music that glistens with a haunting radiance. The "shores" aspect of the title comes into play (particularly on the fifth track) as the music gently hints at an aural seascape of the surf repetitively crashing against a sandy shore, with the faint call of gulls echoing overhead. In this reviewer's humble opinion, To The Shores of Heaven reaches its apex with track #7- "Veil of Lake Snow." The piece illustrates what sets Pearce apart from other ambient artists- that heavenly guitar work. Pensive, plaintive, and achingly poignant; space music with a soul...the quintessential Jeff. "Doubt on Dark waters" beguiles the listener, as a sensual, tribal beat percolates under a gossamer veil of soaring sustained chords. The effect is exotic and tantalizing. The title track provides a dramatic climax to the record. Overlapping crescendos of richly layered sound wash over the listener, enveloping all senses. Majestic and elegant, the piece is positively transcendent. As "Shores" comes to a conclusion with the wistful and introspective "Reunions," one thing becomes clear: With this release, Jeff Pearce deftly attains the moniker of "Space Musician." He sublimely sets the listener somewhere far above the stratosphere...perhaps, one might say, at the shores of heaven.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ambient masterpiece, September 25, 2000

By 

Tommy (Naperville, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To the Shores of Heaven (Audio CD)

This CD is wonderfully musical, calming, and mesmerizing. If you like the guitar soundscapes of Robert Fripp or Terje Rypdal or the space synth of Steve Roach or Brian Eno, you'll probably enjoy this too.

The music is kind of an alpha-state generator, very soothing and peaceful. For me, listening to it invariably leaves me feeling better. It's the sort of musical experience that beckons you inside, both inside the music and inside yourself.

Best of all, the entire CD flows so well from one piece to another...so the journey continues throughout the entire disk. Hope you enjoy it as much as I still am.