The Other Coast

Michael Whalen (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 9, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Michael Whalen Music/Spout
• ASIN: B000LPQ8W8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #248,336 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Musicians whose bread and butter is commercial music and soundtracks can be difficult to pin down as artists. Michael Whalen has spent most of his career writing jingles and cutting sophisticated soundtracks for PBS. That experience has made him a musical eclectic whose own recordings have embraced new age atmospheres on Nightscenes, smooth jazz backgrounds on Mysterious Ways, and orchestral themes on Shadows of October. Not all have been compelling, but Whalen's inconsistency can also yield surprises. The Other Coast merges the composer's smooth jazz tendencies with his more atmospheric side in an ambient tone poem to the West Coast. (Whalen is a New Yorker, so that's the other coast to him.) I'm not sure that I pick up a California vibe from his moods, but the album is full of sentimental reflections and sometimes loungey grooves. The title track recalls Mark Isham during his mid-'80s fusion period with Whalen mimicking a trumpet on his Electronic Wind Instrument. Others, like "Being," aspire to symphonic grandeur, while "A Moment in Time" lifts directly from Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians. When Whalen can leave his maudlin modality behind, he can craft some enticing landscapes like "Imagine the Sun," which seems to sink into a reverie that moves a couple of wine bottles deep into intoxication with reverberant keyboards and faded, ghostly rhythms. It's when he taps into that more introspective, less sweetened side, that The Other Coast is worth visiting. --John Diliberto

Product Description

"The Other Coast"is the newest recording from Michael Whalen. Inspired by his recent trips to the central California coast, he has created a recording of beauty and power - filled with lovely melodies and rich textures. This CD is a MUST for driving or relaxing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is Whalen at his best, January 14, 2007

By	Peter Giles (Purchase, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I should divulge right from the start that I have had the pleasure of knowing Michael Whalen for several years, and consider him to be one of my best friends. We have traveled similar paths, eventually finding true bliss with the women that we truly love, and the extended families that we have come to embrace.

One thing that has been consistent through my personal journey is daily exposure to Michael's music, which has incredible depth, deep meaning and passion.

While I was introduced to Michael's musical magic a while back, his latest album "The Other Coast" captures the essence of his journey to the top of the world, thanks to his magnificent wife, Linda, who is the inspiration of the last track, "My Linda."

Michael's music has always been about texture, light and ENERGY; music you can touch and taste, and in which you can become totally immerse. But in his latest expression, "The Other Coast," Michael gives us a feeling of what life is like when you're feeling totally together, breathing fresh air, and loving life to the fullest, having a special woman by your side to inspire you. Welcome home, Michael.