The characters in Alan Whitney's songs dwell in a no man's land between
Desperation and rebellion. He's a sensitive songwriter weaving quiet
defiance through tales of people on the edge of society, of heartbreak and
of hope. Beat up by life, they're still too stubborn to surrender. And
Whitney peels back the dirty exterior to show the rough grace they carry
underneath. The center-point of the album is "Sleeping With The Television
On," an unblinking look at divorce, growing up and stumbling through life
not fully awake. After that, he offers up "This Town," a love/hate ode to
Nashville that any struggling songwriter will relate to. An adventuresome
country singer (say Tim McGraw or Gary Allan) could have a hit with the
yearning "You Don't Know What It's Like To Love You."
--John Hood
4/2001
Kevin's Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews
"Alan Whitney. Repeat this name seven times. Isn't that what memory experts advise to remember someone's name?"
February 15, 2001
City Newspaper Rochester, NY
City’s Choice - The Week’s Best Picks
"We’ve been genuinely taken aback by the quality of local musician Alan
Whitney’s debut CD, The Borderland. His sparse country arrangements are full of surprises and surprisingly mature. This is not brain-dead contemporary country. It’s heartfelt acoustic music that happens to be just as radio-friendly. Whitney’s arrangements reveal influences far beyond the typical. When a lilting oboe solo slowly winds down “Sleeping With the Television On” you’ll swear you can hear the ghost of Jack Nitzsche.
Whitney grew up here, and in 1990 relocated to Los Angeles to try and become an official singer-songwriter. But his non-industry experiences there proved to be the most important. “I lived outdoors, worked on an organic farm, kept bees, picked fruit, learned Spanish from Mexicans, wrote songs and sang them for people.” It served him well.
Whitney’s back, for good we hope."
--Chad Oliveiri
February 16, 2001
Rochester Democrat And Chronicle
"When a debut album as stunning as The Borderland arrives, some would say it “came out of nowhere.” But that depends on your opinion of Rochester.
Rochester native Alan Whitney celebrates his CD’s release with an 8 PM show tomorrow at 12 Corners Coffeehouse at Fellowship Hall, Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church, 1200 S. Winton Road, Brighton. And it certainly marks the emergence of a major talent on the local folk-rock scene - and perhaps the national scene as well. Some influences seem obvious: “Days of Heaven,” with its high-and-lonesome harmonica intro, could be an outtake from Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska album. And the rogues of “Frankie Speed (Stealin’ Cadillacs)”’and “Trigger Finger” could be The Boss’ characters. But Whitney has a style as restless as the guy in the title track who tells us “we live and we die and we make hard lonely choices.” Country rambles like “This Town” or the image of Jesus Christ washing a windshield on “Crucifixion Waltz” were channeled through the same dusty telegraph lines used by Steve Earle."
--Jeff Spevak
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