Customer Reviews

Dawn at Trout Lake

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In the absence of any other reviews, I'd like to say that this is classic Krause ... you can imagine yourself either waking from camping at a beautiful locale, or maybe snoozing while fishing creekside on a warm, sunny day. Beautiful, calm nature noises such as bird calls, trees rustling in gentle wind, or occasional frogs (I think!) provide soothing background noise, giving the impresion of "surround sound" despite my having stereo speakers--you can distinctly tell that some sounds are near, some far, some left some right, etc... making for a soundscape with depth. It's hard to describe exactly how he makes it sound like you're out by a wide, open lake... no echoes, no artificial repetition (although you do get the occasional "dialogue" where it sounds like two birds talking to each other), no tinny noises, no cars rumbling in the distance or anything else that would distract you from feeling like you are resting beachside with no one for miles around.

Bernie Krause has made a career of preserving the sound of endangered and some now lost environments. This particular CD is the 3rd reincarnation, now mastered in 24-bit surround, of a recording of a lake in Washington state in the relative quiet of early morning. We hear sequentially two perspectives, north and south lake, recorded at the same. It does make a difference. The sound of distant birds resounding along the lake provide a sense of spaciousness, and the plethora of bird species of the Pacific Northwest saturate the habitat. One creature seemed to have alighted on a branch just above the microphone and for a thankfully brief moment pierces the background with its loud, shrill call. A trout jumping out of the lake and splashing back is also heard. By and large, however, this is a fine recording that reminds me of my own exerience at a large reservoir in Oregon, too distant for jet traffic but an evening rest stop on an avian flyway. Someday soon we shall never hear such sounds devoid of human activity.