Customer Reviews

Relax With Wind Chimes

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I spend a lot of time online studying and writing articles. It can be really hard to find anything to listen to while working. The usual "New Age" music is too distracting, and "nature sounds" get unbelievably tedious, especially the "rain" ones that sound like radio static or like brown paper bags being repeatedly crunched up. Nature sounds with birds or storms in the background can be either startling at times or have the same boring "rain" sound. But this CD is just fabulous! There is a gentle wind noise that varies nicely without being noticeable, and hence, never distracts. The wind chimes are always soft and gentle, never clangy, so they provide a wonderful, pleasant background "music" without ever being a distraction or being boring. You could definitely meditate to this, also.

In general, this series of environmental CD's is middle of the line. But the wind chime CD is good to meditate to. It has several different types of wind chimes of different volumes, and does allow for a vibration feeling that can be meditated to. If you are looking for a CD of soft wind chimes as pleasant back ground sound, this is probably not the CD for you.

I like most environmental CDs but not this one. The sounds volume fluctuates way too much for me. If you're buying CDs to help you sleep, try this one last.

I've been trying to come up with a way to enjoy the sound of wind chimes year-round (hard to do in Northern winters), so I thought I'd try this CD.

It started out fine, with the sound of a nice, tubular wind chime set at the beginning, but something was wrong: where was the gentle sound of the wind (as important as the chimes themselves, in my opinion)? At about 1:50 into the CD I learned where when the most horrible computer-generated wind chime sound began and continued for the next minute or so. After that, it became clear that the chimes were being struck by the hand of a musician or group of musicians in a studio somewhere, and that I wasn't going to get the random, lyrical sound that I had hoped for.

So why give it two stars instead of one (or zero)? First, I didn't pay a lot for this CD, which reduces my disappointment somewhat. Second, listening to the CD as the percussive performance piece it really is, it isn't unpleasant to listen to compared to some of the CDs I've heard in the "atmospheric" genre. From this perspective, I probably would have given it three stars were it not for the abrupt and disturbing drop-outs at several points in the recording.

So if you're looking for that wonderful aeolian sound most expect from wind chimes, I suggest looking elsewhere. However, if you are looking for something different to listen to and need filler for another order, this isn't the worst CD you could purchase.

I really like the sound of wind chimes and listen to this CD often. Nice quality and variety of chimes. Consider the EXTREMELY LOW PRICE for this CD, and if you are a true wind chime lover, you will get much more than your money's worth from this recording . . . Gary L. Flegal, Ph.D., Professional Stress Management Services

I purchased this CD because I like the sound of Wind chimes. I prefer the sound of delicate, tonal wind chimes. I find them soothing and great to listen to while reading or relaxing. When I received this CD, I put it into my CD player and anxiously listened. The wind chimes began nice enough, but when I listened further, after a few minutes, I heard other percussion sounds as if someone were in a recording studio making them. I personally found them annoying and distracting, not conducive to reading. THIS WAS NOT WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR AT ALL. If I am able, I will sell this CD at a "half-price" store or something. I am disappointed with it.

A side-note: A few months ago, I ordered another Wind Chimes CD on Ebay from a seller in England. The labeling on the CD was different....I think it was the Natural Sounds Collection WIND CHIMES, but it seems to me that the wind chimes on that CD and other assorted percussion sounds were the same as on the CD I am currently reviewing; so essentially, it now appears that I have two CDs of the same unwanted wind chime sounds. A problem here is that I previewed this (the current) wind chimes CD a little (I believe I was able to listen to the first few seconds of it, and it sounded fine -- you don't hear in the preview those other parts I just described); so I ordered it on that basis.

Perhaps some helpful information: I do have two CDs entitled, "Wind Chimes I" and "Wind Chimes II." I believe that I got them from Amazon. Wind Chimes I has the sounds of metal tubular and solid chimes on it. (I like this one; it is a keeper -- it is more delicate sounding). Wind Chimes II has the sounds of bamboo wind chimes on it, it's nice too, if you're more inclined to that sort of sound.

I hope that this review is helpful to others.

Apparently most of the reviews here are for some wind chime album, but this is actually an electronic compilation album. I just got into downtempo and psytrance recently and this kept appearing on Pandora, and it's really the best compilation album in this genre I've heard. Very chill. It works great for an evening discussion or working on the computer. The only issue I have with it is some of the songs seem a little disjointed with the rest of the album, ie being a little brighter and harder, but overall great.

Chime is the latest release from the Ball of Waxx label, and it's a mellow collection of electronica, featuring some of my faves like Eastern Sun, John Kelley, Muffle, and Seed... and some new (to me)artists. My favorite tracks are "Fireflies" by Nalepa and "What Is" by Eastern Sun. A complex album of chill music... very cool and well planned compilation. A great addition to any music library.

For the most part, this isn't bad. Sometimes the chimes just don't sound natural to me, as though they are being tapped or swatted at rather than blowing in a breeze, and the lower tones sound just weird, like some dissonant banging on an electric piano. At times the CD sounds like a recording of a broken music box. There are long stretches where it sounds great, but then they are disrupted when fake-sounding lower tones invade. For that reason I did not find this CD all that useful for meditation or relaxation.

This album starts out pleasantly enough, much like the online audio sample which I found to be similar to a small collection of actual wind chimes in a light breeze. After the first couple of minutes, though, the recording becomes somewhat choppy and contrived, with occasional "gongs" that are jarring and carry considerable sound distortion. On the upside, this album is all chimes, and chimes without music or other sounds such as babbling brooks, rain, etc. are hard to find. While I don't hate it, it does make me want to splice the good parts together and discard the 70% percent or so where the chimes are clearly being played (and rather poorly) by human hands rather than by the wind. If you must have it, I suggest downloading the mp3 version for less than a third of the price of this surprisingly pricey CD.