Customer Reviews

Relaxation Sampler

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

 

 

Some nice relaxing new age music. Not the best I've heard, but it's enjoyable enough to listen to, especially for the price (free). The sounds of nature blended with the music makes for pleasant listening. My favorites are the 7 tracks on the album by John Bickerton. Well, 6 tracks really. Tracks 7 and 8, 'Simple Pleasures' and 'Calming Stream' are THE SAME SONG (at least at the time of this review). So don't waste your time downloading both of these 12:06 songs, just one or the other (which is a long download time for my slow phoneline connection, nearly 2 hours for a 12 minute song). Also, I'm not sure why they felt the need to retitle track 9, unless that's another error. It's listed as 'Gentle Breeze' but it is clearly 'Londonderry Air' (or 'Danny Boy').

This is overall a decent collection of relaxing tunes to have on in the background when you're reading - mostly pleasant, but not so toe-tapping as to distract you from your book. But I just can't get over the sound of flies buzzing in "Gentle Breeze." I suppose it's supposed to sound like bees. It does not. It sounds like flies. It makes me want to swat the speakers.

Then there's "Calming Skies," which uses the same type of chord progression that a lot of horror movie soundtracks use. The nature sounds do nothing to alleviate the creepiness factor. But it is quite effective when I'm reading a horror novel.

And, I'm not quite sure but "Simple Pleasures" and "Calming Stream" sound like the exact same tune. My download might gone wonky there.

"Sailing to Sanctuary" has a mournful hooting sound that's kind of distracting. It's meant to mimic a foghorn, but it's discordant with the melody.

There are some more mellow tunes in this collection, though. "Soothing Sounds" is lilting and tropical, very befitting of this album's name. I also enjoyed "Healing Waters," which, while parts of it sound like the music playing over the last scene of a horror movie when the Final Girl is stumbling into the sunset, has a breakdown that I liked quite a bit. "Magical Relief" is good for listening to while reading High Fantasy.

Mileage always varies with music. I'd recommend listening to the samples before you decide.

I have a large collection of "new age" music which I play to give my space good, relaxing sound vibrations. I play this album while I'm waiting for the bus, while I'm reading, while I'm looking at stuff in a museum, while I'm gardening, while I'm shopping at Costco or while I'm in any similar noisy frantic environment. It calms me and I feel much better during the day.

There is a lot of literature out there about sound therapy and sound healing and vibrational healing energy. I have several books on the subject which I've ordered from Amazon, and have applied the principles to my everyday activities. Result: Feeling calmer, more focused, more able to cope with small emergencies.

This album is a nice addition to my collection. It doesn't put me to sleep, so I can play it in my car while I'm driving.

This is very well composed and is free to download. How can you do better than that?