Customer Reviews

Thunder Chord

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are looking for soothing, meditative music, this fits the bill. I can sleep to it, I can work to it, I can read to it (all of which are amazing for me!). Does not contain any sudden loud or high-pitched notes that grab your attention. Songs glide from one track into another without noticeable transition. The perfect and superior alternative to those often-disappointing 'environmental' CDs.

This is "eyes closed" music, as Coyote Oldman will fill in the picture for you. I recommend this music specifically for meditation (sitting or walking). It's less beneficial as ambient sound, as it is somewhat ponderous and slow, but at the same time, fairly demanding of your attention. It has, I'm sure as the composer intended, a tendency to take you away. And under the proper conditions, this can be a good thing.

I like it, and play it often. But if I need to focus on something else, I probably will play something more like Evanson's "Desert Moon Song", which is more quitely melodious.

All-in-all, a great piece of music, and a great buy.

All of the praise this recording receives is appropriate and well-put. This is much more than a floaty, "new age" CD with loads of reverb and soothing sinewaves; it's a spiritual experience. If you're looking for something of the same order as Peter Gabriel's "Passion" but a bit more gentle, definitely give "Thunder Chord" a try. It will heal you.

This mix of native flutes and electronic sounds fills the soul and brings to mind images of wide turquoise skys, red buttes, afternoon thunderstorms and the perfume of damp sagebrush. Long tones, both electronic and flute, echo back and forth, evoking the sensation of being in the wide canyons of the West. This is ambient music, so there aren't melodies per se but shifting tapestries of pitch; high and low, acoustic and analog, weaving in and out of each other. "Thunder" rumbles mysteriously in the title track, created by a sheet of titanium. This is an ideal CD for experiencing a mini-retreat, it's ethereal quality lifting you out of your everyday routine.

From the moment this CD starts, one can envision the deep shadowy canyons and ancient places where their instruments evolved. Fluid motion and sense of three dimensional space make this one of the finest experiences of Native American and Ambient music. If you like R.Carlos Nakai, you will enjoy Coyote Oldman.

Many artists seek to capture "spirit" in their artform - Michael Graham Allen and Barry Stramp have created something transcendant. Let this CD take you on a journey.

This cd is special. It is beautiful music. Upon the first time hearing this cd, I stopped my activity so I can concentrate on the flutes. The music is peaceful which brought a sense of calmness to the moment. I highly recommend this cd as well as Tranquil Harp by Paul Baker.

This piece has been a favorite for years. I put it on when I want to feel the space around me, when I need more space around me, within me. The thunder is gentle and the flute provides a gentle focus. I can sleep with this cd playing or just enjoy listening.

As with certain places, people, and things, you instinctively 'know' or 'feel' their core essence; this repetoire radiates that exactly. You've got to get your bare feet firmly grounded in the raw earth before you can aspire to dream of higher realms ... this is sonic spa for the soul.

This is NOT just your ordinary Native American flute music. One of the earliest and still the best of the Coyote Oldman recordings, "Thunder Chord" is a haunting evocation of the timeless, of dimensions beyond the visible. Powerfully transcendental, this tape has been used to help AIDS and cancer patients find their own timeless core of Self.

"Coyote Oldman" was originally two performers: Michael Graham Allen, who reconstructs and plays archoelogical flutes of the Americas; and Barry Stramp, who mixed and digitally processed Allen's flute music. No synthesizers or samplers are used on this or previous Coyote Oldman recordings. Indeed, it was Stramp's genius with the digital recombining of Allen's flute playing that gave Thunder Chord its other-worldly beauty. Oldman after Stramp is pleasant, occasionally strong, but much more pedestrian. Thunder Chord is Coyote Oldman at its very best.

HIGHLY recommended!

I was looking for another Native American flute artist after discovering R. Carlos Nakai, whom I really like. Based upon reviews by a self-professed flautist and appreciater of Native American flautists, despite not being able to learn anything about the music from listening to the 30 second sound bites, I purchased the album. Big disappointment. There is a fine line between subtle and boring. This music is so unvarying and monotonous that it far transgresses that line. It is expensive white noise. I can understand it being used for entirely unobtrusive background music at a spa but for anyone who wants to LISTEN to flute music it is a complete waste of time. Also, when I meditate I don't want any other noise than my breathing so it is of no use to me for that purpose.

Your tastes may difer from mine but I strongly recommend that you listen to the entire album before purchasing it.