Thunderstorm - Relax with Nature Vol. 8

I've already listened through a few thunderstorm CDs, and there have been problems with them all, despite various good points. A common problem is rain sounding unduly 'bright' and hissy and so making the recording fatiguing to listen to. Other problems include cuts and repeats of sections, doing something funny to high frequencies of close earth strikes, and amplitude compression, which gives very unnatural effects.I'm glad to say, this CD doesn't suffer from any of those problems, and for me the other nature sounds - the birds calling and, at one point a frog croaking, make it a wonderful nature experience. Compared with some thunderstorm recordings, I would rank this as not maximally aggressive sounding, but it's all the more relaxing and beautiful for that. I can still look out for a high-grade CD of a really savage thunderstorm.Really, to my ears, there was only one close-enough earth strike on this CD to make me start feeling nervous lest the next strike was meant for me, and even that is beaten hands-down by an unpublicized brief thunderstorm in a wonderful CD called Pastoral Bells (actually primarily of cowbells in alpine pastures), which includes the two most scary close earth strikes that I've ever heard in a recording. But then again, just a high score of scary close misses is not, to my sensibility, a very healthy criterion on which to rate the quality of a thunderstorm recording.The sequence on this CD is a series of recordings pretty seamlessly joined, so I don't know for sure how many of them are actually of the same storm, nor indeed if they were all from different storms - though from the sound of it, they were quite likely all in more or less the same general place, though in different locations there. In each recording there seems to be just a narrow line or centre of lightning activity coming over and going away quite quickly - which is presumably why the recording was not just left to run for the duration of the CD.The opening is beautifully atmospheric, and I'd really like to hear a full run of a storm recorded from just that spot (complete with bird sounds) on another CD - Dan Gibson, are you listening?Another particular highlight of the CD is the section in which two birds, which I assume are water birds, are periodically presumably courting or mating, and uttering the most grotesquely comical laughing-like noises, with a backdrop of periodic rolls of thunder.I received the CD yesterday and played it once each in afternoon and evening - and both times I came away from it feeling uplifted and pleasantly, gently haunted by various of its sounds and 'atmospheres'. A wonderful 'find'.Addendum - a few days later.I've done a more careful listening and comparison with a more standard thunderstorm recording. I've come to the conclusion that:(a) If the reverb and echoey character of the thunder is all genuine, this must have been in a place with mountain cliffs and crags around.(b) I'm now pretty sure that most if not all the bird sounds (and presumably the frog) were separately recorded and mixed in.(c) I get the strong impression that the foreground sounds are at least usually changing at different points to the changes to different thunder recordings - i.e. I'm highly suspicious that at least for some of the time foreground and background (including the thunder) have been recorded separately and mixed together.(e) In the final section some of the bird sounds seem to be tropical species, and have great reverb, but there is also birdsong with no reverb other than a normal woodland reverb, and, what's more, it sounds very much to me like temperate woodland birdsong. So, it's altogether a right old hotch-potch!Later note - over a year later!Having accumulated a lot of thunderstorm recordings in the meantime and then come back to this one, I can say pretty definitely that there must have been some degree of electronic processing of most or indeed all the thunder sound. The recording still sounds pleasant to me, but not fully natural.Incidentally, I have identified the weird and quite spooky bird sounds in one section as being the barred owl.The overall effect is still beautiful, but it would be nice to have a really well recorded 'straight' thunderstorm in an 'atmospheric' location (with nature sounds) without significant patching and mixing.

Where were the thunderstorms??? Lots of rain, bird song and ambience which in surround sound mode is excellent. But the thunder is very distant. I thought I was buying a proper thunderstorm..so disappointing.

When I recieved this item, I was a bit surprised at the picture on the front of the case, it looked like a very intense storm and I thought this may not have been a wise buy. But the picture does actually exaggerate the content of the recording itself. There is some distant thunder, some quite close thunder, but it's mostly breezes and rain. With the weather we get here in Great Britian, (most of the time anyway), this really will make you feel at home, and down to earth. As for anyone who's not british, or at least doesen't live in a constantly wet or at least cloudy country. You may not like this. However I give you every right to call this idea very erratic, but this CD would actually be quite nice to put on for atmosphere when snuggling with your partner in front of the fire, believe me, I've tried it, and it makes things quite cosy.

I don t know how many stars to give this as it seems like two seperate Cds. It starts with distant thunder, which gets closer. So far so good. Then for some reason the thunder completely disappears to be replaced by wind and rain, which goes on for several minutes, with NO thunder at all. very strange!! If you are expecting to lose yourself in a thunderstorm you may find this very annoying. I actually like it, as I have been trying unsuccessfully to find a CD of wind and rain. ( you can get one or the other, but not both) If you just want a thunderstorm perhaps this CD is not for you.

very good sound on the SACD disc from all channels, effects work with good atmosphere in surround sound

Wonderfully atmospheric, so much so that I love to play it loud when it is raining outside allowing me to immerse myself in nature's delights. The 5.1 recording is so realistic your imagination can run riot and place you on a lake with the thunder rolling all around you.Essential!

Nice CD

Does exactly what it says on the tin but is also a bit tinny