Rocky Point Records: Reviews

The song of Neptune's salt green streams, Jan: NorthernLightsuary 3, 2004
Reviewer (Beijing, China) - See all my reviews
This is not your umpteenth recording of sea sounds: this is a recording with an artistic quality. It is not just helpful noise, no, in "Waves", without adding anything artificial or contrived, Scott Wyker has truly captured the wild beauty of the ocean surf breaking on the shores of Central California.This man really managed to find the most musical beaches and shoals of California and persuade the most gifted waves of the hemisphere to play on them for this recording!
Prosaically, this cd is your ideal Terminator for all parasitic noises from an ebullient neighborhood or a personal environment teeming with purring, buzzing and squeaking electrical devices.

More poetically, "Waves" will transport your mind and imagination to some undisturbed shore of the Americas, before the galleons and all the other "floating houses" spoilt the whole thing. The sound is so genuine and beautiful that it has a tremendous evocative power. This recording will awaken the poet and the child that were slumbering in your heart.

But, will one ask, do bird cries resound amid the gorgeous splashing and gurgling? Yes, but contrary to what happens on cheap environmental cds of this kind, the sounds that strike your delicate ears are not the raucous laments of a phalanx of seagulls venting their anger at the latest oil spill or the dearth of fish right into the micro but the intermittent peeps and cheeps of a solitary if happier winged creature quietly cruising in the far distance.

Anyway, 99,99% of "Waves" is just...waves,waves and more waves but, and this is an important point to remember, these are waves from different locations along the coast of California, which means that there is some slight variation in the watery tumult. Not every piece is an allegro: the third track definitely features a quieter surf than, say the first track (undoubtedly an allegro fortissimo) and might be the ideal non chemical solution for coaxing your obdurate insomnia into submission, if you will but press the "repeat" button of your hi-fi that is...

But wait, in case you belong to the tribe of the radical "waverists" who hate having their listening pleasure spoilt by anything that even remotely does not sound like Neptune's baritones and basses, that is precisely the track with the peeping loner. Nothing is perfect!

Moreover, I would like to warn enthusiastic insomniacs that "Waves" is about grandeur: it is a hymn to the wild, boundless energy of the sea. The waves roar and rumble with deafening crescendos, as if rehearsing for the first scene of Shakespeare's "Tempest". This may mean just too much vitality for your nervous system.

For you, I would recommend exclusive daytime use of this cd and Gregorian chant from Silos or zen flute for the night...

The cd ends with a humorous note: a frog concert and an anonymous piece by...well, buy "Waves" and you will know the artist!

sleepy
Reviewer: april
every night I go to sleep with waves... even take it on trips with me.. my 3 doggies like it to, keep them coming April

A great, soothing sound!
Reviewer: Judith Josephson
This CD helps me sleep at night. It's terrific! Wish he'd do another Wave CD. I know all these tracks by heart.

Very relaxing
Reviewer: A. Conner
Very relaxing and absolutely real sounding. I just close my eyes and I'm on the shore. Drives my cats crazy. Can't figure where the sound is coming from!

relaxing
Reviewer: april
I love laying in bed reading with this playing it reminds me of my grandmothers home and my childhood April

Wonderful, calming, water in motion!
Reviewer: Ray Simon
Excellent follow-up to Waves by Scott Wyker. Quality of sound is outstanding and the notion that these sounds come from hifi equipment quickly disappears and it becomes surprising that I'm actually not by a river. I considered recording my own rivers and ocean waves for background relaxation, but why bother when someone has mastered it already!

The Best Ocean Recording Ever, May 30, 2002
Reviewer: Cactus Head "sierra-charlie" (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews
If you want a very natural sounding recording of pounding surf this is the one to get. It truly is like standing on the beach and doesn't sound synthetic like so many other recordings do. If you want the best ocean recording of real surf get this one. The surf sounds are not overpowering, its like laying on the beach hearing the 4-6' waves break out at sea. Very well done.

Soothing stress reducer, December 14, 2000
Reviewer: A music fan
High quality recording that really gives you the sense of being there. I like to listen whenever I need to reduce stress. I'm looking forward to more recordings by this artist!

Best Recording Of Real Waves On The Market, November 6, 2000
Reviewer: A music fan
I love the sound of the ocean, and I probably have every ocean sound CD ever recorded. This one is the best by far! The sound reproduction is so accurate, you'ld swear you were on the beach. Great for meditation or for "white noise" to drown out other noises. I also sleep with it on.

Best Soothing River Sounds CD, December 22, 2007
I bought this CD three years ago at the Asilomar Conference Grounds (California State Park in Pacific Grove, CA) and I'm not tired of it yet. I have bought a few CDs of ambient sounds through the years, but this is the most satisfying that I've found. I love to go to sleep with it on.
There are 4 tracks recording different the moods of the Big Sur River. There's no music, just river sounds. There are no repeats--it's not a "loop." I keep coming back to this recording as calming but realistic, soothing but not boring. I notice that Wyker has another recording, of waves this time. I'm going to order that one as soon as I submit this review. Enjoy!

Scott Wyker offers you an outstanding recording that is both genuine, evocative and extremely beautiful.

NIGHT
author: NWRaine
Reminds me of quiet peaceful times camping. Each track blends nicely into the next. I program the CD on "repeat" for a whole night of restful sleep

NIGHT
author: NWRaine
Reminds me of quiet peaceful times camping. Each track blends nicely into the next. I program the CD on "repeat" for a whole night of restful sleep
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