Gentle Persuasion – Sounds of the Bayou

When I first put “Sounds of the Bayou” in the stereo, I thought I was going to love it. It sounded just like sitting by a lake as the sun went down. Crickets and other sounds felt right and relaxing.

Then 50 seconds in, growling? I’m a northern boy and won’t pretend to know what it is, but it’s not relaxing. Thankfully it didn’t last very long.

Then at 1:45 it’s a bullfrog and a buzzing bug. Not as bad as the growling, but not relaxing either. Again, after about 20 seconds it’s over and we’re back to the peaceful Bayou. At 3:30 some crickets come into the foreground, a little loud but not awful. Then a few croaks from a frog.

Then the peaceful Bayou returns, A couple minutes of water, birds, crickets pass and then a couple of frogs chime in at 6:30. They fit in fairly well. Then a buzzing bug returns for several buzzes, and at 7:30 a few more of those annoying growls.  And on it goes for the rest of the CD.

If I could take out the growls and buzzing bugs I would give this CD four or five stars. I really do like most of the CD but the occasional growls and buzzing really interrupt the serenity of the water, crickets, and birds.

So while I do find myself occasionally putting this CD on for background noise, it’s not my pick for relaxing, or to fall to sleep to, due to a few occasional sounds I wish they had edited out.

By Shawn M Tierney