We’re going to take some time from our usual movie reviews to spend a little time with a 12 disc box set that we purchased last week from Fab.com as part of a 3-day sale.   Those who know me know that I am a sucker for ambient music and mood lighting.  My apartment is always dim and I always have hundreds of candles and tealights burning everywhere.  A couple of years ago I recommended a set called HDScape (you know, the old Yule Log and aquarium genre) which, for the time, was of decent quality and reasonably priced.  However, the HDScape discs have been showing their age lately, and it was time to upgrade.  I’ve purchased some of the HD Moods discs too, and some of them were quite nice, but something was always a bit off.

The BluScenes Compendium (2011, Scenic Labs), takes the concept of video scenery  and journalizes it.  Rather than paying $25 per disc, you can buy a dozen discs in one fell swoop.  I think this is the way to go because there are a lot of discs that you might not try otherwise, but as part of a bundle — a disc showing nothing but Lighthouses?  Sure!  Why not?

I’m really enjoying this set!

My favorite discs are the two aquarium discs, and The Fractal Plane.  It’s, by far, the best ambient content that I’ve seen in a while.

1) The Scenic Aquarium (new!) 100 Minutes
2) The Classic Fireplace 120 Minutes
3) Journey Through Space 63 Minutes
4) Underwater Cozumel 100 Minutes
5) Waves of Tranquility 72 Minutes
6) Gallery Moderna 62 Minutes
7) The Fractal Plane (new!) 74 Minutes
8) Gallery Musée (new!) 88 Minutes
9) Flowering Gardens (new!) 74 Minutes
10) The Coral Reef Aquarium 62 Minutes
11) Majestic Waterfalls 63 Minutes
12) Lighthouses of the Pacific Northwest, by Stacey Spears (bonus!) 45 Minutes