source file: mills3.txt Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 11:05:00 +0100 Subject: Review: Acoustic Stick From: mr88cet@texas.net (Gary Morrison) (I was kinda hoping somebody would beat me to this, but here goes my review of Neil Haverstick's second CD, "Acoustic Stick".) My main impression from "Acoustic Stick" is that, if God is in the details of performance, then Neil Haverstick is an angel. I say that mostly in the entirely complimentary sense, but also from a much lesser, negative sense. But before I elaborate on that, let me make sure that if any of you who were concerned that Neil's second album would be another R&B gig, then have no fear. Stylistically, this is entirely different from his first CD. Neil is very clearly capable of much more just than blues. So, stylistically speaking, what are the differences then? First of all, as the title suggests, the music here is almost entirely on acoustic instruments (the first two tracks have electric bass, played by John Starrett, by the way.) Second, except for one track, it's not basically bluesy. Some of the tracks are jazzy, two are Indianesque (if that's a word), and is one is classical guitar. Furthermore, this CD is entirely instrumental; no vocals. It also differs from his first CD, which was in 19TET and 12TET, in that this one is in 34TET and 19TET tunings. I thought that the second and fourth tracks did the best job of using the unique qualities of the tuning to make an exciting new musical experience. The CD has six tracks, the first four are comparatively short and in 19TET, the other two are comparatively long and in 34TET. They are the two Indianesque ones. Its total play time is only 42 minutes, but then again he's selling it at a very reasonable price, so I doubt if anybody's likely to be upset about that. I suppose it's also worth mentioning that one of the tracks is a different rendition of something on his first CD, "Birdwalk". That and the short play time could give the impression that Neil's running out of material, but I can assure you from cassettes he's sent me that that's definitely not the case. I'm sure that both are quite intentional. So what about those details then? Well, to put it quite simply, Neil Haverstick, John Starrett, and Ernie Crews (the drummer) are excellent performers. That's just all there is to it. Certainly they're a lot better performers than I am! Their performances are very clean, and technically capable. Their tone and timbral control is good, recording quality is generally good as well (although the last track is a live performance - I suspect maybe even the live one I saw in El Paso - and there is a bit of audience shuffling in spots). Except in a few rare spots (e.g., about 4:32 into track 5 where a couple drum strokes seem to hesitate for a fraction of a beat), every rhythm is executed masterfully. There is no hint of indecision in Neil's improvisations, and Crews' control over the tabla strikes me as marvelous. The performance chemistry among the band is a beautiful thing to behold. Make no mistake: the details and moments in this CD are wonderful. So, how could that possibly have a downside, like I suggested earlier? Well, first let me emphasize that that downside is a much lesser concern than the positives of this CD; it's basically a great CD. But even so, I get the sense that Neil paid so much attention to the details, that he didn't pay quite enough attention to the "big picture" - at the level of musical form. I find the first four tracks better done in that regard. So to use the first cut, "African Stick" as a positive example, I think back at it and say, "yes, there's a coherent musical statement here: first they presented the opening theme with cool African rhythms, then each of the three performers did a short solo, followed by Neil doing a couple-minute solo with a high-pitch climax toward the middle, and then the opening theme returned ending in a kinda flashy ending". What it says as an entire musical work is pretty easy to get a handle on. But on the other hand, thinking back to the next-to-last track, "34 Steps", by the time the next track starts, it's hard for me to remember much about it, or any really clear reason why that track is there, other than enjoyably filling time. And of course, there's nothing at all wrong with "enjoyably filling time". "34 Steps" works great as a "go with the flow" piece. But once this CD goes onto the shelf, memorable musical experiences in a given track are about all that can give me reason to reach for THAT particular CD from among the other three-hundred or so in my collection! But above all however, let me state unequivocally that I have heard a LOT of music - both microtonal and conventional - even some fine jazz - that is VASTLY less impressive in this big-picture regard than Neil's CD here. So all-in-all, I think this is a fairly small downside, mostly just to the extent that there is a gulf between the masterfulness of the details and that of the big picture. So, here's what I recommend: Above all, BUY THIS CD! As you listen to it revel in the little things, and when the last two tracks come on, listen to them as a "go with the flow" experience, and don't ask yourself "so where is this going and where has it been?" Just sit back and enjoy them moment to moment. SMTPOriginator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu From: "Paul H. Erlich" Subject: RE: TUNING digest 1244 PostedDate: 25-11-97 11:05:01 SendTo: CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH ReplyTo: tuning@eartha.mills.edu $MessageStorage: 0 $UpdatedBy: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=coul1358/OU=AT/O=EZH,CN=Manuel op de Coul/OU=AT/O=EZH RouteServers: CN=notesrv2/OU=Server/O=EZH,CN=notesrv1/OU=Server/O=EZH RouteTimes: 25-11-97 11:03:31-25-11-97 11:03:32,25-11-97 11:03:33-25-11-97 11:03:34 DeliveredDate: 25-11-97 11:03:34 Categories: $Revisions: Received: from ns.ezh.nl ([137.174.112.59]) by notesrv2.ezh.nl (Lotus SMTP MTA SMTP v4.6 (462.2 9-3-1997)) with SMTP id C125655A.00373D66; Tue, 25 Nov 1997 11:03:22 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA00594; Tue, 25 Nov 1997 11:05:01 +0100 Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 11:05:01 +0100 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA00590 Received: (qmail 27601 invoked from network); 24 Nov 1997 09:35:55 -0800 Received: from localhost (HELO ella.mills.edu) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 24 Nov 1997 09:35:55 -0800 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu