Review: Acoustic Stick

(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.


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