The Autoharpoholic, Vol. 8 No. 1 - Winter 1987
For his solo recording debut, 'harper Ivan Stiles has assembled a colorful blend of original and traditional material, seventeen times in all, and has wisely avoided the all-too-common pitfalls of overproduction and unbridled overdubbing. There are, however, some production flaws which are unfortunately not corrected before mastering but none so serious as to greatly detract from the strength of the performances.
The title cut, "Rounding Pickering Bend," and original instrumental by Stiles, is described in the liner notes as a three-part chronology of a car crash. It should be pointed out that Stiles' musicianship is of high caliber and is matched by a wry sense of humor, both evident throughout much of the recording. Accompanying Stiles on about 12 cuts is Bill Alberts on guitar, banjo, and mandolin. Stiles plays Autoharp and Dulci-harp (trademark of builder George Orthey) on all the tunes, plus spoons on "Chinese Breakdown."
A couple of traditional ballads ( "The Wild Colonial Boy" and "The Gypsy") feature Stiles' vocals. His singing is unpretentious and natural, while his accompaniments are imaginative, but uncluttered, never intruding into the songs. The album is dedicated "to the memory of Onetamae Britton, an Autoharpoholic who shall not remain anonymous," whose song, "Happy Harpoholic," is performed here in tribute by Stiles. A variation is found in "The German Clockwinder," humorously sung and played.
The primary strength of this record is found in the instrumental selections, however, and "Ragtime Annie," long a favorite among oldtime fiddlers and string bands, becomes a showcase for Stiles' formidable playing technique. Likewise "Pigtown Fling" and "Haste to the Wedding." Stiles' use of open-chord flourishes and "drag nots" brings out the special tonal characteristics unique to the autoharp. It is with these same autoharpistic devices that a player with Stiles' skill can compensate for the inherent limitations of the instrument as on the spirited and adventuresome arrangement of Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever," a real challenge for the autoharp, but a challenge which Stiles handles nicely. Another interesting solo is the freely adapted "Symphony of Fanfares" (theme from Masterpiece Theater). The last cut on Side Two is a curiously dreamy treatment of O'Carolan's "Planxty Irwin."
All in all, this is a very impressive recording and clearly demonstrates that Ivan Stiles is deserving of a wide audience.