Subtitled "Original recordings of the great Scottish Fiddle maestro 1905-1922," this Temple album is a re-release of two LPs released by Topic in the 1970s, which in turn were compiled from the original 78s. Skinner himself was born in Scotland in 1843 and rose to artistic fame as a fiddler and composer -- and to personal infamy as well. A colorful character with an eye for women and the bottle, he drove one wife crazy. Life was a continuing weird drama. "The King" was known to do things like fiddle standing on his head or end a performance by leaping over the back of the couch wearing a kilt.

The tracks here have been de-noised since the Topic LPs, and they do sound better. Temple includes a track with pops and clicks for comparison. Being notorious as a Scottish music enthusiast I pulled out one of the Topic LPs and found my own copy even worse than the track on the CD! Taking all the pops and clicks out, however, still yields a muddy (but up tempo) recording. On some of the early recordings Skinner may have used a Stroh Fiddle which resembles a modern electric violin except that it carries a huge metal horn on one side to increase volume. But all the tracks suffer from low fidelity, and it's difficult to compare the tone with modern music. It is possible to hear the amazing speed with which Skinner could play, for example, in the set of old tunes "The Freebooter / Tullochgorum / The East Neuk Of Fife."

Despite his name and his point of fame playing this Scottish form known for its syncopated measures with one beat shortened more or less to a grace, there are only a few strathspeys on The Strathspey King. But the disc does include one of his strathspey compositions, "The Miller O' Hirn," with nary a bad note. Probably the most unusual track is "The President," a polka. Skinner uses a number of flashy tricks on this original track including slippery glissandos. And, as the liner notes point out, "The German Schottische" track isn't as good as the others, which suddenly appear to shine, even through the low fi. The earliest track is the traditional "Laird Of Drumblair Set" from 1905, which, sounding as good as the recordings made in the 20s, gives a brief look into what 19th century Scottish music may have sounded like.

The liner notes from the Topic LPs were edited for the CD, leaving more information on the songs than on the recordings, which is tough luck for junkies of extremely early recordings. Skinner's first recording was actually made on cylinder in 1899, but none of the very early cylinders were reproduced on the LPs. Most sides seem to come from 1910 (for Columbia in London), and a few were made in 1922.

Skinner's tunes are frequently performed and recorded by Celtic musicians, and the album is a must for enthusiasts and players, and not just to catch the style of his own compositions. Skinner was playing fiddle in the 1850s, so even if these recordings are coloured by contemporary fashions, this album is a long look back!

[Judith Gennett]