The Strathspey King

I’ve always made it a rule in the past never to give a ten out of ten score, but it’s really impossible to rate this album except by saying that it’s a perfect specimen within its class of one. James Scott Skinner (1843-1927) authored a myriad of tunes that will be familiar to Irish and Scottish music fans, from ‘The Cameron Highlanders’ to ‘The Laird O’Drumblair’; he was also renowned for his flamboyant playing style and for his unconventional personal life. The original cylinder and early vinyl recordings have been re-processed to eliminate static, clicks and pops, making this an unusually listenable testament to a unique genius from a bygone era.