While this recording starts and ends with a slightly out-of-tune fiddle, and might have been rejected on that basis by Edison Labs, the middle has a wonderful spirited quality that will get toes tapping (if not stomping
outright). Allen Sisson was 52 when he recorded ten sides for Edison, four years after he earned the title of Champion State Fiddler in Tennessee (no mean feat): he had learned fiddling from his father and was accomplished
on the instrument by the time he was twelve. This was one of three sides that Sisson made on February 25 of 1925, and was issued on both cylinder and disc. This is take "A," a bit further from the horn than take "B," and
despite the fiddle going out of tune twice during the recording it is thoroughly mesmerizing; a rivetting performance. I have both take "A" and "B," and while the later take is more polished this one is more moving. No doubt,
the man was gifted, and fans of the instrument may find themselves weeping for joy. The disc from which this was sampled had been played pretty hard, with some groove stress, but noise reduction quieted that down without
interfering with the music. (A thumbnail bio about Allen Sisson can be found here: that page has a link to a forty-second-long MP3 of this tune,
not full-length, so this makes up for it).
