Byron Harlan's "rube sketches", either with Steve Porter or Frank Stanley, were popular enough to be recorded by any company issuing records in the years leading up to WWI. This skit was issued twice - once on Edison cylinder (reissued on CD at
Archeophone), and this version for Indestructible 4-minute cylinder. The recording date is sometime around 1911. The first part is typical for the period -
stale jokes with a few of them still being funny - but the second half (in which they drive to the local tavern in the middle of a rainstorm and then sing & dance) is the real highlight of the program. The uncredited fiddle player is probably
recording pioneer Charles D'Almaine. Harlan's voice is noticably faint at first, as he was a little too far from the horn, but as the record progresses he is more understandable. Despite the wear on this cylinder, which cleaned up reasonably
well with noise reduction, this is a very enjoyable record.
