Greg,

Well, yes it is and no it isn't. You make the point about Ian Carr being able to achieve many comparable effects in standard tuning which was part of my original message. I think that once you have learnt your way around (for instance) traditional music and around the instrument then that is the time to go and explore alternate tunings in order to expand your options as a musician. As I said, in solo fingerstyle guitar, different considerations can apply.