Martin Carthy has always been one of my favorite singers and instrumentalists. I'd like to say I have all his recordings, but he has done music with so many different people and in different styles, that I know I'll never hear them all, let alone collect them. I admire his versatility and openness to trying different kinds of music, from doing a stark, unaccompanied traditional ballad, to hamming it up on electric guitar on "Tortoise From Hell" in the style of "Maltloaf" with the Mrs. Ackroyd Band. Every time I get annoyed by some of our local "purist snobs" who only want to hear one kind of music, I think of Martin Carthy, MBE, and how much poorer the world of music would be if he hadn't played with and enjoyed the wide range of music he's done over the years.

I've heard of but never heard Lonnie Donegan, though - what recordings by him are currently available? What do folks recommend by him?