Remember the wonderful Caedmon LPs of traditional songs from England, Scotland and Ireland? They edited out many verses, but printed the entire texts in the accompanying booklets. My reaction was mixed. The process enabled them to include many more songs than they could otherwise have given us, but I kept wanting to hear Mrs. Cronin (for example) sing the entire ballad of "Lord Gregory" to let me know how she phrased certain lines and verses. Frustrating! But, yes, the Warners' conservatism was thoroughly justified in light of the material costs and limitations of time available on the medium involved in the recording. Those good folk financed their own collecting trips and devoted their lives to the work. If the final result is equally frustrating, it's also understandable. Damn! Where was the NEA when we needed it?

Sandy