Sadly in listening to WAV's tracks I have increased his listening figures hence upped his own approval rating...

As I say, Stu, in the contexts of singarounds & such like I have frequently put up with a lot worse than WAV, thus must I view the idiosyncrasies of his musicality within the wider parameters of untutored / outsider Folk Singing so much of which carries it's own naive charm - such as the singing of Sydney Carter which I heard for the first time only recently. The same might be said of a lot of so-called source singers whose musicality is often seen as secondary to the songs they sing & the social contexts within which they sang it - not by me though; give me a field-recorded traditional singer to studio recorded revivalist any day!

WAV's Hymns I'm not sold on in the slightest, but then again I only listen to hymns in the context of Holy Mass where they belong. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross is a particular favourite of mine, something to be sung on Good Friday during the Veneration where the power of the words might move even a cynical old atheistic heart like my own. Yeah, even as a cynical old atheist I find WAVs adoption of this hymn as part of his relentless scheme of self-promotional glory disrespectful and sacrilegious in the extreme - and excruciatingly non-musical to boot.

My advice to WAV has always been to explore the cultural intricacies of English Traditional Song that mirror the migrations of his own life - i.e. the richness of English Folk Song one finds in The Australian Tradition. However, as in most things in life, WAV has decided that having learned 17 E.Trads he will not trouble himself to learn any more, thus arresting himself somewhat prematurely in the understanding of a subject he nevertheless feels himself qualified to pontificate upon. He has barely dipped his toe in the waters of this vast and wondrous ocean; WAV is a child with a plastic boat advising seasoned shellbacks on their seamanship.

So - WAV's all right for a singaround, as I say, which on one level must operate as a sanctuary for those who feel the need to sing (for whatever reason) but who wouldn't otherwise get a chance. That said, I'd still give him a 15-minute slot in the re-Imagined Village Folk Festival Open Mic Tent (2 E. Trads, 1 Walkabout; AND NO F*CKING HYMNS) and I'm sure if he ever came to Fylde he'd give our Ron a run for his money in The Worst Singer in the World competition...