Richard. We should have a word about this at the next Lion session. In the meantime, I have a large number of the Folktrax cassettes. They were given to me, I should point out, I didn't buy them. The sound quality varies from fairly tolerable to absolutely atrocious, and the programming and selection can make listening feel at times a bit like being tortured by the CIA.

On top of that, as previous threads discuss, a large cloud of doubt hangs over the question of the legality of these publications in terms of copyright and royalty payments. In many cases, Kennedy appears not to have told many of the performers or their descendants, and in at least one case, used the recordings of another collector without asking permission.

Having said that, Reg Hall has been working on a large CD publication of material from the Kennedy collection for Topic records. From what I can gather, it is due for publication this autumn and will be in name and fact a second Voice of the People.

I also know that Reg has delved into the legal aspects of this collection and he would be the last person to publish anything that wasn't legit. Plus, the series will be professionally remastered and will doubtless feature some fabulous performances.

In the meantime, if you want to listen to recordings of field singers, and thank God somebody does, both the libraries you mention have extensive holdings and both have on-line catalogues.

The British Library holdings actually come under the World and traditional music
section of the National Sound Archive.

And of course don't forget the wonderful Tobar an Dualchais - kist of riches - archive at the School of Scottish Studies website.