Don and Jim: I think your aesthetic is interesting. I've always considered the instruments to be on more or less equal footing and status - after all, the voice is just one instrument. A capella can be nice, but it's tiring to listen to after a while, and the same goes for pure instrumentals. One of the things I like about Carthy is how he and others like him will let one instrument, then another sing the song for a while. Like Rev. Gary Davis would say, "sing it for me, Miss Gibson!"

So I think it's possible to have too much voice as well as too much guitar, but obviously our thresholds are different.