Even some great talent fell into this. In my view, many of Stan Rogers's efforts would have been the better if more simply performed. Some of the Furey's LP's from the late 70's are also too over-produced, and I could probably think of many others if I put my mind to it. Perhaps they were at the mercy of the producers and engineers who were used to working with the schmaltzy concept rock of the time.

I think I mentioned one of Canada's best and least-known song-writers, Diamond Joe White. He's got a rough, cowboy style and at his best is a songwriter on a par with those other Canadians Stan Rogers, Ian Tyson, and early Gordon Lightfoot. He released two LP's in the late 70's/early 80's and somehow managed to lose control of the masters. So he has re-recorded both LP's and released them on a single CD.

This effort is vastly superior to the LP versions, because he has kept the songs rough and unpolished. (He did in fact work as a cowboy for while and grew up on a ranch in western Canada, but his present day job is running Diamond Joe's Plumbing.) The CD is called, aptly, "Honestly" and I highly recommend it.