Since she is my bugbear, I have to join in here. I think that Kate is a lovely, delightful, bubbly person who doesn't think too hard about what she does. Some people just love that she is so accessible, with her beautiful voice and soothing style, and that is fine and well, but I am wary of her because she DOES have her family around her-an extremely clever family headed by an extremely clever and business-minded father.
I dislike the fact that John McCusker and Andy Cutting use their considerable talents making music so simple a child could do it, and bemoan the fact that she credits herself for the rewrites of traditional songs-it is certainly a way to make a living in this "business", but I personally do not think it is right.
I dislike that she is marketed as a singer of English song, because a large part of her repertoire is not only sub-Celtic but arranged and produced by a Scottish musician (yes, a bloody good one, but nonetheless), giving the impression to all those teenage girls that like her so much that flutey interludes and Annan Water are what English music sounds like. OK, she is a songer of some English song and some other stuff. I appreciate that she performs English music at all, but question what Mike McGoldrick or John or Tim O'Brien could offer in terms of style and presentation. Why does she never play with people who actually play English music?
I don't mind someone using the media and packaging to make a living from folk music. If you want to make a living from folk music ultimately you will have to do it. I just think that what she does is a mishmash of stuff that shouldn't be representative of English music. She never set out to be that representative, but people are easily pleased and maybe that Carthy girl is a bit too aggressive for some.
It IS a beautiful sound, but I am afraid I lost interest after the third album because it all sounds exactly the same to me: pretty songs, often with the complicated, difficult stuff removed (compare "Playing of Ball" to the original Irish ballad, have your toes curled), her sounding like she wants to cry, and a load off middle-aged blokes going "aww..." in the ether somewhere. Yick. Let's all go to a concert and be lulled to sleep by the music while we watch this "look at the Northerner isn't she cute, just listen to her pronounce words!" from the audience, plus comedy routine for good measure. She didn't think she should be nominated for the Mercury award because she was "from Barnsley". Sorry? I have a friend who thinks her act is insulting to women because her song persona is so pacifying and passive. Discuss?
pv