Dick Greenhaus and Susan came down here last weekend for the FSGW MiniFest & stayed at our place as usual. Sunday we were chatting and I told Dick he had changed my life when he sent me FL's "Ballads & Songs of Tradition," (and also Vance Randolph's "Songs of the Ozarks" collection) for my 60th birthday.
(... that was three years ago, for the nosy ones amongst you.)
I still listen to these CD's over and over and have learned a bunch of the songs, but I think it would be difficult to explain why it is such a treasure or why it has meant so much to me.
I know that now I tend to seek out recordings and performances by "source singers" as often as I can and it has enriched my enjoyment of music and also enriched my own music.
Part of is that there is so much individuality and personal style in the music. Technically the singing is often much more subtle and interesting than modern singing. By contrast, modern singing often sounds "homogenized." I don't want to sound homogenized, so I listen and listen.
We are losing something in our singing by learning from books and records rather than from older, more experienced singers who put a lifetime of living into their music, which is the way people used to learn their songs. These wonderful recordings are a resource to teach us more of what music and singing can be.