Ferrara ~ we cross-posted; I hadn't seen your message when I began writing my last message.

You definitely make a good point; the relatively few recordings that we do have of "source" or "first-generation" folksingers are all pretty "raw," in the sense of being emotionally direct. Some of these performers may have been, let's say, less than precise in their musicianship ~ but some others were pretty dern good!

I just think ~ and it's purely a matter of personal opinion ~ that some of the subcategories of music regarded as "folk" these days allow for the inclusion of performances that are a bit too meek and mild, too colorless, for my taste.

BTW: I just noticed a typo in my previous post: In the first paragraph, "I make to claim to any prowess" should read "I make no claim..."