The role of the Dubliners and the Clancey Brothers and the Corries and others is notable - not so much for the music they performed (or did not perform) as for the awakening to the possibility of what *can* be performed. Yes, much of their early stuff was common music hall stuff - however - an awfull lot of people were introduced to it by them, with no memory at all of where it came from.

The first couple of waves of traditional musicians and folk musicians from Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, Cornwall, riding the waves of the American folk-revival by revisiting their own folk and traditional music, set the stage for the mixed trad-folk, who in turn set the stage for the celtic-rock and other forms. I've no idea what's next, but I'm willing to give it a chance...

The list of performers and bands I find myself influenced by is legion. In early Dubliners, I hear a bunch of guys having a beer and a song or two. Whistlebinkies I hear shades of some of the hardcore traditional players fixed on a destination and they are there, thank you very much. Early Chieftains show a mastery of traditional forms, and if you compare what they did early on to what some of their later stuff (like, the Year of the French and later) you can see where they would find the strict tradition limiting to their goal, not defining it. Tannies and Batties and others show the same progression - solid roots with developmental changes influenced by the change in lineup and the avoidance of becoming trapped by other people's expectations.

Tradition is only a generation or two deep. What is traditional now was not traditional 50 years ago - for many, it was revolutionary.

The fact that the Dubliners, no matter the lineup, have hung reasonably close to their original direction and genre is a measure of the importance of the group. They are always new to someone who knows nothing about the roots of the music. While much of what they do is not my personal preference, I recognize it for what it is and tip my cap to them - all of them.

Hmmmmm.... Longest post I've had here in a couple of years.