Ed - Fantastic that you have that book. I've looked for it for quite a while, but it's virtually impossible to find (and then it's impossible to find at an affordable price). I can figure out some of Carthy's earlier stuff, before he really started experimenting with alternate tunings, but once he really got going, it became virtually impossible for me to figure out his arrangements. Based on my experimentation with "Famous Flower of Serving Men," I need some work on my right hand before I can really go further.

Weelittledrummer - I've never had much problem with his recordings, other than that his voice sometimes overwhelms the guitar. I agree about the sound, but I've never objected, since isn't that about what you'd get hearing him live? I like how natural most of his recordings are (aside from a few where he used overdubbing--"Stanes Morris"--or synthesizers--"The Death of Young Andrew" and "Palaces of Gold." The synths seem dated and kind of questionable).