Jacqui McShee more than Maddy Prior; Shirley Collins more than Anne Briggs. Nic Jones singing Lord Bateman, not Nic Jones singing the Bonny Bunch of Roses. Tony Capstick singing unaccompanied, hitting every bar line. John Kelly's relentless Valiant Sailor.

Keep it simple - keep the tone pure, nail the metre and the beat (not that you can't pull it out of shape sometimes). Then make the words live. The words should be doing something, not just hanging on the melody like wet washing - but the melody should be there underneath.