I suppose it's a horrible thing, but Rick tends to believe that he has to make a living, so he often plays what his audiences want to hear. He has confessed to having played some pretty bad stuff in clubs full of drunks who might have beat him up if he dared to sing a Child Ballad.
His recordings are mixed - I have to admit that on some cuts he sounds like a guy trying to sound like Gordon Lighfoot imitating Stan Rogers imitating Ian Tyson imitating Sylvia Tyson, but what Canadian folksinger doesn't do that on occasion? It's a horrible trait, to be a Lightfoot/Rogers/Tyson/Tyson wannabe, but they all seem to have it. Even Anne Murray sounds like Lightfoot at times.
But when Rick gets to relax and be with friends, the guy is amazing. He can pick with the best of 'em, and he knows all sorts of stuff about all sorts of songs.
So, can you blame him for wanting to make a living at times? Maybe he has prostituted his folkie ideals on occasion, but maybe that's better than being penniless. I had to work for a living myself once - it was awful.
-Joe Offer-