That's an interesting point, MtheGM, because I suspect that - for many whose prime interest is in traditional music - writers like Jansch might be considered the thin end of the singer-songwriter, "contemporary" folk wedge which led on to stuff further and further off-track. I should add that I'm not requesting anyone to draw a line, necessarily. I was interested in exploring Jim's very clear description of what he believes the folk idiom to be - and how far he (and others) consider that particular elastic band can be stretched.

I'll give you an example of the band being stretched. If you hear a new song in a folk club of the same quality as, say "Cornish Lads", how do you know that the writer was steeped in traditional song? He or she might just be a very sophisticated and clever writer. Unlikely, perhaps but...