"Surely the point of starting this thread was that there have been previous threads here regarding Ewan's stance on not wanting singers to perform material from outside their own tradition such as American songs."
MacColl's tradition was Scots - or his mother always sounded like a Scot to me.
His argument of taking songs from your own tradition was aimed directly at the threatening Amercanisation of the revival, and was instigated by Alan Lomax in the first place. It was a Ballads and Blues/Singers club policy, rather than the 'rule' for the whole of the revival (see Peggy Seeger's letter in The Living Tradition) which was thankfully taken up generally (apart from the Mid-Atlantic Croydon Cowboys that still appear on the scene, usually uncommented on).
As for the 'Jock Hawk' recording - like Mike, I heard and enjoyed it when it first came out (still have the record). In the light of what he achieved since, it doesn't have the same effect on me as it did then , but never mind, it still serves its purpose as a stick to beat a dead man.
No, MacColl wasn't above criticism, but shit like this makes decent, rational debate on his work very difficult.
Jim Carroll