"....this is not good ballad singing"
Sorry Sean - always believed you to be a rotten ballad singer and have said so in the past - I don't have any "secret knowledge" - that's just another of your unpleasant cliches.
It really doesn't need special understanding or knowledge to recognise a poor interpretation - or are you an elitist as well as a pratt?
You may work very hard on your ballad singing, but it just doesn't reach me in any way at all.
Anybody who walks into a folk club has a right to express an opinion - (I've qualified mine and am prepared to do so even further, except you don't appear to be able to handle criticism unless it's yourself dishing it out).
You've never hesitated in expressing your contempt for collectors and researchers and your disinterest in what traditional singer have to say) - if you can't stand the heat....
Jim Carroll