Not particularly impressed by Sam Lee following a recent programme on him on Irish radio.
I find his singing idiosyncratic and unlistenable - which is, I know, a personal opinion, but I found some of his statements iffy, to say the least
According to the programme, work on recording Travellers didn't really begin till the 1990s (bang goes Tom Munnelly, Hamish Henderson, Mike Yates, Pat and I and that beautiful early Topic album of The Willet Family... not to mention the BBC recordings in the early 1950s)
The programme included Sam singing an incredibly distorted version of a song we recorded from blind Travelling woman, Mary Delaney, giving the impression that he had got it from her and giving incorrect information about her - it almost certainly came from our CD, 'From Puck to Appleby'
Sam is entitled to sing these songs however he chooses, but I expect a little more recognition and respect for those also involved in the work
Jim Carroll