On Goldstein, the way I see his early work as I do is because I read something about the history of the US record industry. Originally it produced recordings of 'art' music, with, it is said, educational aims. Finding this did not make much money, they then devised a strategy of 'niche' marketing, applying this both to the various nationalities/cultures/musics of their own immigrant population and to musical cultures abroad. The 'race' labels dedicated to certain forms of African American music being a general example of this. There was another strain of white music, eg Jimmy Rodgers. When abroad, I read, again seeking national music to record and sell, they often found music from different cultures, I think the Chinese example was given, 'noise' because they were not attuned to it. With more experience, they sometimes grew closer to appreciating/understanding it.

Goldstein recorded folk as well as blues, and if my sense of the history is right, this was at a particular when some on the left were seeing blues as 'political' as well as 'folk'. I don't know whether Goldstein was particularly political, seems unlikely if he got academic work back then. Lloyd came into contact with this as Arthur and E David Gregory tell us. But he backed a blues singer who apparently told all to the McCarthyist witchhunts, as well as Burl Ives, who did the same. Not getting at or blaming Lloyd here. Or Goldstein. His move into if not creation of the traditional 'English folk song' market seems to me a continuation of that particular commercial practice. Also part of a continuing strand in US of tracing 'their' culture (or the culture of some Americans, possibly with a rather monolithic Anglo Celtic view of what American culture was) back to these islands.

I quite like 'Where have all the flowers gone?' I appear to be beyond hope. :(   :)