I will say that at some points especially when singing lower notes without any appearance of straining, there is a sort of chocolatey quality to the tone of Pardon's voice which is likeable. Personally, and again this is personal, and honest, I do not like his idiosyncracy of swooping down at the ends of lines, something I read somewhere was his own touch, he did not claim this to be 'traditional' or the way Billy sang. I noted that Hillery in one case finds this over used in a song (All Jolly Fellows) and says it isn't particularly successful

Nor do I always much like the feature Hillery describes sliding or leaning down into notes, a feature which sometimes sounds like a 'yelp' (I think I may have heard it described as such) and which rightly or wrongly makes me think of Arthur Askey (a favourite of an old aunt of mine, again from a mining background) and variety/music hall singers. Again, Hillery refers to All Jolly Fellows, though there are also examples in Banks of Dundee.

To be honest, it almost made me feel better to read that Hillery shared some of my own reservations about Pardon's style, it always makes you feel better to know you are not alone.

Of course I respect the aesthetic responses of those who experience Pardon's singing differently. To go to another genre, I love the work of Ella Fitzgerald, especially her scat singing, but a pal of mine cannot stand it. 'Fair doos', as they say where I was brought up.