"Strangely perhaps, some of us are still capable of listening to the narrative, "
We are all capable strageley enoutgh - some of us prefer not to be distracted
Group singing tends largely to me musical rather than narrative - interpretation tends to go out of the window - inevitably; singers who interpret do so on their own behalf rather that for a couple of mates as well
Phrasing inevitably goes to pot - a note per syllable tends to be the order of the day - 'four-square singing' we used to call it
Go listen to The Watersons, come back and tell me that doesn't happen
I remember my reaction when 'Frost and Fire first appeared - I was bowled over.... for the first three tracks then it became boring-boring-boring
I never got around to side two or ages and then, because I felt I should

Live recordings are good to learn from but they can never be a subject for either the real thing or a chance to learn by talking to people at a club
I ton't want our songs to be a matter of staring at a small screen or becoming no more than a bum on a seat - there is not even a future in that, never mind it being proposed as a future in itself
Excuses seem to be a speciality of yours Steve
One of my favourite science fiction stories, by Ray Bradbury - describes people having to queue up to see 'The Last Tree'
If we're not careful, that's going to be the case with us
Now people have moved on from "Our clubs are all doin' fine" to "We don't need 'em" perhaps it's time for our next "Step for mankind" - perhaps Frankie Armstrong will have as much success as her namesake Neil ?
Jim