I do not like the sound of his voice when he is singing trad songs, neither do i think he was outstanding when it comes to interpreting story ballds.
I was once travelling back from a festival with a well known revival singer[who has since died], i asked him about Ewan[ not specifically about his singing] HE STARTED TO TALK UNPROMPTED ABOUT HIS SINGING. he said that the first time he sawEwan he sang tifties annie and it was fantastic, so he went back to see him two weeks later, but was hugely disappointed because he sang the song in exactly the same way. i have a witness to this conversation who is still alive.
i think waht he was getting at was that Ewans approach was a crebral one that he was not a natural singer and that singers should be able to interpret differently every time. i am sorry if this upsets you jim, it does not make Ewan a bad singer, his presentation was excellent and he was very professionalbut there are other singers i would prefer to listen to maybe it is their voice, martyn wyndham read springs to mind