I suppose folk music chronicles a time. It gives an everyday viewpoint of the people who don't appear in history books, but who lived and created the times. Christopher Hill's "Liberty against the Law" acknowledges this and them. Yet survives because it has something worth preserving even though the time has long gone - Child ballad stuff, whaling songs, dust bowl ballads etc. I suppose in some ways sound recording is bad news for folk music. The good stuff survived the folk process over the years just because it was good, the bad stuff was long ago kicked out while the medium stuff was honed and sharpened over the years. Sound recording preserves rubbish like "Be Bob A Lula She's My Baby" (still heard on radio 2) and what must be the pits of garbage "I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent" (re-released by Bear Family). Without sound recording we wouldn't have to suffer such rubbish nor listen to Nic Jones singing "The Swimming Song" or Martin Carthy "Heartbreak Hotel". Well not stictly true as these are fairly contemporary but you get my meaning. However we would not be able to listen to Nic Jones, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly either. -DrJohn-