G'day again Joe,I gues that what one needs to do is to transcribe all the different tunes (to Sailor Home from the Sea, at least) so they can be compared without bringing in the performer and performance factors.
Actually, I have heard Margaret Fagan sing Sailor Home from the Sea just recently and I liked her performance much more than Bill Berry's rendition of the same tune! I have spent a lot of time over the years using Sailor Home from the Sea as a starting point in interesting singers - particularly females complaining of the lack of good Australian songs for women - in Dorothy Hewett's works.
I guess that I really need to hear Adele sing that tune to really judge. I nearly called in last Sunday, as I was up at Clarence, somewhat west of Katoomba ... but I decided I ought not to, as I did not know your mother ... just admired her work.
BTW: You skipped Poms from Oz (The Pomeroy Family, Queensland) from the Martyn Wyndham-Reade tune section above.
Regards,
Bob Bolton