Steve Roud

Does what it says on the tin: A lengthy 'social history' of 'folk music' in England, and rather a good one at that.

This is not a 'tune book', there are almost no musical examples in the book for reasons which the authors explain.
My personal preference would be for tunes to be included - the consequent doubling in size (and price) of the book
would not have put me off.

The book contains much that is of interest to the English 'folkie' including a sensible and (more or less) comprehensible
discussion of modes (a notoriously 'difficult' topic for those without formal musical training), and a re-appraisal of the
activities of the Victorian and Edwardian collectors such as Vaughn-Williams, Grainger, Sharp, et.al.

Re-assesses the '2nd folk revival' and provides (amongst other things) a counterbalance to A. L. Lloyds similarly
named book, which some regards as suffering a little from Lloyds tendencies to pepper his writing with (mild) left
wing bias, too many East European examples, a little romanticism regarding his own biography and an inclination
to re-write songs to fit the situation in which he found himself (singing, writing, radio production).… (more)