The eMusic Dozen: English Folk

The father of the English folk revival in the '50s was also a gifted songwriter with a clear eye for social conditions, as he shows on his classic "Dirty Old Town." But there was also a gentler side to the Socialist, expressed beautifully on "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which has transcended the folk genre to become a much-covered standard. His singing might be too hardcore for some, but he was the true benchmark of his era.

An excellent snapshot of English roots music in the '80s. June Tabor slides gracefully through "The Doctor Calls" while Barely Works take a meditative approach to the epic ballad "Byker Hill." Former Pentangle guitarist Bert Jansch shows his remarkable chops on "Step Back," and Ancient Beatbox with Anglo-Indian vocalist Sheila Chandra introduce shades of modern multiculturalism on "Raining (My Eyes Are Filled With Clouds)." The inclusion of the unclassifiable Robert Wyatt shows that the definition of folk had finally become happily expansive.

By the time of this 1979 live disc, Fairport had been deep in English folk music for a decade. Although the early linchpins of Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny were no longer involved, they remained a formidable unit, as a rocking "Matty Groves" proves in its relish of lust and blood. Their take on "Sir Patrick Spens" brings an upright nobility to the song, while "Flatback Caper" and "Dirty Linen" show a downright alarming tightness and instrumental prowess.

Emerging during the '80s, the Oysterband prove how elastic the definition of folk can be, as this greatest hits collection veers from the traditional "Hal-An-Tow" through their own (and others') material to a wonderful cover of New Order's "Love Vigilantes" -- a version that proves beyond doubt that it's a folk song. Their own compositions draw on old songs as inspiration (as with "The Oxford Girl") while bringing an electric excitement to the music.

Recorded when Tickell was just 16 years old, her debut album focuses on tunes from her native Northumbria, up near the Scottish border. She's a virtuoso on the Northumbrian small pipes (a distant, diminutive relative of the Scottish pipes) and isn't afraid to show it on jigs and reels like "The Peacock Followed the Hen." On "Billy Pigg's Hornpipe," she pays tribute to the man who was Northumbria's greatest folk musician, and Tickell does him proud.