Having just watched the first two of the new series I'm wondering if Transatlantic Sessions is perhaps losing some of it's mojo.

The settings on these new ones look much more 'staged' somehow and the atmosphere is more like a studio session (after much rehearsal and many 'takes'). Previously it looked much more informal somehow. More like a drawing room than a studio. I know the tracks have always been carefully recorded but you'd never see close-ups of a 64 channel mixer and people with headphones on. Previously the microphones and any cables and recording paraphernalia would be much more hidden. Now you see clips of James Taylor's entourage being transferred from the airport in a people-mover where before you'd see some hungover musician walking across a yard on a misty morning after a heavy night!

I always liked to imagine the sessions and songs were spur-of-the-moment choices where a couple of people sneaked away to an empty room and were eventually joined by whoever happened to be around. There seems to be less spontaneous interaction these days...did the likes of James Taylor and Martha Wainwright join in on any songs other than their own? It would be nice to see a bit more of that sort of spontaneity.