I recall seeing the first series of sessions in 1995, which - unless memory is playing me false - seemed a little more rough'n ready and spontaneous.

I missed the second series but bought the third series. This contained some stuff that wasn't in the broadcast programmes, including an informal duet between Bruce Molsky on banjo and a Uillean piper which was absolutely superb. It was either a rehearsal or just caught on film by chance.

That sort of spontaneity appears to have subtly lessened over the years, with almost everyone in the "house band" playing on almost every guest's numbers. When I saw the live show at the Festival Hall last year, the highlights for me were when band members actually dropped out and smaller, more intimate groups were formed. The full band seemed to make everything sound samey. And this is what - IMO - characterises the sessions these days.

I don't really object to the word "session" except that it might give the wrong impression of a session to non-folkies watching it. At most of the sessions I go to, there are often newcomers who change the musical mix - which is one of the fascinations of these things. Why - we even had a 5-string banjo player at last night's session and, in spite of us making signs of the cross in front of him and muttering banjo jokes, he was great fun, a good musician and added spice to the evening. :-)