Thanks for that, Judy. Always a pleasure, madam.

I don't want to dismiss what Spleen Cringe or Will Fly are saying, either. There have been some classic recordings made in the most informal, rough-and-ready circumstances. We all know that.

However, one important element here is the role of the label - all those old field recordings came out on labels that made a conscious editorial choice as to what was worth releasing and what wasn't. Nowadays, with box sets and anthologies, it's possible for everything a musician ever recorded to be made available for release. That doesn't always mean it's a good idea.

There's also a difference, I think, between a CD an artist wants to sell at gigs and, for instance, a field recording such as the 'Cape Breton Tradtion Volume 1' fiddle album that John Shaw and Tony Engle produced for Topic in the 70s. One is a part of a particular artist's business, the other is, if you like, source material and a resource for study as much a piece of entertainment. The two aren't mutually exclusive, of course, but to some extent different criteria apply.

Michelle Shocked's 'Texas Campfire Tapes' is a good example of a great album recorded very informally - but apparently she was only vaguely aware she was being taped and wasn't best pleased when Pete Lawrence released the album!