What we did on our Saturday

"If you've ever been to a Cropredy Festival you'll know exactly what they do on Saturday. They gather together a bunch of former band-mates and old friends and play a mammoth set long into the darkness ... 2017 marked the band's fiftieth anniversary and so this was the perfect opportunity to tell the band's story in music ... Thus we have What We Did On Our Saturday, packaged in an homage to their second album. The album begins with their first album and (almost) their first line-up. For younger readers that was Ashley Hutchings, Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, Iain Matthews and Judy Dyble now with Dave Mattacks on drums. They kick off with "Time Will Show The Wiser" and "Reno Nevada" and I was impressed at the way Richard played the sort of guitar lead appropriate to 1967 ... What We Did On Our Saturday is tight and slick without much in the way of stage chatter - an appropriately serious set to go with such a milestone in Fairport's history. Exemplary performances as we'vecometo expect, of course, but sometimes I do miss Simon playing rhythm viola!".

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"A glorious celebration of 50 years of Fairport with a family gathering of former members (and 20,000 friends in a field in Oxfordshire). This two-CD set mostly features classic music from the first 10 years of the folk-rock pioneers, but it also serves as a showcase for the current (and most enduring) lineup of the band ... As showcased in each of their current projects at the festival, Judy Dyble, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Iain Matthews and (it goes without saying) Richard Thompson are still musical forces to be reckoned with five decades on. Alongside Mattacks on drums, the very earliest Fairport re-convened and the two tracks included on this CD still sends a thrill, as well as a chill as this ghost of a long-lost band bursts gloriously back to life ... Whether we can ever again expect so many Fairports together on a stage to celebrate is a question for crystal ball gazers, but for now what we have is a brilliant best-of collection performed with the musicianshipyoumight expect, but a vibrancy you possibly wouldn't from a band with a half-century heritage. This is Fairport live, and still kicking".

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"There are no songs [here] that haven't already been released by the band, even in various live formats, several times already. But it also becomes apparent very quickly that each member is relishing the chance to be part of the moment and, more often than not, this makes for maybe an even more subtle effort to do it as well as possible ... The original line-up with Iain Matthews, Judy Dyble, Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol and guest Dave Mattacks manage to make songs they recorded a lifetime ago (...) sound fresh and exciting even now, and when they are joined by Chris While to sing for the later line-up, the choice of Suzanne is inspired - While possibly being the best choice to sing "the Sandy part" to date ... The approach taken of performing a few songs from each line-up as authentically as possible is very effective, and there is no particular sense of the evening being a mere history lesson. At the most basic level, it's just great and uniquemusic,performed freshly by the band that wrote and recorded it sometime in the last few decades but which stands up in its own right here and now".

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"August 2018 was Fairport's 50th birthday, and it was quite a party. They gathered those who were and are part of it, as well as a few choise friends to celebrate; those blown off the mountain were fondly remembered. The result - highlights - are captured here over a double CD, well presented and neatly packaged with timely notes and photos galore .. Timeless stuff".