Mavis Staples - We'll Never Turn Back
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Free Music Notes for We'll Never Turn Back
Free Music Review: Mavis & Cooder Meet To Tell It Like It Is
Hit: 5 Stars
What Mavis has chosen to do in this album is to reinterpret a number of classic anthems from the Civil Rights movement as well as including several compositions of her own, all of which are impeccably rendered by an extraordinary voice which may have lost some of its youthful shine but has gained a weary wisdom and lost none of its fierce commitment to tell it like it is, without frills but plenty of class.
Whether or not you share Staples' beliefs or consider yourself a long time fan of the Staples Singers, this is a phenomenal set of songs. If Mavis' voice wasn't enough the album is permeated by the magic of Ry Cooder's production who could not have been a better choice to give these songs, both, their gravitas and their groove. His guitar work in "Down In Mississippi" alone can justify buying this record. This is Cooder at his best, laying a sound as dense and ominous as a Louisiana swamp or as angelic as Gospel longings, as the songs require.
Another musician worthy of note is drummer Jim Keltner, Ry's compadre for so many years, who inhabit these songs with a powerful beat that will resonate in your chest even after the album's over. Along with his work in aforementioned "Down In Mississippi"--my pick from this album for one of the best songs of 07--he's exceptional in "Eyes On The Prize" or the slow shuffle of "In The Mississippi River."
All in all, this is not only a great album but a necessary one. What these songs may reawaken or introduce you to are words that have not lost their significance nor their relevance. Listen to Mavis sing those tracks already spoken for or "I'll Be Rested," "We'll Never Turn Back" or "On My Way." She'll show how much she knows about moving your soul and your body.
Free Music Review: Mavis Staples at her best
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm not going to rebut any of the somewhat negative reviews of this masterpiece -- if you can't hear it, you can't hear it, and I feel sorry for you. Just because Ry Cooder and his son Joachim, and Jim Keltner are prime movers on this CD doesn't mean you should expect this to be a Gospel-tinged "Bop Till You Drop" or "Get Rhythm," or "99-1/2" performed in a Rock- or funk-occluded Creedence Clearwater or Wild Cherry-style -- this is about the very deep and very real spirituality of Gospel in general, and Mavis Staples in particular. The instrumental arrangements are very spare, but never simple -- in the true Gospel tradition, the voices carry the heavy freight, and the instruments -- the guitars and mandolin of Ry Cooder, Mike Elizondo's bass, and Jim Keltner's and Joachim Cooder's drums and percussion -- all combine in sometimes very intricate, sometimes very simple, but always fundamental and supportive bases for the voices of Mavis and her backup singers. My favorite here is "99 and 1/2," which is given a simple, spare, almost Six-Parts-Seven banjo-like Cooder accompaniment, and Elizondo's bass and Keltner's drums come in at just the right time to make the still-spare arrangement drive the song forward like a locomotive to heaven, beneath the yearning voices of Mavis, Rutha Harris, Charles Neblett, and Bettie-Mae Fikes.
The Staple singers were -- ARE -- a national treasure, and Mavis was -- IS -- their primal voice. She's on tour this year [...]). She's not getting any younger, and neither are you (or me, soon to turn 63), go do your soul a favor and see her live. And buy this CD!
Free Music Review: THIS IS SWAMP FUNK
Hit: 5 Stars
A SHORT STORY: I WAS IN A VIRGIN MEGA STORE IN TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK CITY, AND I WAS JUST ABOUT TO WALK OUT OF THE DOOR, WHEN I HEARD "THEE VOICE": THE UNMISTAKABLE SOUND OF MS. MAVIS STAPLES. I WAS LITERALLY STOPPED IN MY TRACKS BY "THAT VOICE". I INSTANTLY KNEW WHO IT WAS BY THAT INCREDIBLY POWERFUL SOUND. THE IN-STORE DJ SAID SHE WOULD BE PLAYING THE ENTIRE NEW CD OF MAVIS STAPLES ENTITED: "WE'LL NEVER TURN BACK". I IMMEDIATELY TURNED AROUND, WENT DOWNSTAIRS TO THE VIRGIN CAFE, ORDERED AN ENERGY DRINK, AND A DESSERT, AND SAT DOWN IN ONE OF THEIR COMFORTABLE LOUNGE CHAIRS, AND LISTENED TO EACH AND EVERY SONG FOR THE NEXT FULL HOUR. I DID NOT CARE THAT I WAS LATE FOR WORK, OR ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE. I WAS ONLY MESMORIZED WITH THAT MAGNIFICENT, EARTH SHATTERING VOICE THAT I WAS HEARING. IT WAS LIKE A GOOD OLD FASHIONED BEST FRIEND COMING BACK INTO YOUR LIFE, OR LIKE GOING HOME TO SOME OF THE BEST SOUL FOOD ON THE PLANET. MAVIS STAPLES MAKES YOU FEEL SO GOOD THAT I KNOW THAT WHAT EVER PROBLEMS YOU MAY BE DEALING WITH, JUST POP IN THIS CD, AND LISTEN TO WHAT GREAT SOUL MUSIC IS "SUPPOSED TO SOUND LIKE". I CALL THIS SOUL MUSIC BECAUSE WHEN LISTENING TO THIS CD, "YOUR SOUL IS LIFTED," AND THERE'S A GLORIOUS MUSIC IN YOUR HEART. AND AFTER YOU'VE HAD YOUR SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING, THIS CD WILL ALSO MAKE YOU GET ON UP AND DANCE YOUR TAIL FEATHER OFF. THE MULTI-TALENTED GUITARIST RY COODER HELPS TO KEEP THE SWAMP FUNK GROOVIN'. THIS CD DESERVES FIVE HUNDRED STARS, BUT AMAZON ONLY ALLOWS YOU TO GIVE IT FIVE, BUT, TO ME, THAT'S STILL PERFECT!!!Free Music Review: Mavis at her best -- and that's SAYIN' somethin'.
Hit: 5 Stars
I almost wish I could think of something negative to say about this album, just to be different. But it is transcendent. No longer the angel-voiced young girl of her early years in gospel or the sassy soul sister of the "Respect Yourself" days, Mavis is a mature woman who's seen a lot in her 60-odd years ("With My Own Eyes"). Her burnished contralto is all mid-range and lows, but if the instrument itself isn't what it once was, like Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and more recently Joni Mitchell, what's lost in vocal range is more than made up for in expressiveness and nuance. No filler here, every cut is a gem. My two favorite moments in an album filled with great moments: Mavis' spoken anecdote about inadvertently integrating a Mississippi "wash-a-teria" in "Down in Mississippi" (it had been a long while since I'd last heard the term "wash-a-teria" -- that's laundromat for those of you who don't know the South); and in "I'll Be Rested", her personal vision of heaven, a combination gospel jam session and civil rights movement reunion including Dr. King and Emmett Till, Clara Ward and Marion Williams, and Mavis' own father, Pops Staples, guitar in hand. Mavis has been one of my favorite singers since the Staple Singers' epochal "Hammer and Nails" album back in 1962 (Is that album EVER going to be released on CD?); and my only hope is that this amazing collection brings Mavis a bit of the popular acclaim she so richly deserves. Better forty-five years late than never.Free Music Review: Rolling back the years
Hit: 5 Stars
What a wonderful heartfelt album as Mavis Staples looks back on the Civil Rights Movement in this beautiful collection of songs that evokes the spirit of that time once again. The focus is on Mississippi, much the same way Nina Simone did in Mississippi Goddam. On My Way stood out strongly in my mind, speaking of the great journey at his been for her and her family as they came to personify the Civil Rights Movement with their gutsy rhtythm and blues. The songs have a contemporary edge, as in This Little Light of Mine, noting some of the reversals in attitude that have occurred in recent years, but the music speaks for itself in reminding us what a long road it has been. She has the wonderful accompaniment of Ry Cooder (who produced the album), his son Joachim, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, to name a few. Cooder brings a sound to his guitar reminiscent of his experiences with Ali Farka Toure in 99 and 1/2, which references recent painful incidents like Hurricane Katrina. The songs are all drawn on traditional spiritual and blues songs, coaxing you along with their gentle rhythms and grace. Perhaps the most heartfelt song is My Own Eyes, which builds slowly and beautifully to a powerful end, recalling the story of the march on DC. Toward the end of the album, she sings to all those who died during the struggle in I'll Be Rested, also noting her father and mother who passed away recently. So good to hear Mavis Staples back in the spotlight, sounding as strong as ever.