Mavis Staples – “We’ll Never Turn Back”

Mavis Staples – “We’ll Never Turn Back”
(Anti-)

Mavis Staples, she of the famous Staple Singers, and Ry Cooder, he of production genius and Buena Vista Social Club, team up to make a gorgeous record that’s about one of the best albums ever released on Anti. Anti’s had a good run of bringing out the best in older artists as of late. You can look at the label as being sort of a resuscitation zone for performers for whom their careers have somewhat moved on.

While not quite the revelatory experience that was Johnny Cash‘s work with American Records, Anti has taken people such as Solomon Burke and Merle Haggard, among others, and given these perceived second-stringers and cult favorites the second chance they might not otherwise have gotten, with fantastic results.

Mavis Staples’ work here with Mr. Cooder is no exception. We’ll Never Turn Back is a mix of civil rights protest songs like “Eyes On the Prize” and “We Shall Not Be Moved” and gospel and traditional standards such as “This Little Light of Mine” and “Jesus Is On the Main Line.” Other traditional songs like “99 and 1/2” get re-written from songs about men to songs about one’s personal convictions.

This is a soulful, soulful album. Mavis Staples has a voice that is so full of faith and conviction that it just pours right out of the speakers and into your ear. About halfway through the album, you want to stand up and scream, “THANK YOU, JESUS!!! THANK YOU!” And, really… it doesn’t get much better than that. Any album that can make me like a version of “Jesus Is On the Main Line” as much as the Bad Livers‘ is a standout in my book.

On My Way