I haven't been able to post much lately, because I've been interviewing for a few different jobs, all of which required a little homework. But as always, I've had the iPod on in the background to power me through the work, and one of the discs in heavy rotation has been the new Mavis Staples album, "You Are Not Alone." I was waiting for this one since finding out about it a few months back, and it did not disappoint.
Produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, the collection is a stripped down affair, with Staples' husky voice front and center. Staples and Tweedy don't try to update her sound, don't go for studio tricks, and avoid the tedious duet route that so many later-career musicians use as a last-grasp for chart success. Because the disc is warm and honest, it works.
I'm embedding the title track, penned by Tweedy (and a soulful companion to a song off Wilco's most recent album, "Wilco (The Song)," which Tweedy has stated was his notion that at its best, music can bring comfort and a sense of camraderie to even to the most lonely listeners). It's a slow, shuffling tune, and it demonstrates that age hasn't dulled Staples' voice of its emotional heft. A win for lovers of soul music everywhere....
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