CD Reviews: MAVIS STAPLES

You Are Not Alone (Anti-)

Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 4:00 am

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R&B legend Mavis Staples' last album, 2007's We'll Never Turn Back, was a stirring concept record about the civil rights movement. The follow-up is more direct, bringing the singer back to her gospel roots with a collection of songs (including a few remakes of tunes she originally recorded with her family's group, the Staple Singers) about faith, church, and God. And unlike the Ry Cooder-produced We'll Never Turn Back, You Are Not Alone's producer, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, doesn't mess around too much with tone. He basically sets up Staples — still sounding great at 71 — in the studio, adds a little texture here and there, and lets it all flow. The sound is more A.M. organic than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot moody. Still, the album's best songs are the two Tweedy wrote: the title track and "Only the Lord Knows," which release a flood of faith and seal Staples' comeback. — Michael Gallucci