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Mavis Staples|You Are Not Alone

You Are Not Alone

Mavis Staples

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Mavis Staples may not have a voice with the kind of range and pure power of an Aretha Franklin, but she understands the ins and outs of phrasing and nuance, and brings an inimitable, gritty passion to everything she sings, even into her seventies. She's also not afraid to walk right down the middle of the road between secular and sacred, fully aware that both the blues and gospel are really talking about the same thing -- the need to get to a better place. She performs this delicate synthesis well on You Are Not Alone, an album that finds her teamed with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, whose production on this project is surprisingly sympathetic to Staples' strengths, and more importantly, doesn't make her sound like an adjunct participant in a Wilco album. No, this is Mavis' show, and she grabs ahold of well-chosen covers like Randy Newman's “Losing You,” Allen Toussaint's “Last Train,” Reverend Gary Davis' “I Belong to the Band,” and John Fogerty's “Wrote a Song for Everyone” with conviction, wringing every bit of wisdom, anger, compassion, and joy out of them, while bringing a fresh perspective to traditional gospel pieces like “In Christ There Is No East or West,” “Creep Along Moses,” and “Wonderful Savior,” reminding that redemption is pretty hard work even in the best of times. She tackles a couple of Pops Staples pieces here, too, “Don’t Knock” and “Downward Road,” making this whole set a well-rounded portrait of Mavis Staples as she stands then, now, and tomorrow. Tweedy wrote several songs for the project, but only two, including the title track “You Are Not Alone,” appear here, and he wisely resisted any urge to overdo his sonic stamp on the album. Most tracks feature sturdy, simple, and subdued backing that allows Staples' voice to carry the show, highlighted by reverbed guitar reminiscent of Pops Staples' trademark sound, although only enough to suggest it -- nothing here gets in the way of Mavis' voice. You Are Not Alone is a solid outing that somehow amazingly manages to be both secular and sacred at once, and there is a stripped-down timelessness to it. It's gospel. It's blues. It's about love and redemption, and how each needs the other. You Are Not Alone won Best Americana Album at the 2010 Grammys.

© Steve Leggett /TiVo

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You Are Not Alone

Mavis Staples

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1
Don't Knock
00:02:30

Roebuck Staples, Writer - Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Conrad Music (BMI), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

2
You Are Not Alone
00:03:57

Jeff Tweedy, Writer - Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Words Ampersand Music (BMI), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

3
Downward Road
00:03:08

Roebuck Staples, Writer - Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Conrad Music (BMI), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

4
In Christ There Is No East Or West
00:03:35

Jeff Tweedy, Writer - Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Words Ampersand Music (BMI), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

5
Creep Along Moses
00:02:57

Jeff Tweedy, Writer - Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Words Ampersand Music (BMI), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

6
Losing You
00:02:51

Randy Newman, Writer - Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Randy Newman Music (ASCAP), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

7
I Belong To The Band
00:03:30

Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Reverend Gary Davis, Writer - Chandos Music Company (ASCAP), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

8
Last Train
00:04:29

Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Allen Toussaint, Writer - Screen Gems - EMI Music Inc. (BMI) / Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

9
Only The Lord Knows
00:03:43

Jeff Tweedy, Writer - Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Words Ampersand Music (BMI), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

10
Wrote A Song For Everyone
00:03:47

John Fogerty, Writer - Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Jondora Music - Concord Music Group Inc. (BMI), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

11
We're Gonna Make It
00:03:27

Billy Davis, Writer - Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Gene Barge, Writer - Raynard Miner, Writer - Carl William Smith, Writer - Chevis Publishing Corp. (BMI), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

12
Wonderful Savior
00:02:04

Mavis Staples, Writer, MainArtist, MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

13
Too Close / On My Way To Heaven
00:05:09

Roebuck Staples, Writer - Mavis Staples, MainArtist - Alex Bradford, Writer - Conrad Music (BMI), MusicPublisher - Unichappell Music, Inc. (BMI), MusicPublisher

2010 Anti Inc. 2010 Anti Inc.

Album review

Mavis Staples may not have a voice with the kind of range and pure power of an Aretha Franklin, but she understands the ins and outs of phrasing and nuance, and brings an inimitable, gritty passion to everything she sings, even into her seventies. She's also not afraid to walk right down the middle of the road between secular and sacred, fully aware that both the blues and gospel are really talking about the same thing -- the need to get to a better place. She performs this delicate synthesis well on You Are Not Alone, an album that finds her teamed with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, whose production on this project is surprisingly sympathetic to Staples' strengths, and more importantly, doesn't make her sound like an adjunct participant in a Wilco album. No, this is Mavis' show, and she grabs ahold of well-chosen covers like Randy Newman's “Losing You,” Allen Toussaint's “Last Train,” Reverend Gary Davis' “I Belong to the Band,” and John Fogerty's “Wrote a Song for Everyone” with conviction, wringing every bit of wisdom, anger, compassion, and joy out of them, while bringing a fresh perspective to traditional gospel pieces like “In Christ There Is No East or West,” “Creep Along Moses,” and “Wonderful Savior,” reminding that redemption is pretty hard work even in the best of times. She tackles a couple of Pops Staples pieces here, too, “Don’t Knock” and “Downward Road,” making this whole set a well-rounded portrait of Mavis Staples as she stands then, now, and tomorrow. Tweedy wrote several songs for the project, but only two, including the title track “You Are Not Alone,” appear here, and he wisely resisted any urge to overdo his sonic stamp on the album. Most tracks feature sturdy, simple, and subdued backing that allows Staples' voice to carry the show, highlighted by reverbed guitar reminiscent of Pops Staples' trademark sound, although only enough to suggest it -- nothing here gets in the way of Mavis' voice. You Are Not Alone is a solid outing that somehow amazingly manages to be both secular and sacred at once, and there is a stripped-down timelessness to it. It's gospel. It's blues. It's about love and redemption, and how each needs the other. You Are Not Alone won Best Americana Album at the 2010 Grammys.

© Steve Leggett /TiVo

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