Mavis Staples' Masterpiece: 'We'll Never Turn Back'

Remember Mavis Staples?  She was the young singer with the husky, almost hoarse voice, the front line of the Staples Singers which produced a string of 60's and 70's hits like "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There".

Well, Mavis will take you there, all right.  She is back, with a powerful album of songs and anthems from the civil rights movement, artfully produced by Ry Cooder and with the likes of the Freedom Singers and demi-god session drummer Jim Keltner in the background.  Cooder's spare, mystical arrangements and production are imprinted all over the 12 song set yet they never take away from Mavis' lush voice that has only gained authority with time.   

Right from the opening "Down In Mississippi" the music takes you to the Deep South in the days of protest, segregation, fear...and courage.  These were the songs sung by the people who decided they had had enough and were going to change things.  It makes you wish they were here today.

The playing on the CD is economical, full of space, never overdone.  Cooder and Keltner give the traditional songs some quirky twists, even throwing in some techno-flavored beats that somehow work perfectly.  Cooder's snaky slide guitar is a joy; he is one of the true masters of the instrument and his sound is unmistakably his own.  He even has a few mandolin parts and he's a killer player, sounding like nobody else. 

This is a record that you can listen to over and over again and never get tired of it.  Mavis' father, Pops Staples recorded "Peace to the Neighborhood" in 1992 (also with Ry Cooder on several cuts) and it has been one of those discs I have kept in my 'rotation' ever since.  Pops would be proud of "We'll Never Turn Back", his daughter's masterpiece and a beautiful tribute to the brave people who kept their 'eyes on the prize'.