Staples It Together.
Soul staples don't get much more signature than Mavis Staples. The iconic powerhouse gospel singer was already a legend. And one for countless years and decades of told influence. Like Aretha. Like Stevie. Like Diana Ross. Sam Cooke. You may have heard of The Staples Singers family affair. But being a prominent voice through the decades of MLK, JFK, Bob Dylan and Muhammad Ali, how about her work as a civil rights activist? Singing about the rhythm and blues has already inducted her into the rock and roll Hall of Fame. Not to mention the blues one. And she's stayed as relevant as her cause. Staying the course and working with legends like the late, great Prince, mainstream mass appeals like Gorillaz and legends of the future like singer/songwriter Hozier. But now the Chicago great who has been in this game for more than a half century and decades change starts a whole new legacy. Great singer/songwriter of our generation Ben Harper has already worked with his fair share of legends like himself. From the Innocent Criminals, to the Blind Boys Of Alabama. Relentless7 to Fistful of Mercy. And blues icon Charlie Musselwhite to his own idol, his dear mama, Ellen Harper. But now in producing the new 'We Get By' album of Mavis 'the mother to us all' Staples with his own signature. The perfect marriage collaboration like Rick Rubin and the man in black, Johnny Cash. This is Mavis Staples' American recordings. Harper spins his definitive and diverse discography as the most selfless and amazing artist of our time to classic records of our past that in times like this in this life help us get by.
Classic like the chain-link cover Gordon Parks, 1956 photo of kids looking at the ferris wheel of an amusement park from behind a fence (you seeing this Trump?), this testament is timeless from the moment Staples struts her evergreen stuff at 80 years old over Harper's hallmark guitar riffs on the opening call to 'Change' over the decades. You can see why legacy makers like the all dancing new bohemian American dream of Maggie Rogers with the other best album of the year ('Heard It In A Past Life' that hasn't come off constant repeat since January and won't until this time next year), who performed at Mavis' 80th birthday party concert take so much inspiration from this icon. Although that backstage International Women's Day photo from this pioneers Twitter timeline says it all in a thousand words from Rogers in awe face as Staples with her hands cupped offers her wisdom pearls. Just like here as she sings, "Gotta change around here/Can't go on this way/Things gotta change around here/Say it loud, say it clear/Things gonna change around here" like heed should have already been heard and learned...for decades. Before duetting with the dynamic Harper on the title track and equally rocking to the souls core 'We Get By' after 'Anytime'. Where Staples sings, "Give me a one-way ticket/Somewhere I've never been/I'm rock, paper, scissors/And I'm bound to win". But bringing 'Brothers and Sisters' together like the family names on Ben's Beatles 'John, Paul, George and Ringo' inspired t-shirt in the above picture and lasting lyrics like, "We belong to each other/Brothers and sisters (Brothers and sisters)/So be strong for each other/Brothers and sisters (Brothers and sisters)/Got to be brave in a scary world/Brothers and sisters (Brothers and sisters)." Showing under the sun we are all one big family in this world.
Slow burning on the smouldering 'Heavy On My Mind', Mavis muses on the fight or flight choices we have today and tomorrow in this life or death,"Locked in a safe/In a cage, in a cell/We can wait out the storm/Or we can stand in the rain/Gonna have to mourn/Or hide from some pain." Whilst the upbeat 'Sometime' claps in blues dance unison like Harper's 'Get Up' collaboration with Musselwhite 'We Can't End This Way' here on 'Get By'. That one waltzed it's way to a Grammy. This one two steps to legendary status. Forget platinum. This record is the classic gold standard. Just like it's standout track, 'Never Needed Anyone'. The brooding blue ballad worthy of Billie or cigarette ash bars from yester decade all staring at the stage of an icon in her own spotlight. The kind of court Staples held 50 years ago and still does to this day on a tribute to that era as timeless as the classics she wrote back then in her prime. Wait...decades and decades, pushing a century later, she's still in her prolific prime. Even 'Stronger' like said song and the sense of self she gives her listeners. "Samson tore the building down/Moses climbed to higher ground/And when it comes to me and you/There ain't nothing I wouldn't do," on a song where the singing tells us nothing in the world is as strong as Mavis' love for her muse. A "house on the hill" or a "face on a dollar bill" is just bricks and mortar and spare change in comparison. Just like on 'Chance On Me' where she tells us "I don't need a sky full of stars", or a symphony. More like "just one violin" as she bares her soul, "Wondering, wandering/Lightning and thundering/Longing and hungering/Love gives us no warning." This is the raw elements of the genre in all its glory. Closing things up like last orders of the blues, 'Hard To Leave' shares songwriting DNA with the set stealing, 'Never Needed Anyone.' "Late night calls of longing/Pressing play/On Marvin Gaye/Trying to right the wrongings/Softly reaching over for your touch upon my sleeve/It's always hard, so hard to leave." Before the 'Change' reprise closer of 'One More Change' brings us right back to the opening call just like the testament that this testimonial is a tribute to the same message this activist for civil rights delivered half centuries ago. And that's the point. The more we seek to change, the more things move in that same direction, no matter what barrier has to be broken like a fence climbed or a wall leaped. "Been holding on too long to let go/Been running too hard to slow down." Even without Abraham, Martin and John. Or even Obama. We can still get by thanks to the change Staples brings back together. Forget the bad weather. Mavis' soul shines bright for life. Forget pushing a century. Timeless artists craft forever. And there's a message in this music that will always be read like those willing to lend their ears to listen. Give it up. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Playlist Picks: 'Change', 'We Get By Feat Ben Harper', 'Never Needed Anyone'.
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