Mavis Staples

The amazing Mavis Staples joins forces with Ry Cooder on this glowing tribute to the troubles and triumphs of the past and how they can help us all carry America forward once again. Lyrics aside, this is music that moves the heart and nourishes the soul. Even the new tunes by Staples & Cooder are strong enough to almost carry the same punch as protest classics like "We Shall Not Be Moved." Hey, aren't younger pop artists supposed to be doing this work and letting the tough, determined old ladies rest?

One of the rare entertainers to actively support the civil rights movement, gospel-pop-soul matron Mavis Staples honors the music of that movement with these re-created freedom songs. Of documentary value throughout, they're most moving when Staples embellishes them with personal memories, such as her one-young-woman integration of a washateria in Forrest, Mississippi. On her own new "With My Own Eyes," the updated "99 1/2," and producer Ry Cooder's "I'll Be Rested," she doesn't merely revive rousing old songs--she brings their moral passion into the present. As usual, Cooder's refab authenticity can get annoying--he distresses the arrangements with anachronistic guitar stabs like he's antiquing a bureau. But because African-American rhythms come easier to him than Cuban clave, his timing is spot on. More proof that God loves this project: He or She even grants Ry's klutzy son Joachim some tasty loops. (Grade - A MINUS)