Tonight’s listening;

1 – We’ll Never Turn Back (2007)

‘We’ll Never Turn Back’ is the kind of album we need at the moment, one that doesn’t flinch from the tradition but doesn’t present it as a museum piece either. Mavis Staples has done it again.

2 – You Are Not Alone (2010)

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. ‘You Are Not Alone” is a solid outing that somehow manages to be both secular and sacred at once. 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.

3 – One True Vine (2013)

Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy proved to be such a good match on ‘You Are Not Alone’ — the album won a Grammy in the category of Best Americana Album — that the two opted to do it again. Not tremendously different from that 2010 set ‘One True Vine’ is still a beautiful album and well worth adding to any collection.