Women's History Month: Mavis Staples

Even when Pops Staples was running the show back in her early days with the Staples Singers, Mavis was obviously the star. She has one of the most powerful voices ever to grace vinyl, strong and sure of itself.

When she tapped Ry Cooder to produce We'll Never Turn Back, she was able to create what may get my vote for the best album of 2007. If it wasn't the best, it was certainly among them. In it, she takes gospel standards and tweaks them a bit to make them sing to today's concerns. I was blessed to be able to see her perform in support of it.

Best of '07

Two months on, I'm bringing it back with some annotated notes to my best of 2007 mix. First, the tracklist:

1. Nellie McKay – Mother of Pearl (from Obligatory Villagers)
2. Paul McCartney – Ever Present Past (from Memory Almost Full)
3. The Hold Steady – Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? (from I’m Not There)
4. Bruce Springsteen – Radio Nowhere (from Magic)
5. Albert Hammond, Jr. – Everybody Gets A Star
6. moe. – Blue Jeans Pizza
7. Gwen Stefani – The Sweet Escape
8. Gym Class Heroes – Cupid’s Chokehold
9. Prince – Chelsea Rodgers (from Planet Earth)
10. Mavis Staples – 99 ½ (from We’ll Never Turn Back)
11. John Doe – Pressing On (from I’m Not There)
12. Glen Hansard – Falling From the Sky (from Once)
13. Nathan – Trans Am
14. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Tom Dula (from Dona Got A Ramblin’Mind)
15. Levon Helm – Got Me A Woman (from Dirt Farmer)
16. Ry Cooder – Footprints In the Snow (from My Name Is Buddy)
17. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Little Margaret
18. Paul McCartney – Mr. Bellamy
19. Nellie McKay – Identity Theft
20. DJ Jazzy Jeff feat. Dave Ghetto – Come On (from Return Of the Magnificent)
21. Blind Boy Grunt – Talkin’ Devil

Now, the annotations:

1. Nellie McKay's "Mother of Pearl"

Taken from Obligatory Villagers, this is the feminist track of the year. With a surgeon's scalpel, Nellie expertly deconstructs patriarchal stereotypes of what feminism is. Gorgeous. The call and response between Nellie and the chorus of males makes it.

2. Paul McCartney's "Ever Present Past"

I wrote Paul off a long time ago as sappy crap, but Memory Almost Full has made me completely reevaluate my feelings on him, and this is my favorite track on it. The poppiness is killer, and it's smart too!

3. The Hold Steady's "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?"

This song is a cover of an obscure electified Dylan single. It doesn't sound like a Dylan single to me, though; it sounds like early Springsteen. This could be an outtake from The Wild, The Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle, minus Clarence Clemons. It isn't only in the arrangement, but in the vocals and the pacing too. Of course, some would have you believe that early Springsteen sounds like Dylan...

4. Bruce Springsteen's "Radio Nowhere"

For the most part, I didn't think that Magic was very magical, but this number, the first single, did stick out. Bruce gets down to business here like he used to.

5. Albert Hammond, Jr's "Everybody Gets A Star"

It may be reminescent of The Strokes (obviously) and also Jet, Franz Ferdinand, etc., but that background hook and drum line is still killer.

6. moe.'s "Blue Jeans Pizza"

Some of you may mistake this for warmed up jam band leftovers, but there is something mystical going on between those bass notes and piano chords.

7. Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape"

This song is a 1950s throwback, and that's what I love about it. Gwen Stefani manages to pull off the sound of a naughty pin-up girl, blending herself as naive ingenue and dirtier-than-Christina sex pot (ironically, the first time I heard this on the radio, I thought it was Christina). I'm not a fan of Stefani necessarily, but this song blows me away.

8. Gym Class Heroes' "Cupid's Chokehold"

They may seem like second-rate Biz Markies, but this song is a lot of fun and, with the help of Supertramp, catchy as hell.

9. Prince's "Chelsea Rodgers"

Planet Earth may have been the most disappointing album of the year for me, but this song still manages to succeed. Granted, Prince is trying to stay relevant by ripping off his most talented pupil with calls of "shake it like a juicy-juice," but this is still some seriously funky shit.

10. Mavis Staples' "99 1/2"

When I saw Mavis in concert, I REALLY wanted to hear this. As it was, I was perfectly happy to hear "The Weight" and "I'll Take You There," but damn this song is hot! That beat is just so freakishly funky. White-hot gospel at its finest.

11. John Doe's "Pressing On"

This is the highlight of the I'm Not There soundtrack, and its sung by an atheist. This makes me wish Dylan would have taken the time to make Saved the way it should have been made, and makes me wish for the more practical issueing of one or several of Dylan's gospel concerts. I want the Toronto 80 soundboard recordings and the complete stay at the Fox Warfield in San Fran. I also wouldn't mind a collection of all of the various as-of-yet-unreleased gospel songs in whatever versions exist. Come on Columbia, get it in gear already.

12. Glen Hansard's "Fallen From the Sky"

Glen Hansard is the breakout artist of the year, and I mean that in the consummate sense of artist. This guy can handle anything with nuance and beauty. Once is amazing.

13. Nathan's "Trans Am"

An underrated female singer-songwriter, Nathan could be the next Kasey Chambers.

14. Carolina Chocolate Drops' "Tom Dula"

This trio of Americana neophytes already plays it like the old-timers. Perhaps the most unexpected album by a trio of young urban blacks to come out this year, Dona Got A Ramblin' Mind is also among the best album by any.

15. Levon Helm's "Got Me A Woman"

Having fought throat cancer, Levon Helm knows a thing or two about being a badass. He's ten times cooler than Robbie Robertson in my book, so I knew I'd love Dirt Farmer. I didn't know that it was mostly covers, but I didn't care cause they are all good. This one is my favorites. I know what its like to find a woman who will shave your beard. Now, if I could only find a monkey and a Chinese acrobat....

16. Ry Cooder's "Footprints In the Snow"

My Name Is Buddy is the best concept for an album ever and the best packaging for an album ever. While I found most of the songs themselves sadly derivative and not quite strong enough to carry through on the genius of everything else, this song is a definite stand out. Jive on that tex-mex accordian and then lay back for the banjo solo.

17. Carolina Chocolate Drops' "Little Margaret"

Wow. A capella performance of the decade. Great story too. Dappled roans and ivory combs.

18. Paul McCartney's "Mr. Bellamy"

Opening with some melodramatic strings, the ominous piano kicks in, and then drops in this phat bass beat, and you have to wonder, how did macca go from "Ebony and Ivory" to this? This song just layers the hook and has a more genuinely mysterious lyric than anything John ever wrote.

19. Nellie McKay's "Identity Theft"

I'm not totally sure that I agree with Nellie on the university thing -- I definitely try to teach empathy -- but who else is rhyming about Ray Bolger these days? McKay comments on both loss of civil liberties and how corporate marketing steals an artist's identity and transforms it into something easily fit for the marketplace.

20. DJ Jazzy Jeff and Dave Ghetto's "Come On"

Pulling a sample from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell ("You're All I Need To Get By"), DJ Jazzy Jeff creates a laidback peace whose optimism clashes with Dave Ghetto's toasts and tales of black disenfranchisement and loss of agency.

21. Blind Boy Grunt's "Talkin' Devil"

Recorded over forty-five years ago, this obscure Dylan fragment was released this year. It blends his belief in religion with his hatred of the KKK. Whoever didn't see the born-again period coming just wasn't listening.

Never Turning Back; New Album a Testament to Mavis' Strength

From the swampy opening chords of "Down In Mississippi," it is clear that Ry Cooder's musical direction produced one of the finest albums of 2007, Mavis Staples' powerful We'll Never Turn Back.

Although Mavis is the star here, that "We" in the album's title is worth examining. Best known as a member of the Staple Singers, Mavis Staples, along with her family, helped politicize gospel music and use it as an instrument for societal change. That same spirit prevails here, as Mavis is clearly singing of a post-Katrina America, as made clear by the exclamation "broken levees, lyin' politicians" in the funky "99 and 1/2 (Won't Do)."

It is important to bear in mind that gospel music is communal. Though there may be a lead voice, in takes a whole choir full of people to join their voices together and overcome. Gospel music started on plantations where one's only hope was being free in the afterlife. Several gospel songs, such as "Follow the Drinkin' Gourd" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" became codes of how to escape to freedom in the North. These songs were always sung together because community was necessary; no slaves would have escaped the horrible institution of slavery had they not banded together. Love for each other and a desire to help others are the bedrock of gospel music. The "We" in this album's title encapsulates that reality of working together. The communal nature of gospel makes this album call out to the listener and ask them to join in fighting injustice themselves.

Despite the message, musically this album is amazing. On several tracks Mavis is joined in singing by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, famous for her work with Paul Simon on Graceland. Jim Keltner's drumming is spot-on as usual. This may be my first time hearing Mike Elizondo, though at various times I found myself amazed by both his bass and piano playing.

The song selection is also amazing. Mavis chose several classic gospel tunes, several in new arrangments. "99 and 1/2" is peppered with references to the contemporary political situation, and is only strengthened by them. "Eyes On the Prize" is a strong reworking of "Gospel Plow."

"Down In Mississippi" is an amazing track with Mavis building it up with personal stories of her role in the civil rights movement, including a narrative of her accidentally integrating a washroom as a very young girl. Another highlight of that song is pointing out the irony that white men were more likely to be arrested for hunting rabbit out of season than for killing a minority.

Two original songs prove two of the strongest. "My Own Eyes" is a strong statement that lays out Mavis' world view. "I'll Be Rested," one of my favorite tracks on the album, features a listing of fallen civil rights activists and related figures, ranging from the well-known (King, Robert Kennedy, Emmett Till) to the obscure (Andrew Goodman) to somewhere inbetween (Medgar Evers); all of them should be more well-known than they are today, as should Mavis and her beautiful music.

(Mavis Staples is coming to Manhattan, KS to perform at McCain Auditorium October 28.)