Mavis Staples, weekend of 7/25/2010

[Magnetized]

Here's a link to a good review of Mavis Staples this past weekend in the Poconos: http://blogs.mcall.c...ardly-blue.html

It's a longish article about the festival, but in pertinent part it reviews Mavis's set:

 

Like The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Staples is showing some age. Now 71, she actually sat out 15 minutes of her 80-minute show as she let Holmstrom and bassist Jeff Turmes (on slide guitar) carry the midsection of her set — not a bad thing; both were great.

 

Mavis Staples

 

But while her physicality seemed limited, her talent didn’t.

 

She leaned heavily on her new album, “You Are Not Alone,” due out Sept. 14 and produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, saying the first two songs were being played for a live audience for the first time. The first, an a cappella version of the traditional “Wonderful Savior,” was, indeed, wonderful. The second, the Tweedy-penned “Only the Lord Knows,” added some growl to her distinctive husky voice, as well as some mean guitar.

 

Those elements also pervaded the set. On the traditional “Wade in the Water,” her rasp sank to a growl as the band laid a deep groove and Holmstrom fired blistering riffs. The new disc’s “I Belong to the Band” had the audience dancing – perhaps equally because of joy of the spiritual and of the flesh — and ended with the band keeping handclap beats and Staples whispering the lyrics.

 

“Everybody feel alright?” she asked, knowing the answer. “I feel pretty good, too.”

 

There were many highlights: The Band’s “The Weight” [The Staple Singers appeared in The Band’s movie “The last Waltz”] was revelatory, as Staples turned it into a full-gospel number, and the end repeating “Put the weight on me! Put the weight on me!” The crowd gave the song a big cheer.

 

John Fogerty’s “Wrote A Song for Everyone,” also on her new album, had meaning mined from a wounded soul. Allen Toussaint’s “Last Train,” also from the new disc, had Staples scat singing. And “Freedom Highway” was a reminder of Staples’ role as a civil rights activist.

 

But the best, of course, was “I’ll Take You There,” the Staple Singers’ No. 1 hit from 1972. It stretched more than 10 minutes as Staples had the crowd sing along, then did a call-and-response with the title.

 

“We’ve been taking you there for 60 years, and we’re not tired yet!” Staples told the crowd. “We’ll be back.”

 

With a promise like that, who could have left the festival with the blues?