Mavis Staples still traveling roads of gospel, soul on ‘If All I was was Black’

“Gotta keep your eyes wide on this long narrow road.”

So preaches Mavis Staples on the onset of “If All I was was Black,” arguably her most satisfying album since the heyday of the Staple Singers. That family band was a gospel group at heart, but its ability to raise social as well as spiritual consciousness was a calling card Staples has carried to this day and especially to this remarkable recording.

Likewise, the ability to convey such an awakening in music that was very much of the moment is one of the reasons Staples’ newer records ring with the same conviction as the decades-old songs cut alongside father Pops Staples and her siblings in the Staple Singers. That music mirrored the epic social change that began with the Civil Rights movement. But after listening to “If All I was was Black,” we realize the long narrow road Staples sings of today is the same one she began traveling ages ago.

Staples’ prime ally on two of her albums was Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy. While last year’s fine “Livin’ on a High Note” placed M. Ward in charge, the new “If All I was was Black” brings Tweedy back in a big way. He serves as producer, dressing the record with a sense of regal reserve, as well as composer of seven of the album’s 10 tunes. The other three he co-wrote with Staples.

What all of this boils down to becomes evident on the album-opening “Little Bit.” An introductory drum loop signals modernization. The sly guitar riff that is quickly added suggests the blues, possibly even funk. Then Staples enters. At 78, her voice still reflects immediate authority. But the singing is beautifully understated, as it is throughout the album, summoning its spiritual muse with a knowing but almost conversational soulfulness.

Then it hits. This is exactly what she did on those glorious early 1970s Staple Singers records, when the group’s fervency relocated from a comparatively traditional gospel base to a sound more urban and, for its time, modern. But like her famous father, Staples holds much of her vocal ammo in check, preferring instead to enforce her singing with a hushed sense of soul that simmers with subtle turbulence.

This happens throughout “If All I was was Black.” You hear it within the lean urgency of the irresistibly funky “No Time for Crying,” the Alabama Shakes-style affirmation “Build a Bridge” and the warm, easygoing “Ain’t No Doubt About It” (sung as a duet with Tweedy).

But the title track is the killer, a proud proclamation of identity that rocks with gentle assurance. “Don’t you want to know me more than that?” Staples sings, as if pleading a case. There is no need to convince anyone, though. “If All I was was Black” enforces all the greatness we have come to know from Staples — the emotive conviction, the vocal expression and the ability to address the times with profoundly soulful authority.

This story was originally published December 27, 2017 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Mavis Staples still traveling roads of gospel, soul on ‘If All I was was Black’."