Album Review: Mavis Staples - We Get By

“What good is freedom/If we haven’t learned to be free?” sings the glorious Mavis Staples in opener Change. It's bookended by the closer, One More Change, where she pulls back to optimism, backed with glorious gospel support. Even when Staples shows signs of being a little weary – proof that she is human like the rest of us – the power in her voice brings her back up again swiftly. 

The collection is written and produced by Ben Harper, with title track We Get By sweetly defiant. Staples’ music remains a blueprint for how to make art true to yourself as the world evolves. Some of the more intimate moments here are the most impressive: Heavy On My Mind impresses in its minimalism and reliance on her lower register with a weeping guitar to support, and Never Needed Anyone is an old-school love song dedication. You can also expect to be singing Chance On Me to yourself for days after you hear it, and hitting ‘repeat’ on Brothers And Sisters as the funk-meets-soul sets in and you imagine yourself singing in the Staples chorus. In short, this one doesn’t just get by, it gets you up, on your feet, and into many a mood.