Mavis Staples, part of the old-guard of American gospel and soul, is back again. Despite being 78 years of age, Staples still has the irresistible urge to record. Her latest offering – If All I Was Was Black – features 11 songs written and produced by her post-2010 collaborator, songwriter and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy.

Staples rose to fame as the lead singer of her family band The Staple Singers, which released a slew of civil rights anthems throughout the 1960s. Consistent with Staples’ legacy, If All I Was Was Black is thoroughly political. While the lyrics are absent of any explicit contextual references, it is clear that the album operates as a response to the divisive politics of Trump’s America – confirmed in interviews by both Tweedy and Staples. Yet its intentional vagueness and ambiguity gives If All I Was Was Black a universality and timelessness.

Tweedy weaves social commentary across a fusion of gospel-blues-funk numbers. The opening track ‘Little Bit’ provides a chilling excoriation of police brutality against the Black community. On ‘Who Told You That’, Staples denigrates passivity in the face of injustice, while ‘No Time For Crying’ is a rousing call for action. Staples’ digs into her husky alto – her vocal rich in authority, particularly as she asserts on the latter track that there is ‘work to do’. Her delivery is stirring and dripping with life experience as a civil rights activist.

In addition to the broodingly dark and stern moments in the album, Tweedy’s writing is also conciliatory and diplomatic. The title track shows Staples at her most charismatic and endearing as she implores the listener to look beyond the optics of race and see that she has ‘love to give’ and ‘perspective’. Tracks such as ‘Peaceful Dream’, with bluegrass guitar and echoic backing vocals, and ‘Build A Bridge’, with its subtle funk groove, could be taken straight out of a Staple Singers’ album from the 1960s. Their hopeful messages, encouraging dialogue and collaboration, are classic Mavis.

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A marvellous piece of socially-engaged art.

Grade: A

(Image copyright: Anti- Records)