Truly inspirational
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Mavis Staples is adorable, inspiring, but also rousing. Hopping around the stage, singing with guttural passion, and encouraging a collective booing of the sitting US president – the 79 year-old soul veteran has plenty to share.
For the second consecutive year, Staples has headlined AGMP’s Innervisions Festival. Last year she performed in the wonderful Union Chapel. Perhaps gauging that Staples could easily fill out a larger venue, AGMP placed her at The Roundhouse in Camden, North London this year. Though not surpassing the acoustics of the Union Chapel, the Roundhouse served Staples well.
Despite such a marvellous legacy, there is no hint of ego in Staples’ delivery. (Fascinatingly, she remarked in an interview to The Guardian back in 2016 that she still does all her domestic chores – unlike her contemporaries Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight.) She is grounded in her delivery – chatting to her audience with warmth and affection.
Anyone following Staples’ career will know that she is still making great music. Some of the highlights of her set were taken from her post-2010 releases, particularly her last two studio albums If All I Was Was Black (2017) and We Get By (2019). ‘Gotta change around here,’ she tutted with disdain on ‘Change’ against a backdrop of muddy guitar licks. ‘No Time For Crying’, a number from If All I Was Was Black, closed the set with a tone of frankness and resolution.
Drawing upon her past repertoire with The Staples Singers, she delivered ‘Slippery People’ (originally by Talking Heads), ‘For What It’s Worth’ (originally by Buffalo Springfield), ‘Touch a Hand (Make a Friend)’, and the Black empowerment anthem ‘Respect Yourself’. The songs were skillfully adapted by Staples and her band to suit her voice and the rootsy aesthetic of her recent material.
She was on the verge of tears by the end of her performance of civil rights anthem ‘Freedom Highway’, alluding in her preamble to its continued relevance in this volatile political landscape. When Staples releases that earthy voice, she sure can drive home a message.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_POw3BKYprs
(Image copyright: AGMP)
