Mavis Staples

Starting with her family group, the Staples Singers, Mavis Staples has been one of the signature voices in gospel music for the past 40 years. Now, through this collaboration with Ry Cooder, she has produced a collection that will transcend musical boundaries. Although most of We’ll Never Turn Back’s 12 tracks are gospel standards — "This Little Light,” "99 And A Half Won’t Do,” "Jesus Is On The Mainline” — they are also rooted in the civil rights movement of the ’60s, providing a timely reminder that the struggle has been passed to a new generation. This is the music that Staples was born into, so her performances are predictably spectacular. The real excitement is in how Cooder and his cadre of players rise to her lofty standard. Unlike his own current release, My Name Is Buddy, Cooder doesn’t hold back on his trademark slide guitar pyrotechnics and the grooves he lays down with drummer Jim Keltner are about as deep into the blues as he has ever ventured. We’ll Never Turn Back is an uplifting, swampy masterpiece and a testament to the undiminished power of a unique form of American music. (Anti/Epitaph)